Chapter 3: This is what my Mummy does for a Living
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Of course the world was still there and wasn’t going to end immediately. Josh resignedly thought to himself that he even still had to go to school,
The solar flare had been one of the worst in history but it had only clipped the edge of the Earth rather than hitting full on. This had taken out a local substation here and there but mainly everything remained intact and as it was. It had seemed for just a moment that the end of the world had arrived, but this might have been just the wishful thinking of young people wanting to change the world. There was one bad thing happening though and that was that trouble was coming down around Josh’s ears. The school IT department had discovered the breach in security and identified Josh as the perpetrator. However they had no evidence of what he’d been doing or how he had done it. The violation of the schools computer system meant that he had earned a three day suspension and with it a thousand word assignment to be written on what his parent did for a living. He thought this was a strange and unusual punishment but it had been pre-arranged with his mother who was now taking him to work with her for the next three days. He didn't particularly know what his mother did for a living. He knew it was something to do the coroner’s office or the court but he wasn't quite sure what it was. Miriam had arranged with her boss, Judge Bhatia that he could observe the workings of the coroner’s office for the next three days and make the tea. The thought of having to work with dead people didn't fill him with joy at all but his mother reassured him that he wouldn't even see a body and that her job was mainly investigative report writing. The coroner's office would send out Miriam to interview relatives and friends and associates of the deceased if there was an inquest or unexpected death. This ensured that the coroner knew if people were murdered or had committed suicide. His mum was buzzing round Josh, preparing him for work. She had made him put on his best suit and ensured he had a hanky, a notepad and several pens. She was tentatively touching his hair, making sure he was presentable.
"No, now, enough," Josh complained.
"Hold still, I've done. I want to see the programme you're uploading to the Internet from school," Miriam ordered.
"Mum, it was one of fathers, I’ll show you later," Josh said attempting to avoid her looking at the computer.
"No, we will do it now, before work," Miriam spoke firmly.
As Josh reluctantly turned on his PC, his mother standing grimly beside him, he saw a file he hadn't noticed before, an audio visual file. Puzzled he clicked on it.
The Windows media player opened up and displayed his father's familiar face and figure sat in a chair with the laptop in front of him.
"Hello Josh, I figured you’d get my laptop if I died and would now be exploring what your father did for a living,” his fathers image explained to him, “On this laptop you will find my last work and, if it works, you may see a part of me again. Love you all loads, please don't be sad and live your life."
Josh and Miriam were both holding back tears until Miriam couldn't contain her grief any longer at the sight of her late husband’s message. She ran to the bathroom quickly to compose herself for work.
"Josh, turn the laptop off and we’ll get going," Miriam called Josh from the hallway.
"Okay Mum," Josh replied.
Neither of them spoke as they walked to the car and Miriam drove to her workplace. The building where she worked was not at all as he had imagined. It was just an ordinary set of Council looking buildings on the outskirts of the city centre. She escorted him in and gave him the visitors pass she had already obtained for him. The doors were all swipe card secured. It was impossible to get in or out of the building without a card to open the door. Nearly every door internal door needed a swipe card and the workers inside were all walking round like puppies with little dog tags around their necks. Josh thought school was bad enough but here they could monitor where you were and where you had been. What a sad world where you needed a swipe card to get in and out of where you work, he thought to himself. After all, he pursued the thought, work is like a bribe. They give you money to do something and then don't trust you. His mum showed him to an open plan office containing about seven or eight desks. People were working at them, heads down and obviously intensely focused on their tasks. A coffee machine steamed away in the corner next to a kettle sat on a small fridge beneath a watercolour. Each desk held a computer and a printer whirred away in the centre of the room. There were windows but nothing to see out of them, just dreary concrete buildings. He was startled out of his appraisal by a woman striding towards them. Miriam deferentially introduced him to Judge Bhatia.
"I would like to see both in my office please," Judge Bhatia spoke firmly.
"Yes of course," Miriam quickly replied.
She led Josh into a pleasant room with a large desk with two chairs in front and a single chair behind it. Law degree certificates and bar examination qualifications were framed and displayed for all to see when entering the room and opposite the desk a row of paper trays were piled high with bulging manila folders. The judge entered the room immediately behind Josh and Miriam who stopped Josh sitting until the judge had taken her seat by discreetly grabbing his sleeve.
"Now then young man, your mother has appraised me of your wrong doings at school. There will be none of that here, do you understand?" asked Judge Bhatia.
"Yes," replied Josh quickly.
"The only reason you're here is because your mother is too valuable to have at home and I think a day or two here will give you some perspective on life," explained the judge.
