‘I know you’re not the biggest fan of landlords but you can’t have wanted her to die for it.’
Fighting the urge to say I think they should all die for it, I instead tell them, ‘Of course not. I’m glad she’s awake. So glad I’m going to read all about it myself.’
A mother left fighting for life after being struck by a hit-and-run driver is out of a coma, her family have revealed.
Paula Homerton, 38, suffered severe head injuries two weeks ago when she was struck by an as yet unidentified black or dark-grey SUV as she made her way home with her three-year-old daughter. Since the incident, she has been in a medically induced coma with her family at her bedside.
Paula, who is a makeup artist and owns a property management company, was rushed to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after she was discovered lying in the middle of the road by a neighbour.
Richard Homerton, Paula’s husband, issued an update on his wife’s condition this morning stating she has woken from the coma and is talking, although how long it will take for her to fully recuperate from her injuries remains unclear. He said: ‘Having survived this horrendous accident, we are now beginning the very long journey of Paula’s recovery, which we have been warned will take months or even years. She is incredibly confused about the circumstances that led to her being injured. We hope her memory of the events recovers soon.’
The collision happened on Clydebrae Drive in Bothwell at between 12:45 pm and 1:50 pm on 11 October. It is unclear why Mrs Homerton was in the road when she was struck. She suffered a critical brain injury and multiple breaks to the left side of her pelvis and injuries to her legs.
Police are appealing for witnesses, CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage that may help the investigation. Detective Steven Miller, the officer in charge of the case, said: ‘To leave the scene of any collision is a serious matter, and we’re keen to trace the vehicle to assist our enquiries and speak to any witnesses to this collision. The injuries Mrs Homerton received will have a huge impact on her life and the life of her family for years to come. This is not a crime that can go unpunished and we are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry, which we are sure will result in finding the culprit. We advise that if you were the driver of the vehicle it would be in your best interests to approach the police now rather than waiting for us to find you.’
To me, that entire article sounds like they know nothing. They’ll have asked for all that footage as part of their inquiries before, and none of it can have led to here or they’d have already taken me away.
Just then, Brian’s wife, Leanne, storms in wearing a spandex gym outfit that shows off her impeccable physique. Both me and Gavin watch her walk past us and look at her arse unashamedly. Opening the door to Brian’s office, she yells, ‘What were you doing on the second of October when you weren’t here or at the house?’
‘Well, hello to you, too, darling. How the bloody hell am I supposed to remember that off the top of my head?’
He gets up, shuts the door for privacy, muffling their conversation, which is a shame as I would like to hear what else is said. Not only because other people’s arguments are interesting but because it’ll let me know if the scheduling I do for Brian and the assorted hints I’m leaving for Leanne are working.
‘Time for that walk?’
Gavin takes my hand and leads me away; no need to be discreet when Brian’s got other, more pressing problems.
We walk in the direction of the park. It starts to spit so we dip into the graveyard of the Old Parish Church, not wanting to be too far away from the office should the weather really turn. The headstones are so old most of them no longer bear the name of who is buried there. The ones that are legible say great things like: ‘Here lie David Smith, his wife and family’, ‘The grave of Mark Aitchison and his wife’, ‘Harry McDonald and his wife lie here’. The wives’ first names are not worth mentioning; nameless women who once married a man is all they are then, now and forever.
The rain doesn’t come to anything; the sun cracks through the clouds. Gavin takes a seat on a bench near the back stairs to the church where a dozen wreaths of plastic poppies sit solemnly.
‘I’ll help you,’ they say. Given all the things I’ve been thinking about and needing assistance with this morning, what in particular Gavin is referring to is not immediately clear to me.
‘With what?’
‘Getting the documents and information you need. It’ll be easier with two of us doing it, and it’s not like Brian actually cares so long as we don’t cost him any money, which this won’t, will it?’
‘I don’t see how it can.’ I’ll be honest, I’ve never considered Brian in any of this.
‘One thing. If I help you then I get to come to the meeting with you.’
And I agree, because I don’t think I really have a choice.
34
It was the visit to the cemetery that solved it in the end. Harry McDonald and his wife, specifically. On the walk back, from deep in my subconscious came to me the fact that Henrys can be Harrys, too – because, somehow, Harry is a nickname of Henry. And while it is strange to shift to using a different version of your name later in life, that is what Harry Hamilton did. Around seven years ago he wound up his company and took the fortune he’d made buying and letting property to start a cat and dog rescue as Harry Hamilton.
His episode ofFixer Upperswas years and years ago, but he is not that old of a man, in his mid-fifties, and the pictures from the rescue centre’s website show he’s still hot. Where the real Ewan McGregor has had access to the best skincare, stylists and dentists Hollywood has to offer, Harry has had to make do with whatever the Central Belt has knocking about. His hair is sparser, in a deep V at the front; his forehead is deeply wrinkled and his teeth could do with a bleach. Still, very handsome. I would.
Since I located him, Harry is all I have thought about. With Paula awake and talking I’ve got to accept I will likely be caught soon. At some point her memory will return, and a small detail like the PPS-branded air freshener hanging from the car’s rearview mirror or a bit of the numberplate will come to her and that’s all it’ll take for me to be tracked down. Harry may be my final opportunity to carry out real justice, and this time it will involve no accidental death but an intentional one. At every turn when I’ve planned the equivalent of a slap on the wrist for landlords, the universe has upped the sentence to death. This is the way it has to be. If my flat were infested with rats, I wouldn’t accept them being told off, I’d want them annihilated.
It’s been very handy that Gavin’s helped me collate all the information for Nicol because otherwise nothing would have been sorted. My working days have not been used for espionage but finding evidence for and against Harry being put to death. Yes, on his episode he took the greedy route and his company continued to buy and lease out properties for years afterwards. Currently, though, he is not actively profiteering from the housing crisis. Plus, he seems to have always done things to a high quality.
On theFixer Uppers Go Under the HammerReddit forum, someone asked the question:
Big fan of the show and wondered if anyone had ever lived in a property that had been on it? The renovations usually don’t look the best and I’m wondering if everything was alright there and if the landlords were decent (or not!)
Only twenty-odd people responded to it and astoundingly two of them had rented from Harry.
