[stylist] Trials of an honorary Dragon (was A deafblind girl) new chapter 10.

[helene ryles]

Chapter 10
A serious breach of justice
By Liza Bronze.
24/9/1994 - 2/12/1994

The day that Beria took Nadia to school, had a nightmarish quality to
it.  I recall the time I spent pacing, waiting apprehensively for
Nadia to get back.  My anxiety grew as the clock moved forward.  I was
desperately hoping that for one day at least, Nadia would survive
without a bodyguard. By the time school had ended, and Nadia had
failed to return, I was frantic with concern.
 In the end I went to the school to see what was going on.
"No, sorry, we haven't seen Nadia today," a lady in a tweed suit announced.
"But she came with Beria earlier." I faltered.
"No she did not," the woman briskly snapped, "She never came at the
start of the school term, and now she's missed almost a month of
schooling.  This simply isn't good enough!"
I was beside myself with apprehension at Nadia's absence.  Where on
earth could my niece have got to?
After arguing for almost an hour, the woman went away to fetch a
supervisor, and several of Nadia's teachers.  None of them had seen
Nadia either.  I just had to accept that Nadia had never got as far as
school.
So I made my way to Druzil railway station, hoping to catch Beria
before she left for work.  Beria had a lot of explaining to do.
As I waited for my train to arrive, I felt inside my pocket for my
rail pass and wallet.  In addition to these items, my hand also felt a
letter.
As my hand touched the letter, I recalled Beria giving it to me, just
before she took Nadia away.

“23/8/1994
Dear Liza,
I’m sorry I’ve had to pull out on you like that, but I can‘t possibly
act as Nadia‘s bodyguard at present, as I‘m urgently needed up north.
I would have sent a replacement but due to unfortunate family problems
there is nobody else available.
I spoke to your aunt Beria who promises to keep an eye on things.
I hope you understand,
All the best from Katrina M. Parvesh.”

I angrily screwed up the letter and stuffed it back in my pocket.
So she said she was sorry to pull out on me, did she!  “Pulling out,”
was putting it mildly. I felt as if she had just yanked the rug right
from under my feet.
Now what was I supposed to do about Nadia's education?  Even supposing
I found her, I still had to find another bodyguard for her.

                          ***   ***  ***

I caught Beria just as she about to leave the station.
"Where's Nadia!" I demanded, grabbing her jacket in frenetic hands.
She pulled my hand away and left me there without a word of explanation.
This was too much for me.  I slumped down on the steps leading to
Stilosarka Police station.
A hand slid round mine.  A voice spoke to me, but I didn't quite catch
what she said.  It was too dark for me to lip-read.
Since I was too chocked up with emotion to speak, I put two fingers
next to my ear, and then moved the two fingers in front of each eye.
This was the sign that indicated that I was deafblind.
"What's the matter?" finger spelt a gentle hand on mine.
"My niece has gone missing.   She's not at school. I don't know where
she is?" I signed.
"Do you think she might have gone to a friend's place? Kids do that
sometimes," the hand suggested.
"No, her friends go to Druzil School for the deaf and the blind, it’s
a residential school.  She's been kidnapped..."
"Well in that case I suggest you come inside and I'll file a report for you..."
"I work here! I'm an assistant dog handler," I signed, cottoning on,
at last to the fact that this police officer didn't know who I was.  I
was so concerned about Nadia’s welfare that I was unable to think
straight right then.
"Do you really? I never knew they had deafblind police officers.  I'm
P.C. Sprout.   I've only just got this job.  I must say, they aren't
very friendly around here are they.   My Supervisor, P.C. Slyrake is
quite impossible to work with."
I let the woman take me back to the police station.  As we entered
into the well lit police station, I could see that she was a pale skin
woman with long ginger hair, and blue eyes.  When I had finished
explaining about my situation she was very quiet.
"Are you sure P.C. Slyrake took Nadia to school, and the teachers
never saw her? What did P.C. Slyrake have to say about that?" she
asked me, over a cup of tea.
"Nothing, she just pushed past me and went off..."
"Really, that just isn't good enough.  I'll get one of the police
dragons, to hunt round for Nadia.  Would you like to stay at my place
tonight?  I think we missed the last train..."
"I hope not, I really want to see if Nadia got back.  Maybe she found
somewhere to hide out for the day?" I said, grasping at straws.
P.C. Sprout guided me to the station, but it was completely dark when
I got of at Druzil.  It's not a very complex route to get to Talmon's
place from Druzil railway station, as it's along a cycle path.
However, in my agitation over Nadia's absence, I had completely
forgotten to bring my long cane with me.
 I tried to get back by feeling along the edge of the path with my
feet but I collided with a late night cyclist and fell into a ditch.

