Tee eee ee nee RC ER See eee, eee eS ee ne Ree eke cee not sell for more than 130 grand these days. “Still the subprime aftermath, you see,, the lady with the Laura Wilson badge tells him. Lee has a look around the office. Sales adverts for houses similar to his parents’ old house, price range similar as well. “Okay, Laura,"he says. “Deal.” He signs the documents, says his goodbyes and makes for the Be Back in his rental car, Lee thinks of what to do next. At the end of Wellington Street he turns right into Church Street. Church Street! Both the name and the view of the oh-so-familiar street hit him hard. Before he left Ballymena, he used to walk the street quite a lot. Well, probably every night for almost three months. “Iona,” he said to himself. The name struck a chord deep inside. lona, what has become of her? TRE ee ane ee ee SER a ee ee ee On Pee Rete eee ae Ra ae eae ee oe ag COR CSU ear a OR De Roca to her, and, to his own amazement, produced the sentence “I think you and I should go for a coffee.” She looked Tua coca ee ae en ee ce RC eT and paid for her book. When she turned around to him again, she gave him a candid look. “I’m waiting.” Fe ena ee eee ee managed to secretly get a spare set of keys cut so that they had a place to meet at night. Telling their parents was Cree ee a ace ee ae ea ku een eae one in their street to not permanently hiss the Union Jack. Still, back in the day Lee thought it best to avoid tension whenever possible. Driving down Church Street, he re-sets the mileometer as he passes Castle Street and adds a mental note. About a quarter mile to his old home. Lee takes a right into the city centre, takes corner upon corner, drives past Memorial Park and Lamont Park and has already covered over 2 miles. Then he gets back on the main road north, half a mile EOS ge ce ee eee ae ee yards. He stops outside Alll Saints Church and looks at the mileometer. So it was over 4 miles that he used to walk. Over 4 miles twice every night to avoid the streets of Harryville and its roaming UVF and UDA squaddies. The church is right beside him. Lee casts a glance at the vicarage attached to the church and abandons himself to eee en ee ee Rett ee ec ee Se Reg ee ae eC ae ce me Rea BO ee eee sure Reece on oe Then one evening, a strong wave of powerful feelings overwhelmed him and he told Iona that he loved her. Lee RPM Pak nen in an Ren he ae Oe emacs Reka em ROR aid that she did not want to let him go after the candle had burnt down. She held him as tight as she could, and they Deer ese kar) Lee walked out of the church shortly past midnight. He knew that his father would still be up and ask questions on his return, so he decided to take the straight route home for once. It was less than a mile, and he could easily get CREO ces On the morning of 6 February 1997, the day he would leave Ballymena for good, the sky was clear and full of stars. Quickly Lee moved past the buildings and dingy side streets on Broughshane Street, and then turned into Church Street. Now he only had to turn left at the next corner and he would almost be home. As he ran past the Tesco car park, he suddenly heard tyres squealing on the tarmac. He turned around and saw an old Vauxhall Cavalier pull out of the car park. In no time the car caught up with him and the back door opened. He could see a man poco Li cure as“In you come, pal,” a voice behind the mask stated matter-of-factly. Lee had no choice. As he climbed into the car, the balaclava guy bent over him and drew the door shut. The car started off, took a right into Trostan Avenue and Cee RE en ke ae ee eee the mask continued. “This service was free. But should you ever see that wee taig gir! again, someone will pay for it.” ON eam ee eee Deh ca Tee ee eT ick eek AC ae Then the driver jumped out of the door and walked up to the family’s house. He pushed the doorbell about six or seven times, turned around and got back into the car. The guy in the back opened the door and pushed Lee out into RU eee UR eee) eR Let Rea ee) Ut Le rue oe ae cus Cee eu eS RON ee eee ee een have started to glaze over. He wipes away a tear and yields to a sudden impulse to step out of the car. Lee cannot help but feel watched, so he tries to look as casual as possible when he walks up to the church. The moment he enters through the narthex he sees a sign saying Sanctuary Lights £ 1. He takes a look around, but there is not a soul in sight. So he picks up a candle, puts a pound in the donation box and lights the candle. Something inside him Reena oe ene a ee kaon dedicated to Roy Neill exi