She had a way of making him feel guilty down to the bottom of his belly and seemed to be all powerful, even in the way she sat in the chair and held herself.
"I'll be good," promised Josh.
"Now you are to go out on assignment with your mother. You are to be as any employee here is: respectful, polite and in your case clearly quiet until spoken to," explained the judge.
"I understand," said Josh honestly.
The judge looked at Miriam and signaled her to lead Josh away. Back in the open plan office he felt relieved to be away from the strong and powerful woman who seemed to see through him as if he were a pane of crystal clear glass. His mum led him to her desk and told him to get a coffee while she spoke to the judge and got their workload for the day. Josh looked around and saw the office was filled was mainly women with just two blokes. He looked around, trying to work out what they were doing while he drank his coffee. He was on the receiving end of a few nice smiles and saw that they were just as interested in watching him. He thought they seemed quite sprightly and happy for people who worked with dead people all the while. He never really thought about how his mother was: she always seemed to be happy. He would be happy if he didn't have to work with dead people all day he thought. He was the youngest person there which he had expected but he had thought there might have been someone close to his age. His mum soon returned with two folders in her hands.
"Right, this is what I do for a living. Having been given two people's details, I’ll interview their relatives and friends," his mum explained.
"So, do you know how these people died?" asked Josh.
"Well, I know nothing except they passed on unexpectedly. My job is not to judge, it is to find information," Miriam explained.
"I thought you investigated deaths," said Josh, puzzled.
"The coroner decides on a verdict of death and if it needs to be investigated and the verdict comes through in a court at the end," explained Miriam.
"So who we are who we interviewing?" asked Josh who felt rather sick and thought his mum must be torturing him. It was a bit grim dealing with dead people.
"I will be interviewing the parents of a young girl, only fifteen years old, who died two days ago," explained Miriam emphasizing the ‘I’ as she spoke.
His mum collated papers into a prim leather wallet he had never seen before driving across the city to an area he
had never been to before.
"Where are we?" asked Josh.
"This is Wollaton," explained Miriam.
The area was nice, posh even. The streets were clean and were lined with big houses, all detached and all with prim and proper well cared for gardens. Eventually they turned down a side street and saw what appeared to be a row of council houses. They were the nicest council houses he had ever seen and he wondered why they were there. His mum pulled up and parked her car. She quickly checked her appearance in the rear view mirror before running a critical eye over Josh and brushing what appeared to be fluff from his shoulder.
"Now remember, only speak if you're spoken to and only I ask the questions," Miriam spoke seriously.
Miriam knocked on the door of the first house in a row of three.
The man who answered the door was about six foot tall and in his mid-30s. He looked tired and sad like his mum had been a few months before. Josh’s stomach churned remembering how he felt when he lost his father.
"Hello, Mr. Phillips?"
His eyes lit up at his mum knowing his name. The appointments office had rung through for her the day before but he may have forgotten the appointment or his wife may have made it.
"Yes, but this isn't a good time you know," Mr. Phillips replied.
"I'm Miriam Robinson from the coroner's office. We have an appointment," Miriam explained showing her identification to the sad looking man.
"Oh, sorry I forgot, excuse me, come in," he looked embarrassed to have forgotten.
He politely seated them in the lounge before fetching his wife in from the garden. He led her through the double French doors into the lounge holding her up tightly. She looked pale and drawn and her eyes were red as if she had been crying for days.
"Hello Mrs. Phillips, I am Miriam Robinson from the coroner's office. May I say I am sorry for your loss," Miriam slowly and softly spoke in a way and manner Josh had never seen from her before. He was quite shocked and realised why his mum never watched soaps. Whilst this epiphany was occurring his mother had slowly started interviewing the couple.
"You said your daughter was ill and undergoing treatment," Miriam prompted the couple.
"Yes she had a brain tumor which had been treated once with chemo therapy," explained Mr. Phillips.
"She wasn't supposed to die,” sobbed Mrs. Phillips.
"She had had an MRI at that hospital just outside Nottingham," Mr. Phillips said.
“It was only last week that they said it had got better," interrupted his wife.
"Hastings," blurted Josh, accidently speaking his thoughts out loud.
"Yes that was it," Mr. Phillips nodded.
Miriam eyes were throwing daggers at Josh and he responded by adjusting his posture and covering his mouth. Mrs. Phillips had started to sob heavily and Mr. Phillips asked for a moment for composure. Miriam led Josh into the garden where evidence of the dead child’s existence was all around them. There were swings and old garden toys placed next to a treehouse which had little notches carved into its trunk to mark the height of a child each birthday. The marks stopped at fifteen Josh couldn’t help but notice and the last notch was quite newly carved.
