Colli Polansky

By Terence Goodchild

Colli Polanski lives with his family in the mining town of Coalville they are poor and don’t have much in the way of a life. One day while there father Balti once more comes home drunk after squandering his hard earned pay starts to beat up his wife after she had asked for some money to buy food, he goes into a rage, Colli sick with his father’s actions plunges a bread knife into his back he falls on top of Colli and he cannot move the others pull their father from on top of Colli and he climbs out.
“What have you done Colli you have killed your father.” His mother pleads “He deserves it” Colli replies now they have to leave Coalville before the police find out, so they gather what belongings they can and in the dead of night leaves Coalville for good travelling by night and trying to hide during the daytime, on the second day they come across a barn and sneak inside and up to the hayloft to hide.
But the farmer catches one of the young children and is trying to get him out from behind a stack of wood when Colli appears and says he is with me, the farmer asks how many they are and the mother appears with a pitchfork and threatens the farmer, he takes pity on the family and takes them inside the farmhouse where is daughter Dottie is making breakfast they feed them and Colli says he has to head north to hide from the police and asks the farmer to look after the family has he police are only after him. Colli vows one day to repay the farmer for looking after his family. Colli gets a lift with a truck driver who himself left home after his father beat him and takes pity on Colli and befriends him, but not to arouse suspicion he changes his name to Jason and later takes the surname of the drive who befriends him, but later on he has to tell the truth as circumstances dictate him having to divulge his past and change his name to Jason.
The driver whose name is Jess Harper takes him to a town his girlfriend lives where the girl's brother Garry owns a detective agency he trains Colli and gives a job he becomes very good at his job, then the brother makes him a partner and in his discoveries finds out who killed the brother and sisters' parents in a hit and run on Christmas eve six years earlier.
His life is crossed with tragedy secrets and backhand dealings, while doing a routine investigation into a unexplained death of a young girl, Colli is sent by Garry to see a friend of his who has information into unsolved crimes, on the way he sees a roadside transport stop where he and Jess Harper happened to stop on the way north, where a lady was nice to him, called Sophie, Colli turns around and stops hoping to thank her for her kindness, while waiting in the queue he enquire’s about the lady, when a load mouth trucker abuses her name and Colli takes offence at his attitude and smashes a bottle over his head, the trucker produces’s a knife and slashes Colli’s face, but then a patrol officer threatens the trucker and puts a gun to his head, the trucker vows to get Colli later and leaves, this is when Colli teams up with patrol officer, named David Lansdown who through the story helps him solves one case, and becomes a real friend and together they come across a lot of dealings where the Falkirk family are involved in some way, Colli falls for the lovely Nadya but cannot commit as he has had no training in love, after having to suffer the traumas of life living in the same house as his father. He uncovers corruption in the chief of police in a town named Stanton, where he is threatened and ran out of town for asking questions, but sneaks back into town to interview a lady named Martha Pucket who knows something about how Rita Boland was killed, the wife of Thomas Boland who is looking after Colli’s family

• Language: English
• Publisher: Terence Goodchild
• Release date: Feb 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310438738

Terence Goodchild

Terence J Goodchild I am an English writer born in Manchester in the north of England and now live in Tasmania with my wife on a farm with our horses. After travelling in Europe for many years my wife and I came to Australia for a holiday in 1981 and found that we could live in this country, so we migrated in 1988 to Melbourne, but now live in Tasmania. I have been writing for about 12 years, and have written 17 novels of fiction and about 100 poems that I may put in a book one day, I try and make my books somewhere the reader can escape to, and hope they enjoy my stories, I put in a few truths, just for spice to make it more interesting, and a few one liners, I put the characters in my stories of people I have met and places I have travelled to and write how I see things,

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Copyright Terence J Goodchild (2015)

Published by Terence J Goodchild @ Amazon Createspace

Smashwords edition

The right of Terence J Goodchild to be identified as the author of this work, has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

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ISBN 9781522965695 (paperback) Amazon

ISBN 9781310438738 Smashwords

Colli Polansky

The cold November wind blew mercilessly and the rain came down in torrents and flowed down the dirty streets, this would be the only time they were ever clean was when it rained. The coal mines in the area made everything black and dirty, the terraced houses all in rows were covered in black dust all the year round, till the rain came and washed them clean. The dark clouds overhead promised more rain to come this was going to be a cold wet winter.

