Family Resemblance

'You did it didn't you? Look I understand, you had no money, a child to feed, so you went into the shop and…' The door opened, and PC Green stepped into the room.

'Sorry to interrupt, but someone's here to see you. She says it's important.'

He sighed and looked at the man opposite him. He leant forward and spoke into the tape recorder, 'Interview suspended at 17:33.' He pressed the stop button and followed Beth out of the room.

'Did she say who she was?' He asked the pretty rookie cop.

'She wouldn't say.' As they walked into the waiting room, he knew instantly who it was. There she was, a young woman of about 18. He'd recognise her any where, with her dark brown hair and the young child sat on her lap.

'Meg?' he asked gently. The girl turned to look at him. A huge bruise clearly visible across the left side of her face. She looked agitated, but relieved to see him.

'I told you, I prefer Hunter.' She said trying to force a smile.

'Course. Why you take his name when he was a rat bag I don't know.' He sighed.

'I wouldn't know, cos you scared him.' She snapped.

'Well it was for your own good, but you didn't come to see me about him did you.' She shook her head, burying her head into the child's hair.

'Hello, Summer. Got a hug for your Uncle Callum?' he picked up his young niece, her mother reluctant to let go of her. 'Hey, it's ok.' Callum stroked his sister's arm. 'Shall we go somewhere private and you can tell me how you got that bruise on your face.' Megan, just looked up at her older brother, with a sorrowful expression on her face, and nodded. She followed her brother along a corridor towards an interview room. On the way he passed Beth.

'Beth, can you look after Summer, here.' He asked handing the child over to Beth.

'No problem.' She was just happy she could be of some assistance to her handsome Sergeant. Megan started to protest.

'I'll look after her for you, Miss…' Beth started.

'Hunter-Stone. The name's Megan Hunter-Stone.' Beth looked from Callum to Megan and suddenly saw the family resemblance.

'She's my sister.' Then they carried on down towards the interview room.

Callum opened the door, and she walked inside, looking completely lost. He followed her inside and sat down on the desk, which a few minutes before he had been questioning a suspect. Here he was, about to question his own flesh and blood.

'So who was it?' He asked, getting straight to the point.

'Who do you think?' she tried to avoid his gaze.

'Johnny.' He sighed. He knew exactly what Johnny was like, and always wondered what his sister ever saw in him. Megan, nodded slowly.

'I've left him.' She sobbed. 'He thought I was cheating on him, so he gave me this.' She pointed to the bruise on her face.

'The same reason he gave you that one on your stomach that type, and the broken ribs at Christmas, and that broken nose and..'

'Cal, I know and don't preach OK!! It's all lies. I love him, you know that. The trouble he caused between me and you, I wouldn't have gone through all that if I didn't love him.' Meg, or Hunter as she preferred argued.

'I know all that, but what's different this time? You'll only go back to him, like always.' Callum was sceptical about what his sister had to say.

'No. I caught him taking drugs, so I was planning to leave. Then he caught me and implied that I was playing away. He hit me, I tried to get away, but he threatened to have Summer put into care. I said I'd stay, but then he went and got some coke, and started taking it there and then, in front of Summer. That's when I knew, I had to leave. I couldn't bring my daughter up with him around.' She sighed, running her finger through her hair, revealing scars along the right side of her face. Callum, knew this was from the time Johnny had slashed her with a knife when she had tried to leave him, and he had to take her to A&E. He was used to seeing domestics, but when it involved his only family, it wasn't that easy to cope with.

All his life, he had tried to protect her, but had failed. At 16 she got pregnant, at 17 she'd met Johnny left home for a life of beatings. He failed her. He even scared away that man. The one who would have wrecked her life. He had been his friend, but he'd sacrificed all that for her.

'So why are you here? If it's for good this time.'

'I want him put away. For anything, the abuse, the drugs anything. I just need him out of my life and Summer's. I got rid of Mark- and he was her Dad, I can get rid of this one.' Callum couldn't help but admire his sister's new found confidence. There was something in her eyes he had never seen before. She was determined this time to make a life for herself and her daughter.

'I'll see what I can do. Where are you gonna stay for the time being? What about money? You ain't got a job'.

'Thanks, but I'm staying at a mates for a bit and I'll cope. You've done enough for me. He watched as she walked off to collect her daughter. He had a feeling, it wouldn't be the last he had seen of his sister for a while.