                             ***  ***  ***

I came round to white walls and neon lights.  I could smell
disinfectant that I could recognise from the last time I had been to
this place.
I gave a yowl of anguish and frustration to find myself restricted to
a hospital bed when I should be out and about, trying to find where
Nadia had got to.

                       ***  ****  ****

No sooner had I got my plaster off, and could walk without the use of
crutches, than I went back to work.  After getting back from the
hospital I had to spend over a week at home while my leg mended.  I
had to beg Talmon to carry me down to the gate, since there was no way
I could have abseiled down in the state I was in.  In the end Talmon
flew me all the way to Stilosarka central police station.
As I entered the building I noticed the waiting room was a lot fuller
then usual.  A coarse hand grabbed me as I went passed.
"Excuse me, but I made a complaint about Mrs Murat a few days ago.  I
want to know if anything has been done about it..." demanded a large
woman in a gaudy pink dress. She was very pale, and smelt strongly of
tobacco and cheap perfume.
"Are you referring to a woman called Mrs Murat who has a child called
Nadir? A grey-skinned woman," I asked.  I sense of hope mingled with
alarm filled me then.
"Who else could it be? As I told the other cop, I'm the cleaning lady
at the central elementary school in Stilosarka and I‘m also a
neighbour of Mrs Murat.  She's beating the living day lights out of
the poor little mite," the woman retorted, as if I had said something
really stupid.
"Come with me..." I cried.  I pulled the woman through the corridor to
one of the small interview rooms.   I felt a sense of excitement at
locating Nadia's whereabouts at last.
"My name is P. C. Bronze.   I'm a bit deaf so could you write all the
details down on paper..." I asked.  It would be hard to read this
woman’s lips, since she had a cigarette in her mouth.  She wasn't
supposed to be smoking at the station at all, but I was in too much of
a hurry to hear about Nadia, to tell her to stop.
"Not again, the last Officer told me to write everything down too, but
I want to know what's been done about it all."
"I'm sorry, but I've been away.  So could you please go over the
details for me again"?
"Listen Sunshine, that kiddie is being beaten up regularly and nothing
is being done to stop it. Aren’t you cops supposed to do something
about that sort of thing?"
"Out!” Beria shouted, as she burst through the door.   “I've had
enough of you here.  You come here every single day to make trouble
about Mrs Murat, but I don't believe a word of it.  You're just a
trouble maker, and I'm not going to tolerate your presence at this
police station any more..."
Before I could stop her, Beria grabbed hold of the woman and yanked
her out of the room.  The woman responded by letting out a long stream
of foul racially abusive language.
"Why did you do that for? She had news about Nadia's whereabouts?" I
asked indignantly.
"Didn't you hear her calling us demons," Beria sneered, "hardly a
reliable witness is she?  She even claims that Nadia‘s father is
locked in there too.  That’s simply too far fetched to be true..."
"She shouldn't have used such language, but then again you shouldn't
have thrown her out without even listening to her either.  She had
news about my niece and I want to hear it,” I demanded.
"...Starhorn of NIRC," P.C. Rickshaw said as she walked into the room.
 I'd obviously missed the first part of her sentence.
"Not Starhorn.  She'll never get accepted there," Beria replied.
"What are you talking about?” I asked.
"Oh nothing you need to know about..." P.C Rickshaw told me. P.C.
Rickshaw and I had never got along together despite the fact that we
were the only two deaf police officers in the station. I disliked her
audist views, and envied the fact that she was a junior police officer
whereas I was only an assistant dog handler.
Just then the door burst open.  A large black-skinned police officer
entered the room.
"We've got another complaint.  It's about Madrella again.  She's been
threatening to curse the headmistress this time..." The police officer
informed Beria in an urgent manner.
“Excuse me but you really should knock first in future, and entered in
a more appropriate fashion…” Beria icily instructed.
"What's going on here?" I asked her.
"You mean you don't know!  Surely Beria should have filled you in,
about what’s been happening here.  Madrella Murat has been
transferring Nadia Murat to a new school every few days or so.  This
has been going on for about a fortnight now.  The teachers do not like
it, as they do not usually accept children in the middle of the term
like this, but Mrs Murat has been threatening them, then after all
that, she pulls the child out again the same day.   She'll be running
out of elementary schools before long.  I suggest we bust Mrs Murat
now before we have a riot on our hands..."
"I’m your supervisor, so I give the orders round here.  Nobody is
going to Bust anyone.   Those dreadful people are only prejudiced
against Madrella because she is Nazdonian,” Beria demanded in a
domineering tone of voice.
"Come off it, That Madrella needs sorting out.  The child is covered
in bruises and she's obviously lost weight..."
"They say the child is covered in Bruises.  Where is the evidence?”
"Well the least you could do is check on her.  I don't understand why
you haven't already done so..."
"I must say, I really don’t like your tone.  If you want to keep your job..."
"I don't actually.  I've just decided to leave.  When I got this job..."
"Get out then..." Beria snarled.
The woman pulled off her jacket and flung it in Beria's direction.
After that she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Oh Beria, I know what you told me and everything, but this is the
third police officer to resign over this case.  First P.C. Sprout
went..." P.C. Rickshaw started.
"No, she didn't resign.  I fired her.  As I‘ve told you before, a
witch never interfere in other witch’s business,” Beria insisted.
Just then there was a knock on the door.  A grey-skinned woman
entered.  She had an apologetic but determined air about her.
“P.C Skunki! Why aren’t you wearing your uniform?” Beria demanded.
“Here is my uniform back.   I fear that a serious breach of justice is
taking place here.  If we aren’t going to do anything about Mrs Murat,
I really don’t think I can work here any more,” and with that the
woman turned and left the room.