The three boys huddled together to try to keep warm as the rain and wind battered the tiny town of Coalville Colli, James and Sydney were brothers, Colli the eldest then Sydney and James, the youngest, their clothes were all hand me down from other families and had seen better days, and were no protection against the winters in Coalville. These were the only clothes their mother could get for them, as her meager wages just about kept them fed.

Look at my boots. Colli remarked as he took one off and pushed his hand inside to poke his finger through the hole; James giggled and snuggled closer to his brother.

At least you have boots look at ours, tennis shoes. and he pushed his foot hard on the step and water squelched out of them Where can mother be? Colli sighed.

We will freeze to death sitting here she will pick Emma up from school first and then walk home.

They sat there for another half an hour, then Colli popped his head out of the doorway the driving rain stung his eyes, and through the mist he saw his mother coming up the steep street holding their sister Emma's hand.

The rain was relentless and mother and Emma were trying to keep the rain out of their eyes, pulling their coats around them to try and keep warm, Colli wished it could be better for them but he knew his father would not change and he hated the way he had become. Their father worked in the mine just like everyone in the town of Coalville.

**********

The mine was owned and ran by the Falkirk family, they had owned it for forty years and ran it like a Military camp. They paid the workers just enough to keep them hungry for more work; their wages just barely kept them alive, so they had to do overtime to live they had to buy all their supplies from the company owned stores the Falkirk family had everything under their command.

Watching his mother walking up the steep street holding the hand of the little angel his sister truly was, it made him sad and if he ever had the chance to help them out of this hell hole he would take it no matter what it involved.

Hello mother how was work today. Colli asked, knowing the answer was always the same she had become very downhearted over the years because of the way their father was.

It was okay, thank you son, come on, let’s get you all inside.

She turned the key and they all went into the small terraced house they rented off the mining company, they also got their wages back in rent everything in Coalville was to the Falkirk advantage.

Let's get those clothes off you all and see if we can get some kind of fire going to keep us warm. They undressed and their mother dried them all with the towels that hung on the maiden a wire rack that stood in the corner full of washing.

We don't have much in the way of tea tonight. she said

But we can have toast as much as we want, I got some day old bread cheap at the bakers, so we can have plenty of toast.

We were all very happy at having toast as it filled us up and we went to bed not feeling as hungry as we always did.

The toast was made and we had some kind of thin soup, it was very hot and we felt better and all seemed well, till father came home drunk once again.

**********

He was a big man and very swarthy, he had been born in Romania and had come to Coalville with his parents, who had been recruited by the Falkirk Family as they knew the Romanians were hard workers and did a good job for little pay.

The family had fled Romania during some uprising that always occurred in the eastern block countries as they were called, were some vicious overlord had come to power and wanted everything the people owned no matter how they took it, either by force or by death.

What’s for tea. He shouted and thumped his big hands down on the table and scared them all to death, because when he was drunk, which was often he was a very violent man and beat mother for the smallest reason.

He was not always this way and we never really knew what changed him so much. She nervously put his Dinner on the table, which she had prepared with loving care.

What is this shit. He shouted and threw it against the wall, food was in short supply, but he had the right to waste it,

It is all we have Balti I have not had no money off you for weeks and cannot buy food if you don’t give me any of your wages. Their mother said.

His face twisted with rage and he flung the table over and we ran into our bedroom which all of us shared, we cowered in the corner together knowing what was about to happen.

The could hear mother pleading with him not to beat her, but he was in a drunken rage and beat her more,

I will teach you not to ask for money off me women, who do you think you are. And the belt came down once more, then the silence the children hardly breathed the four of them not knowing what was to come next, then the door slammed and all they could hear was their mother crying.

They all slowly crept out of the bedroom and into the kitchen and found mother lying on the floor, her dress torn and her back bleeding from so many welts, she looked like a beaten animal, we ran over to her and tried to comfort her. Colli looked down at his mother lying bleeding on the floor from the beating his father had given her, the three others helping her to get up.