"I'm sorry mum, how do you do this?" asked Josh.
"Be quiet, you don't know who's listening," his mum shushed him frantically.
She watched him pace around the garden, slightly stressed at the whole death thing.
"Breathe, slow down and take it slowly real calm," His mum prompted him. It worked of course. He started to calm because he knew he had to go back in the house and, soon enough, Mr. Phillips came out and ushered them back inside. Miriam continued the interview, going through the basic mundane stuff such as Friends, School and how his daughter was generally. Miriam thanked the bereaved parents for their time and patience and led Josh to the car.
"I'd no idea mum," explained Josh.
"I know, next time you pull a prank, think about consequences," she said, heading the little car away from Nottingham towards Southwell.
"So where are we going next?" Josh asked anxiously. He didn’t know if he could cope with more interviews yet.
"The trucker’s cafe," Miriam explained.
Josh hadn't noticed the time fly by and it was well into dinnertime. They had another appointment at two o'clock in Southwell his mother explained. He hadn't been to this cafe before and he enjoyed the new experience. It was proper greasy spoon but he found himself unable to finish his meal. The impact of working with death wasn't good for the palate. The second home they attended was somewhat more impressive. Southwell was a rural village and had that nice English village look associated with the South of England. The house looked like a Georgian property and they were there to interview the uncle of the deceased, a girl aged sixteen.
Josh dreaded this next interview but determined not to let his mum down. As they parked on the drive a man in his late forties opened the large wooden door and looked enquiringly at them.
"Mr. Peter Raines?" asked Miriam.
"Yes. Miriam Robinson?" Mr. Raines replied.
Miriam showed her badge and Mr. Raines led them through to his drawing-room. The house was amazing. Josh thought it had a slightly mediaeval feel: there was wood paneling everywhere and the furniture must have been antique. They were offered drinks ushered to a leather sofa in front of a real fire. There must have been hundreds of books in the room and the walls were practically lined with paintings. Miriam started off the interview with usual pleasantries. Mr. Raines seemed somewhat more composed than the previous couple. He wasn't the father of the deceased. His sister had moved to Australia less than twelve months ago and Rebecca, the deceased, had stayed in England with her uncle as she he didn't get on with her mother's new partner. Rebecca had died unexpectedly therefore the coroner's office had been investigating.
"Mr. Raines, what can you tell me about Rebecca’s last few days?" asked Miriam.
"Well, her health seemed fine although she had epilepsy. She was receiving treatment at Hastings Hospital," explained Mr. Raines.
"Yes, tell me about her epilepsy?" Miriam encouraged him gently to continue.
"Well, Rebecca had been part of a research project in Cambridge so she had been having regular MRI scans the past five years," he explained as he stood to search through his desk. He passed Miriam details of his nieces’ doctor and her treatment.
"That's very efficient of you," Miriam commented. Josh noticed how different his mother's technique was in dealing with Mr. Raines. He didn't seem to mind the formality of dealing with the coroners questions in his home.
"Rebecca, she still had fits from time to time and I always kept it handy for paramedics,” explained Mr. Raines.
"Did Rebecca always need ambulances when fitting?" asked Miriam.
"No, it had been three years since the last one. She was looking forward to getting a driving license," he told them, sadness clear in his voice.
The interview was concluded rapidly and they soon found themselves back at the coroner's office.
"Mum, how do you know who you need to interview?" asked Josh.
"Well, sometimes the autopsy may have shown something or it could be the death was sudden and unexpected," Miriam explained.
"So how do we find out what happened?" asked Josh.
"We don't, we just interview. The coroner decides if further investigation or police involvement is needed," Miriam explained.
"It's just that both of them went to the hospital I did and both had MRI’s."
"Yes and you’re fine” Miriam reassured him quickly, “If there is anything wrong at the hospital we’ll find out. The judge will be sending us there tomorrow no doubt."
Back at the office Josh was given a computer station to start work at. He wasn't impressed that his mother was making him write the assignment. He still had two days of this to go. It was soon home time but he managed five hundred words before he set off.
Back home Josh couldn't wait to get out of his suit. He felt trapp
ed in it so was soon happily peeling it off and dressing in jeans and T-shirt. He decided to stay in his room and finish his thousand word essay as quickly as possible. He wasn't allowed out until it was finished and his suspension was ended. This meant he would miss his usual meet ups with Kate and Callum whom strangely had both sent him texts him to say they had picked up dates for the prom. Where on earth they found dates he did not know as they didn't tend to go out without each other. Report writing didn't go well. Despite his good intentions he found himself surfing the net to hit those cerebral highs from finding new things to be interested in. his father’s message had been on his mind all day and Josh decided to look at it again. He flicked through the directories to the audio and visual file he had found earlier that day.
