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     “Leave the boy alone, Ash,” his mother walked out of the kitchen. “Where is this hot date then?” his mother asked a little concerned. His mother was old fashioned. Her religious values had been passed down from generations, and were deeply engrained in her. She found it difficult to think of her son being in a relationship with a female, her husband was her one and only sexual partner. He was far more `Westernised`, his Muslim background long forgotten. She knew that he didn’t share all her ideals, especially where their son was concerned. 

     “None of your business, Mum,” Mamood skipped over to his mother and picked her up by the waist. He was tall and gangly like his father had been at that age. He kissed his mum on the cheek and spun her around. She was pretty for her age, and always dressed to impress, sometimes, in modern designer gear, and others in traditional Pakistani silks. “Don`t worry about me, I`ll behave.”

     “It`ll be dark soon, Mamood,” his father said seriously. Ash wanted his son to have as much freedom and fun as he could, as long as he kept safe. He knew the dangers of being that age from firsthand experience. The world was a dangerous place, especially so for the young and vulnerable. Ashwan Pindar dealt with death and danger everyday of his life, but he kept it separated from his family. 

     “Oh, Ash, stop fussing,” his mother laughed. Her teeth were straight and white, and her smile made little creases form around her beautiful brown eyes. Her father`s lifelong friend and business partner introduced her to her husband. The first time she saw him she fell for his dark good looks, and they were married six months later. Ten months after that Mamood was born. She realised over the years that her husband was no angel, but he treated her like a princess and doted on their son, Mamood. He was secretive about his business dealings, but they lived well, and as the years went by, it became less important to her. 

     “See you later, much later if I get lucky,” Mamood joked as he headed through the front door.

     “Like father, like son,” his mother tutted. Lana Pindar was inexperienced sexually when she met her husband, but he overcame her embarrassments and shyness, teaching her and coaxing her. She soon became comfortable, even confident of her prowess in the bedroom, but the thought of her son engaging in sex made the hair on her neck stand on end. It seemed like yesterday she was cradling him in her arms, fixed to her bosom. Now he was a handsome young man, off on a date. “Where have all the years gone?” She shook her head, happy and sad, at the same time. 

     Ash watched through the window as his son walked away. He was a good boy, never involved with gangs at school, unlike Ash. Ash had been involved in gangs all his life in one way or another. A tight knit group of school friends, bonded by their ethnicity, grew up into a powerful crime family. It had been a dangerous but, lucrative career, and not one he wanted his son to emulate. A chill went down his spine and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. He couldn’t explain it but he had strange feeling that something bad was going to happen.

    CHAPTER SIX
    SEFTON PARK/ School Days
     

    When Byron ventured out at night, he stayed on the paths that skirted the perimeter of the park. He walked his dog, Lulu, three times a day, wind or shine, without fail, but he never entered the park after dark. The park was a hive of leisure activity during daylight hours, but at night, it took on a darker persona. Drug dealers, prostitutes and perverts trawled it after sundown. Once, one of the most affluent areas of the city, the suburbs around the park were spiralling into a mire of poverty and deprivation. The dregs of society were attracted into the area when the tall Victorian terraces were bought up by property developers, and turned into bedsits.

     Byron, saddened by the decline, was trapped in his one