I hate him the bastard, I hate him and one day I will kill him. Colli could not contain himself any longer.

Don’t say that my son. His mother looked at him with pleading eyes, After all he his father.

No matter he may be my father in blood, but not in any other way he is cruel and vicious and I hate him. He went over to his mother and helped her up onto a chair,

Let me look at your mother back.

He tried to lift the tattered dress off her back, but it was stuck in the blood and she cried out as he pulled it off, the cuts were very deep he must have used the buckle end of his belt to beat her this time, Emma was crying at her mother’s pain and could not understand why her father would do this to her mother.

They bathed it as best they could and it then was time for bed,Good night children sleep well and say your prayers for something good to happen for us.

**********

They all slept in one bed James and Emma at one end and Colli and Sydney on the other, it was okay because they kept each other warm on cold nights.

Later that night Colli heard their father come home, he was bumping into everything and he knew he was more drunk than before, then their bedroom door opened very quietly and Colli could feel someone lift Emma out of the bed and take her out closing the door very slowly.

It seemed like several hours passed Colli slept off and on trying to imagine why Emma had been taken, then the door opened once more, and Emma climbed into bed, she was crying softly and she snuggled up to Colli very closely and cried.

The next morning they all came out of the bedroom, James yawned as if he was very tired and Sydney scratched his head, Emma was very quiet and nervous.

What is the matter Baby. Her mother asked, but Emma kept quiet and did not speak, they ate a measly breakfast of toast and a bit of jam left over from last week.

How is your back mother. Sydney asked.

It's fine Sydney just fine, okay children off to school. They had no packed lunch like the other kids and had to starve all day but got used to it. It was Collies last year at school and if fate had plans for him he would end up down the mine like the entire town’s men folk working for the Falkirk family.

But Colli had other ideas he was a bright kid and was a quick learner math’s and English were his specialty and hope it would get him somewhere far away from the stench of this town and away from his father.

He hoped above all he could somehow take his mother and brothers and sister away from their tyrant of a father and live a normal life, but a turn of events would make things happen in a way he would have never imagined.

It happened one night not long after the beating of his mother and the strange way Emma kept being taken out of their room, the father came home drunk as usual, he had eaten his dinner, which was not very often as it usually decorated the walls, but then mother came rushing into the kitchen. You evil bastard, how could you your own daughter and she is only five.

Then she started to beat him about the head, but having a head like he didn't have much effect, We all sat there in amazement at her onslaught; he pushed the table over once more and removed his belt.

Well, what else do you want me to do, I have needs like any man and you your an old bag no one would want you. Then he started to beat her once more, but this time would be his last, Colli could not stand it any longer the smaller children cowering in the corner and Emma is screaming, so he picked up the bread knife that lay on the table and with all his strength thrust it into his father’s back, his father screamed and tried to wrench the knife out of his back, but could not reach it, he turned round and saw Colli stood their frightened and knew it was him who had stuck the knife into him. He staggered forward to try and get him and stumbled and fell on top of Colli then died. Colli could not get out of the way fast enough and his father’s limp body fell on top of him and pinned him to the floor,

The mother and the other kids tried to lift him off they could hear Colli gasping for breath and was trapped by no fewer than 18 stone of muscle.

They eventually rolled him away and Colli sighed with relief and was very glad to be free, he stood up and looked down at his father lay there with the bread knife sticking out of his back.

What have you done Colli you have killed your father. His mother cried.

I could not stand it any longer what he was doing to this family, he deserved it. Colli answered, still gasping for breath he looked down at the dead form of his father.

It is okay, my son it was not your fault, but what are we going to do, we cannot stay here the police will arrest you and put you in prison, oh what have we done. She came over and hugged Colli who by now had joined the others in crying.

We can leave all of us this town is killing us and we need a new start in life together, let’s leave tonight when it is dark and get the hell away from here. Colli said through his tears.

But how will we live. His mother said,

We have never lived in this hole so anywhere must be better than this, we can manage I can work we will get by. Colli knew he had to get away and take his family with him. They packed a few possessions and when it was quiet and as the town slept, they made their way out of town, walking