When Sorry Is Not Enough by Millie Gray Read Free Book Online

backwards down the stairs. Kind of stunned I was, but I remember picking up my kit bag and then going over to the foot of Leith Walk and staggering up it doing a pub crawl ’til nearly at Balfour Street – you know where the Chinese takeaway is.’
    ‘And,’ Luke leaned forward and with hand gestures he tried to egg Irish on.
    ‘Nothing. I thought I ordered fried rice and something else then all went black. I came to in their back shop and they said I’d been out cold for a couple of hours.’
    ‘And?’ Luke repeated, who was now shaking with anticipation.
    ‘Nice folk they are. They let me wash myself down and sponged my suit – I’d been sick you see. Then I went down to the Carriers Pub and I got quietly drunk again. That was,’ Irish was now glaring at Luke, ‘when I met you and you said to give myself up to the two bastards in Leith Police Station.’
    Sally looked hopefully at Luke before asking, ‘Has anything he has said made you feel any different as to whether he is guilty or not?’
    ‘Hmmm,’ Luke began, ‘I’ll think about it. I gave him the wrong advice before so I want to be sure before I raise his hopes. One thing for sure though is that I’m going to immediately try and get him transferred back to Edinburgh’s Saughton Prison.’ He now turned to Irish. ‘Now it is important that you stop causing mayhem because you feel all the world is agin you. Keep your nose clean and we may not get this unsafe verdict overturned but we can get life made a lot easier for you. And remember I only have four months so the change in you starts this very minute.’
    ‘And why should I listen to you? Listening to you got me in here.’
    Luke shook his head. ‘I know that. But I believed then it was the right thing to do. I didn’t know that there was a lot of corroborating evidence against you.’
    ‘What evidence? Surely you’re not suggesting Stan Roper’s mouthpiece Jessie Scott should have been believed?’
    ‘No she shouldn’t. And I know, and the whole of the seedy vice side of Leith knew, she was furious that Stan had taken Marie into his stable of whores on better terms than he was giving her.’
    Irish rose and it looked as if he was going to punch Luke when Nancy hissed, ‘Sit down, Irish. Your temper gets out of hand when someone says anything … well you know … not complimentary about Marie.’
    Luke held out his hand to Irish. ‘Look, son,’ he said, ‘I’m truly sorry about what happened to you. Believe me I am.’
    Ignoring the hand of friendship offered to him Irish hunched his shoulders before spitting, ‘So you think saying sorry should be enough for me?’
    Shaking his head Luke answered with a quiver in his voice, ‘You’re bloody right, sorry is not enough. And when it’s not enough you have to try and find another way of squaring things up. Please, Irish, give me the chance to do just that.’ He stopped and inhaled deeply before whispering, ‘Let me try. You see I have to do something to help you or I’ll never be able to live with myself.’
    Sally was choking back her tears. She could see that as Luke had been wrong about her and had been very sorry when it was too late to matter, he was now in the same position with Irish. Irish’s life and that of his mother back in Donegal had been ruined. But could things ever be put right? She knew that Luke desperately wanted to do right by Irish – but were Luke’s endeavours going to be enough? She doubted it and if Luke failed again to get those in authority to listen, Irish’s despondency could end up killing him.
    Nancy, who had sat silently, got up and leaning over towards Irish she whispered, ‘I know you don’t want to trust Luke again. But you know me and I knew Marie so what I am saying is, you have no other choice but to let him try and I will be at his back every inch of the way to make sure he doesn’t waver. So what do you say?’
    ‘I suppose you’re right, but tell me, Nancy, why does a woman go