"Hello Josh, I see you got the file working then," said his father.
He had been spammed by his father on the screen who had opened windows media player and was initiating conversation with Josh.
"Dad," Josh gasped.
He had no idea what to say. He wasn't expecting anything, especially his father, to come out of computer.
"Josh, well done son, I'm pleased to see you again," said his father.
"But how, you’re dead," stammered Josh.
"It's complicated, but the programme brought me back," replied his father.
"What do I tell mum?" Josh thought he might be dreaming and gave his own arm a swift pinch. It hurt but he was still looking at his father. .
"Nothing, do not tell your mother anything. Look, I’ve have got to go, not the only one here," his father looked back over his shoulder and the screen flickered.
"What do you mean?" Josh touched the screen as his father's image resolution disappeared and the media player became blank. He searched desperately looking for the file or files that had made his father able to appear and interact with him on screen. Nothing. Josh rubbed his eyes and wondered if the stress of the day’s events had played tricks on his mind and made him hallucinate. He missed his father.
The next morning he woke bright and early ready for the next round of his punishment. He was rather hoping his mother would go to hospital and interview the staff there. It was quite a coincidence that both of the deceased had been receiving treatment there but, again, what did he know? He supposed people dying after going to hospital must happen quite a lot. He ate breakfast after showering and heard his mother on her phone as he was finishing the last mouthfuls.
"Well we don’t have go to the office today. We have to go straight to the hospital and get a list of the people treated there using the MRI scanner," his mother explained.
"So there is a link?" asked Josh.
"No, probably not, but as usual we check out every lead until we have all the facts," she replied.
This was going to be a bit more exciting. We would talk to somebody who hadn’t just experienced a loss and could give us information. After all, Josh thought, this hospital could be responsible for several deaths and, of course, possible brain damage to him causing hallucinations and anxiety. The semi-familiar drive didn’t take long and the interview was not half as exciting as he thought it would be. He should have known that just writing down a list of doctors and nurses and then patient’s names was going to be boring. He wasn't even on the list. The first patient on the list had only been seen a few days ago and he had scanned a week before. He had sneaked a look at the list of people who had been scanned when his mum had filled up with petrol. Josh learnt that little Chloe Williams had also been scanned. At least the rumours about her dying weren't true. Maybe if the MRI scanner didn’t kill her Josh would finally get a date with her. He had always wanted to ask her out and had liked her for several years. She was popular, well known and far too pretty for him so he had never asked her but he was allowed to dream. He had just quickly slipped the list back into his mum folder as she left the garage when her phone started ringing. She pulled over and got out of the car to take the call. Josh heard the judge’s voice over the handset and saw his mum's face became more serious and work like.
"Good news: you don't have to finish the assignment, bad news: you’re home alone for duration of your suspension," she said as she climbed back in the car.
"Why what's up?" asked Josh.
"Sometimes, we have very sensitive cases and have to maintain strict confidentiality until we know causes of death. This is one of those times, sorry," Miriam said.
This is good news and good news again, Josh thought to himself, but he would have to suffer daytime TV or play to much Xbox. His mother monitored everything so he would have to have some more Internet time or it would be locked. Josh set about negotiating successfully with his mother easily relenting after explaining she needed to work late. She had phoned school and arranged changes to the essay which he was to write. He could no longer use the experiences of the last two days and must now write instead about the career he most wished to follow. She wanted something constructive for him to do whilst she was working but she felt guilty about not being there. She didn't tell him what was happening to keep her at work but could tell there were more deaths related to Hastings Hospital.
Josh turned his Xbox on and put his Advanced Warfare disc in. he had permission for an unheard of four hours play and ten pounds for pizza. He messaged Callum online as soon as he signed in. He didn't like Advanced Warfare as much as modern warfare three because the servers were really poor but he loved the Diamond Camo for the guns. He went into a match of kill confirmed and needed one more headshot to complete the challenges for the pistol he was using. His avatar was waiting for a passerby to shoot in the head. A khaki clad image appeared and Josh prepared to fire when he experienced a jolt of shock. The face of the soldier was heart wrenchingly familiar. It was his father and he was speaking to him.
"Hi son, are you going to shoot or what?"
A ting made Josh realise his avatar been shot in the head and that the soldier with his father face had disappeared from the screen. In its place was an invitation to join Callum and he accepted it straight away. Josh was starting to get concerned about seeing his father popping up. He knew people who said they had seen ghosts but he had never believed that they existed.