Contents (71)
- THE
- DAUGHTER
- MICHELLE FRANCES
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
‘I may be fired.’
‘Oh, Tim . . .’
‘Never mind.’
‘I need to go back in . . .’
He looked at her proudly. ‘I’ll be waiting.’
SIXTY-FOUR
‘Hey, Mum, don’t you ever do anything like that again.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t act the innocent. My God, I thought it was bad enough when you were challenging scrotes on the shop floor at B&Q. But then you go and get in a car with that murdering bastard, crash it . . . my God, anything could have happened.’
Becky was sitting on the branch of ‘her’ tree, looking down at Kate. She looks too big for it now, thought Kate: her legs were dangling almost to the next branch down.
‘What else could I have done?’
‘Walk away?’
‘Never,’ said Kate vehemently. ‘I could never do that.’
‘Wanna come up?’ asked Becky, patting the bark next to her.
Kate grinned and climbed the tree, finding it surprisingly easy. In a matter of seconds, she was sitting next to her daughter. The view was astonishing, a green canvas as far as the eye could see. The light had a golden quality to it, and on the horizon, there was a silver-like shimmer that seemed to glow.
‘What?’ she exclaimed. ‘Is that the sea? Since when have you been able to see the sea from Crawley?’
‘It’s different up here,’ said Becky in a faraway voice. ‘Not like Crawley.’
When Kate looked again, she could see. It was different.
‘So, no more crazy stuff? You promise?’
Kate smiled. ‘I think it’s going to be OK now. There’s Jill, she’s going to take this to court. She’s all fired up. She gets scary when she’s like that.’
‘Good. You did it. You’re amazing. An amazing, clever Mum.’ Becky nudged her shoulder and the two of them leaned into each other.
‘I might have to climb higher,’ said Becky, looking up into the canopy.
Kate raised her head. The branches appeared to go on far into the sky, the tree in full leaf, an abundance of optimism and life. She could see glimpses of blue sky, way up above. A sudden panic gripped her.
‘I don’t want you to go.’
Becky smiled. ‘I won’t fall, Mum. Not anymore.’
She lifted herself up and took hold of the tree trunk. Then she started to climb, higher and higher. Kate watched, tears pouring down her face, but she knew it was the way things were. Then Becky looked back down, meeting her gaze. She gave a little wave.
‘I did it for you, you know,’ called Kate.
‘I know,’ said Becky. ‘And I love you for it.’
EPILOGUE
Jill arranged for a class action lawsuit to be served on Foxgold Ltd and Greg Hollander, and a date was set by the court for the following summer. With Kate’s research and Adam’s document, Jill was able to prove a causal link between the actions of herbicide spraying and the claimants’ illnesses.
The trial took two weeks and the judge ruled in favour of the claimants. The defendants were ordered to pay £57 million, divided amongst the families of Ramsbourne. The judge made the exceptional decision to make a provisional award of compensation to the claimants to allow them to reapply to the court should their health deteriorate significantly in the future.