                     ***   ***  ***

It took a petition and the resignation of several other police
officers, before Beria would do anything at all about the situation.
The last straw came when Mr Murat arrived at the police station and
refused to leave again until we went to fetch Nadia for him.
"Oh for goodness sake, you are a fully grown man, why couldn't you
have brought Nadir with you?" Beria demanded.
Mr Murat mumbled something.  He hunched his shoulders in an utterly
dejected manner.
"I have no sympathy.  You are a more powerful witch then Madrella is,
if only you would use your magic more often…” Beria told him.
“No, I can’t do that.  My magic has caused enough trouble…”  Mr Murat cried.
“That’s only because you aren’t taking any control over it.  Magic
like yours is the most dangerous.  You will end up getting locked up…”
Beria stormed.
“I already was locked up.  My wife refused to let us out of her flat.
She put some kind of charm on the door.” Mr Murat replied.
“Oh poor Mr Murat,” P.C. Rickshaw drawled, “I’m sure you will be
relived to know that my supervisor, P.C. Slyrake has finally decided
to check how Nadia is tomorrow morning.  We are going to talk your
wife into enrolling Nadir at the National implant research centre,
otherwise known as NIRC.   They have a hearing impaired unit there to
train children like your daughter.  She will have a good education and
that should sort out the matter once and for all.  Since it is a
residential school your wife won't see Nadir so much..."
"But he's my son; I want to keep him with me..."
"Well in that case, you will just have to take the matter to court..."
Beria snapped.

Things did settle down after Nadia enrolled at the hearing impaired
unit at NIRC.  I would have liked to visit her there, but
unfortunately it was a very private place, and visitors were actively
discouraged. At least it meant that Madrella would not be seeing her
much either.
As the year drew to a close, P.C. Rickshaw informed me that Madrella
would be allowed to take Nadia home for the new years break, and there
would be nothing I could do about it.  She turned and left after that.
 As usual, P.C. Rickshaw spoke in condescending tones, which really
grated on my nerves.
When I picked up my rucksack, at the end of the day I felt it had
become a lot heavier.  I made my way to Stilosarka railway station,
wondering what was causing the extra weight.
While waiting at the station, I briefly felt inside my bag.  My hand
touched a neatly folded police uniform and some papers that definitely
hadn’t been there before.  After that I had to wait for the train back
to Druzil to arrive.
During the journey home, I took the papers out to find a letter
inviting me to visit Nadia in NIRC with a permit to enter NIRC the
following day.   There was a map, showing me how to get there too.
The jacket had upgraded stripes, and a new police identity card tucked
inside the pocket.   This marked me out as a junior police officer,
when I was actually just worked at the kennels to help train the
police dogs.  I wondered which of my Colleagues had gone to the
trouble to help me rescue Nadia.  They must know Madrella was
mistreating Nadia and wanted to do something, without falling out of
favour with Beria.
I wouldn’t let them down.  I would just have to get up extra early
tomorrow so I could go and rescue Nadia again.