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.I saw her using one for the mince pie at Christmas. Kael pulled Angel into his arms and hugged him tight. Yes, she always usedfrozen because she was so busy when I was a kid. He held his boy at arm s length. Angel, are you scared of me? Wide-eyed, the boy looked up at him. Sometimes. I don t mean to be scary. I know, Daddy.It s okay.Don t worry about it. I don t want you to be scared of me.I love you.You mean everything to me.When I first took you home, I wanted you to be scared of me because I thought it wasthe only way to make you obey me, and you were in danger.But I don t want you to bescared of me now. It must be hard for you, Daddy.You were on your own for so long, and now youhave me in your life all the time.I know you feel responsible for me.You used to getreally upset when I left things lying around or made a mess or made too much noise,but I don t do really annoying shit anymore, do I? Having to climb over a toilet wall to rescue you from being raped was fairly annoying. No, of course not, sweetheart. With an apologetic look on his lovely face, Angel said, It s not like I m even a realgrown-up yet.I still have to go to school.I don t earn any money.I must cost you afortune.I know my school is really expensive.And what about Cambridge? I bet yougot a scholarship, didn t you? Yes, I did. Fyn Alexander | Sins of the Father 169 That s because you re a genius.I ll never get a scholarship.It s going to be soexpensive. Don t worry.I can afford it. Sometimes you must feel like you adopted a kid instead of getting a boyfriend. No, of course I don t. At times that was exactly how he felt. Mum thinks I mtoo hard on you.Do you think I am? I always wanted a strict daddy.You re my master.I want you to be in charge.Iwant you to make me the best boy I can be.But you could let up a little sometimes, Angel said. You re already the best boy in the world. Sharon entered the kitchen smiling, though her eyes were rimmed with red andher face looked strained.She d been crying. Something smells good. She lookedthrough the glass door of the oven. I love quiche.How did you know, Angel? Smiling as he hugged her, Angel said, It was a guess. Watching them, Kael wondered if he would ever be as good as they were oreven if he wanted to be. Fyn Alexander | Sins of the Father 170Chapter TwelveArkadiy Romodanovsky.Kael typed the name into Google and hit Enter.He had waited until Angel left forcollege, not wanting the boy looking over his shoulder and questioning him, as he oftendid when Kael used the computer.What are you doing, Daddy? Why do you want to knowthat? Who is that in the picture? His boy was infinitely interested in everything he did.Sometimes he wondered if he would ever get used to living with Angel, though hecould not imagine ever again living without him.An involuntary smile crossed his faceas he remembered Angel kissing him good-bye at the lift that morning. Don t forget, Daddy, Italian week means Italian food.I m going to cook he d pausedfor effect cannelloni! Every week Kael made Angel speak another language for a couple of hours in theevenings to reinforce what he was teaching him.French one week, Italian the next,German the next, and then Russian.He had kept it at four, deciding it was enough.Asthe lift doors closed, Angel had given him an exaggerated wink with his mouth wideopen before wiggling his hips and saying, Italian food and Latin loooove. Nobody made him smile like Angel.Nobody had made him smile at all beforeAngel.Wikipedia was the first hit.The entry was short but typical.Arkadiy AlexsandrViktor Romodanovsky, Russian minister of justice.Born April 20, 1948, in Switzerland.Wife Maria, five sons.After that came a list of his career accomplishments.There wasno picture.Going back to the original search, Kael clicked on another couple of links butfound very little of interest.Romodanovsky had grown up rich and privileged in Fyn Alexander | Sins of the Father 171Switzerland, had a degree in law, had had a career in diplomacy, and was now inpolitics.He lived full-time in Moscow and owned a large dacha on the Moskva River inthe countryside outside the city.Rising, Kael began to pace.Between Shawn and this man, he was confused andangry.He wanted to kill them both and for largely the same reason: for putting theirfilthy hands on people who did not want it.But what had Conran said to him in thegarden at Dorneywood? You raped me. It was true; he had.Was it possible he wasRomodanovsky s biological son? Even Angel said he looked like the man.His mummust know who his father was.With his mobile, he dialed her number.For safety reasons, he never programmednumbers into the throwaway mobiles he bought.With his excellent memory, he didn tneed to. Hello? Mum, it s me. Hello, son.How are you? The tiredness in her voice tore at his heart.Hecouldn t do it so fast on the heels of Shawn.He could not ask her to go back to thatplace that had made her sob for hours when he was twelve years old. I m okay.I was wondering about you.Has Shawn phoned you? A long sigh followed his question. Yes, he phoned.I told him he was a pedo, andI hung up on him. What could he do to ease her pain and appease some of his own guilt? As soon asI get a chance, we ll go away for a week, the three of us.Would you like that, Mum?What about Angel s half term? That would be nice, luv.Anyway I d better go.I m due at the flower shop in halfan hour. Have a good day, and don t think about Shawn. Fyn Alexander | Sins of the Father 172 That s a tall order. She gave a little laugh
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