- Home
- Site Index
- About Me
-
My Books
- Book List & Themes
- Strictly for Adults Novels >
-
Tales from Portlaw
>
- No Need to Look for Love
- 'The Love Quartet' >
-
The Priest's Calling Card
>
- Chapter One - The Irish Custom
- Chapter Two - Patrick Duffy's Family Background
- Chapter Three - Patrick Duffy Junior's Vocation to Priesthood
- Chapter Four - The first years of the priesthood
- Chapter Five - Father Patrick Duffy in Seattle
- Chapter Six - Father Patrick Duffy, Portlaw Priest
- Chapter Seven - Patrick Duffy Priest Power
- Chapter Eight - Patrick Duffy Groundless Gossip
- Chapter Nine - Monsignor Duffy of Portlaw
- Chapter Ten - The Portlaw Inheritance of Patrick Duffy
- Bigger and Better >
- The Oldest Woman in the World >
-
Sean and Sarah
>
- Chapter 1 - 'Return of the Prodigal Son'
- Chapter 2 - 'The early years of sweet innocence in Portlaw'
- Chapter 3 - 'The Separation'
- Chapter 4 - 'Separation and Betrayal'
- Chapter 5 - 'Portlaw to Manchester'
- Chapter 6 - 'Salford Choices'
- Chapter 7 - 'Life inside Prison'
- Chapter 8 - 'The Aylesbury Pilgrimage'
- Chapter 9 - Sean's interest in stone masonary'
- Chapter 10 - 'Sean's and Tony's Partnership'
- Chapter 11 - 'Return of the Prodigal Son'
- The Alternative Christmas Party >
-
The Life of Liam Lafferty
>
- Chapter One: ' Liam Lafferty is born'
- Chapter Two : 'The Baptism of Liam Lafferty'
- Chapter Three: 'The early years of Liam Lafferty'
- Chapter Four : Early Manhood
- Chapter Five : Ned's Secret Past
- Chapter Six : Courtship and Marriage
- Chapter Seven : Liam and Trish marry
- Chapter Eight : Farley meets Ned
- Chapter Nine : 'Ned comes clean to Farley'
- Chapter Ten : Tragedy hits the family
- Chapter Eleven : The future is brighter
-
The life and times of Joe Walsh
>
- Chapter One : 'The marriage of Margaret Mawd and Thomas Walsh’
- Chapter Two 'The birth of Joe Walsh'
- Chapter Three 'Marriage breakup and betrayal'
- Chapter Four: ' The Walsh family breakup'
- Chapter Five : ' Liverpool Lodgings'
- Chapter Six: ' Settled times are established and tested'
- Chapter Seven : 'Haworth is heaven is a place on earth'
- Chapter Eight: 'Coming out'
- Chapter Nine: Portlaw revenge
- Chapter Ten: ' The murder trial of Paddy Groggy'
- Chapter Eleven: 'New beginnings'
-
The Woman Who Hated Christmas
>
- Chapter One: 'The Christmas Enigma'
- Chapter Two: ' The Breakup of Beth's Family''
- Chapter Three: From Teenager to Adulthood.'
- Chapter Four: 'The Mills of West Yorkshire.'
- Chapter Five: 'Harrison Garner Showdown.'
- Chapter Six : 'The Christmas Dance'
- Chapter Seven : 'The ballot for Shop Steward.'
- Chapter Eight: ' Leaving the Mill'
- Chapter Ten: ' Beth buries her Ghosts'
- Chapter Eleven: Beth and Dermot start off married life in Galway.
- Chapter Twelve: The Twin Tragedy of Christmas, 1992.'
- Chapter Thirteen: 'The Christmas star returns'
- Chapter Fourteen: ' Beth's future in Portlaw'
-
The Last Dance
>
- Chapter One - ‘Nancy Swales becomes the Widow Swales’
- Chapter Two ‘The secret night life of Widow Swales’
- Chapter Three ‘Meeting Richard again’
- Chapter Four ‘Clancy’s Ballroom: March 1961’
- Chapter Five ‘The All Ireland Dancing Rounds’
- Chapter Six ‘James Mountford’
- Chapter Seven ‘The All Ireland Ballroom Latin American Dance Final.’
- Chapter Eight ‘The Final Arrives’
- Chapter Nine: 'Beth in Manchester.'
- 'Two Sisters' >
- Fourteen Days >
-
‘The Postman Always Knocks Twice’
>
- Author's Foreword
- Contents
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Chapter Twenty-One
- Chapter Twenty-Two
-
Celebrity Contacts
-
Thoughts and Musings
- Bereavement >
- Nature >
-
Bill's Personal Development
>
- What I'd like to be remembered for
- Second Chances
- Roots
- Holidays of Old
- Memorable Moments of Mine
- Cleckheaton Consecration
- Canadian Loves
- Mum's Wisdom
- 'Early life at my Grandparents'
- Family Holidays
- 'Mother /Child Bond'
- Childhood Pain
- The Death of Lady
- 'Soldiering On'
- 'Romantic Holidays'
- 'On the roof'
- Always wear clean shoes
- 'Family Tree'
- The importance of poise
- 'Growing up with grandparents'
- Love & Romance >
- Christian Thoughts, Acts and Words >
- My Wedding
- My Funeral
- Audio Downloads
- My Singing Videos
- Bill's Blog
- Contact Me
Chapter Ten
'The murder trial of Paddy Groggy'

