‘I don’t know,’ the owner is saying.
‘What?’
‘Maybe this is wrong.’
Pete looks at the document. No, this is not wrong. This is all he ever wanted; his fairground, his ghost train and his friend.
He couldn’t kill Drover. He couldn’t have lived without him in his world. Drover had to live and the only way for him to heal and survive was for him to take the gift. There was no use for Lily. All she would have been was trouble. Hers was such a troubled family, Pete thought. They are all better off now. Lily was threatening to call Pam’s friends, threatening to get Drover put away for killing Pete’s dad. But, Drover had always stood by his side. He had done since they were kids. Pete wasn’t going to see him sent down.
Pete forgave him for shooting his dad. He accepted that it was an accident. And Drover forgave Pete for not killing him and for giving him the gift.
Drover accepts that Pete was the hero that night and that he saved his life. And, now, they will be together until the day Pete dies. And that’s all Pete has ever wanted.
‘Stop him,’ the owner says, but Pete just takes out his pen and signs the document.
‘Can’t do that,’ he says. ‘It’s too late.’
The train shunts out on to the right hand balcony and the car is empty.
There comes a brief blast of unrecorded screams, the snarling of some beast, the sound of bones crunching, flesh ripping, the sound of a woman’s panic and horror, desperation and helplessness, and then the doors close behind the train once more.
The ex-owner can’t help but smile, but he is still nervous. ‘No trace?’
‘Teeth and all.’
‘It’s all yours,’ he says, and walks away, finally a free man.
Pete laughs and goes off to find Drover.
Drover stands on the sea wall watching the sunset and listening to the sounds from their fairground behind him. The beach is wide and flat, open to the horizon with nothing to spoil his view, just sand and waves, sky, and another day to look forward to tomorrow. No trees, no forest, no Missing, not yet, but he does wonder if a new wood will soon start to grow up around the Lamb Brothers Amusement Park. Ah, well, if it does then that’s a thing for the future.
Pete comes and stands next to him. Together, they stare out to sea.
Pete feels an arm come to rest around his shoulders, sees a hand hanging there, then feels a ringed finger flick him under the chin. Smiling contentedly, he turns to look at Drover and looks into his green eyes.
‘Thank you,’ Drover says, and he is standing so close that Pete can feel his breath on his lips.
‘All done?’ Pete asks.
Drover shakes his head. ‘Not quite,’ he says, with only the faintest hint of a grimace. ‘We’re going to have to think what we do with silicone.’ He laughs. ‘There was more to her than we thought. Also, we’ll need to get a bigger freezer.’
Pete laughs too. ‘We’ll get you everything you need.’ He puts his arm around his friend’s shoulder.
The two boys gaze out to sea and Drover says, ‘I’ve already got it.’
Lonely House Page 30