The year that Paddy Groggy spent remanded in custody, provided constant gossip which often took place over the garden walls of the people of Keighley and Denholme area.
It was hard to tell what precisely it was which had shocked the good people more. Had they been shocked by the murder of one teacher by another for no explicable reason or was their greatest shock and gossip reserved for the 'suspect' sexual nature of the Headmaster's daughter who was reportedly down in Bath 'doing it with another woman'.
It was hard to tell what precisely it was which had shocked the good people more. Had they been shocked by the murder of one teacher by another for no explicable reason or was their greatest shock and gossip reserved for the 'suspect' sexual nature of the Headmaster's daughter who was reportedly down in Bath 'doing it with another woman'.

Margaret decided to visit Paddy in Armley Prison again some nine months after her first visit to see him. In order not to be recognised by any other prison visitors who came from the Keighley area, she deliberately dressed down, dyed her hair dark and covered her head with a scarf. Paddy had received no word from his daughter Bridget since her first and only prison visit.
During her visit to Armley Prision, Margaret and Paddy spoke briefly about their two daughters breaking off their relationship.
“I always hoped that would happen,” Paddy replied. “I’m so glad they arrived at the decision and didn’t have us force it on them. I suppose it was only natural that they would feel so close to each other. Now that they have broken up, Margaret, you must ensure that it never starts up again.”
“I don’t know what you mean, Paddy,” Margaret replied. “It’s not in my power to stop the pair ever reuniting, although I’d be very surprised if they’d ever considered such a move. I’m only Joe’s mother, not her guardian anymore! I’m only a parent, man.”
For a moment, Paddy seemed to be on the verge of making some deep disclosure to Margaret, but on second thought he allowed the moment to pass.
During her visit to Armley Prision, Margaret and Paddy spoke briefly about their two daughters breaking off their relationship.
“I always hoped that would happen,” Paddy replied. “I’m so glad they arrived at the decision and didn’t have us force it on them. I suppose it was only natural that they would feel so close to each other. Now that they have broken up, Margaret, you must ensure that it never starts up again.”
“I don’t know what you mean, Paddy,” Margaret replied. “It’s not in my power to stop the pair ever reuniting, although I’d be very surprised if they’d ever considered such a move. I’m only Joe’s mother, not her guardian anymore! I’m only a parent, man.”
For a moment, Paddy seemed to be on the verge of making some deep disclosure to Margaret, but on second thought he allowed the moment to pass.

As Margaret left the prison that day, Paddy requested that she didn’t visit him again. He did ask however, if she ever occasioned to see Bridget again in the future, to tell her that he always loved her. As Margaret walked away and looked back at the prison walls behind her, she had a strange premonition of pending doom to come.
Margaret travelled back to Haworth on the next bus, but felt distinctly uneasy with her visit today. For one moment, towards the close of her visit, she sensed that Paddy had dearly wanted to share some dark secret with her; that he'd wanted to tell her something and had been on the edge of doing so, but had drawn back at the last last moment. Was it the reason why he'd killed Thomas Walsh that he'd wanted to tell her? Also, Margaret had sensed a tone of finality in Paddy’s voice that afternoon.
Margaret travelled back to Haworth on the next bus, but felt distinctly uneasy with her visit today. For one moment, towards the close of her visit, she sensed that Paddy had dearly wanted to share some dark secret with her; that he'd wanted to tell her something and had been on the edge of doing so, but had drawn back at the last last moment. Was it the reason why he'd killed Thomas Walsh that he'd wanted to tell her? Also, Margaret had sensed a tone of finality in Paddy’s voice that afternoon.

Three days later and two days before Paddy’s trial had been due to commence, a news item on Radio Leeds told the listeners that Paddy Groggy had committed suicide in his cell. He had hanged himself with his belt. It would seem that Paddy had never intended to reveal why he'd stabbed Thomas Walsh to death and was determined to take this secret to the grave with him.
Click here for the next page
|
Click here for the previous page
|