‘What about Joe?’ Geri asked.
‘He’s gone.’
Neither spoke for some minutes, until, unable to endure the thoughts that crowded her mind, Geri broke the silence. ‘He was so . . . charming. So damn plausible. What made you suspect him?’
‘The memorial service, when he had that stand-off with Barry. Baz implied that Joe was giving the kids M&Ms. It’s a street name for E.’
‘I found some hash in the lining of my coat.’
‘Oh, Geri . . .’ He touched her hand lightly. ‘I wish you’d told me.’
‘I know, I should have, but I was terrified school would find out. I was already in trouble — so bloody worried about my reputation,’ she added bitterly. ‘I thought Baz had put Jay up to it.’ She shook her head in disbelief. ‘I never once suspected Joe.’
Vince ran a hand through his hair. ‘If I’d been allowed to see the security video earlier . . .’ His voice was husky with emotion.
‘He said he worked the railway station from time to time,’ Geri said, ‘but I was so sure Barry had something to do with the deaths.’ She sighed.
He turned right, tailing the ambulance towards the city centre. ‘Baz gave us a statement this evening.’ He checked the rear-view mirror with elaborate care before indicating to follow the ambulance into the outside lane.
‘And?’
‘He’s admitted supplying. He said the men who attacked him were sent by Joe.’
‘Did he recognize them?’
Vince shook his head. ‘Hired thugs, but they made it clear that Joe didn’t welcome his entrepreneurial forays into his empire.’
They parked and went through the door marked Ambulance Admissions. They were going to have to wait some time — the neurosurgeon had been called and he had asked for a brain scan. Geri telephoned Lauren’s mother and they went through to the main reception.
After a few minutes’ silence, Vince said, ‘I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this.’
‘Well, people don’t always get what they deserve, do they?’ she said bitterly.
‘Joe might take issue with that.’
She had meant Ryan and Frank, their families. She snagged a tissue from her pocket and wiped her eyes.
‘What Joe said earlier . . .’ She left the question unsaid.
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘It’s true. Not about me cruising for kids, but yeah, I’m gay.’ He shrugged.
She waited for him to go on, and when he didn’t, she said. ‘Okay.’
He turned to face her. ‘Is it?’
‘Why wouldn’t it be? Although you might have given a girl a hint — saved her from falling . . .’
She looked up at him and he blushed. They both smiled, then Geri looked away, feeling suddenly shy.
‘What will happen to Dean?’ she asked.
‘That’ll be for the juvenile courts to decide.’
‘That’s a bit harsh,’ she remarked.
He looked down at her. ‘I know,’ he said, his face lined with exhaustion. ‘I know. The kid’s been through a lot, but it’s not going to look good, a death in custody.’
‘He’s been out of his mind since Ryan died, Vince. He can’t be held responsible.’
‘You’ll get your chance to vouch for him, I’ll make sure.’
They both looked up as a white coat approached them. Geri, her heart pounding, tried to read his expression.
‘Miss Simpson,’ he said. ‘If you’d like to come through.’
Vince helped her to her feet, otherwise she would have sat, unmoving, in her moulded plastic chair. They trailed behind him, through reception, through the swing doors, and into the imperturbable chaos of the accident and emergency department.
Geri walked ever more slowly until she felt Vince’s arm around her shoulders, a gentle pressure at her back.
‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘Whatever happens, I’ll be with you.’
She wanted to tell him that she didn’t want to go any further, with or without him; wanted to explain to him that until you opened the envelope, anything was possible: triple grade As in your exams; a monstrous win on the pools. Until you heard the words, everything was fine: your father was sober, coherent, carrying a birthday present to you; your mother was still doggedly fighting the cancer that struck her down at the age of forty; Lauren was recovering, waking from her coma as from a diffuse dream, complaining of the cold and demanding to know where Geri had skived off to. She reflected that perhaps only Dean could really understand her feelings at this moment.
She stood at the threshold of the private waiting room, looking at the surgeon, knowing that she would have to go in after all, but delaying the moment for as long as possible; for here, where hope and dread were balanced equally, despair could not send its shockwaves to shatter her world.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing this book under the scrutiny of fellow writers at Liverpool John Moores University was both a trial and a privilege. Their comments and feedback, though tough and uncompromising, were invaluable.
For background research, I am grateful to Pat Riordan at the Big Issue office in Liverpool for his wisdom and insight into homelessness. He was generous with both his time and the wealth of information he was willing to impart, and I hope that the resulting portrayal of life on the streets is fair and realistic.
I would also like to thank Dr Eric Robinson of UCL for some fascinating information about the geology of the Thames Valley — his input ensured that Ryan’s essay on fossil evidence was factually correct.
Finally, thanks to Rinty, whose recommendation of pub therapy helped me to sort out a troublesome plot line.
ALSO BY MARGARET MURPHY
CLARA PASCAL SERIES
Book 1: DARKNESS FALLS
Book 2: WEAVING SHADOWS
DETECTIVE JEFF RICKMAN SERIES
Book 1: SEE HER BURN
Book 2: SEE HER DIE
Book 3: DON’T SCREAM
ROWAN & PALMER
Book 1: BEFORE HE KILLS AGAIN
STANDALONE
DEAR MUM
HER HUSBAND’S KILLER
THE LOST BOY
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GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH USAGE FOR US READERS
A & E: accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetable or flowers
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Blues and twos: emergency vehicles
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: escape, i.e. ‘do a bunk’
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
CBeebies: kids TV
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Cockney: a native of East London
Common: an area of park land or lower class
Comprehensive school (Comp.): high school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
DC: detective constable
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Digs: student lodgings
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
Drum: house
DS: detective sergeant
ED: emergency department of a hospital
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
Enforcer: police battering ram
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982
Fag: cigarette
Father Christmas: Santa Claus
Filth: police (insulting)
Forces: army, navy and air force
FMO: force medical officer
Fried slice: fried bread
Fuzz: police
Garda: Irish police
Gendarmerie: French national police force
Geordie: from Newcastle
Garden centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gob: mouth, can also mean phlegm or spit
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft: hard work
Gran: grandmother
Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut: tough person
HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck
HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Hoover: vacuum cleaner
I’ll be blowed: expression of surprise
Inne: isn’t he
Interpol: international police organisation
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman
ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital
Jane Doe: a person whose identity is unknown/anonymous
JCB: a mechanical excavator
Jerry-built: badly made
Jungle: nickname given to migrant camp near Calais
Lad: young man
Lass: young woman
Lift: elevator
Lord Lucan: famous aristocrat who alleged
ly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.
Lorry: truck
Lovely jubbly: said when someone is pleased
Luftwaffe: German air force
M&S: Marks and Spencer, a food and clothes shop
Miss Marple: detective in a series of books by Agatha Christie
MOD: Ministry of Defence
Mobile phone: cell phone
MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area
MRSA: A strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Myra Hindley: famous British serial killer
Naff: lame, not good
Naff all: none
National Service: compulsory UK military service, ended in 60s
Net curtains: a type of semi-transparent curtain
NHS: National Health Service, public health service of UK
Nick: police station (as verb: to arrest)
Nowt: nothing
Nutter: insane person
Nursery: a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)
O level: exams taken between 14 and 16
Old bag: old woman (insulting)
Old Bill: police
OTT: over the top
Owt: anything
Pants: noun: underwear adjective: bad/rubbish/terrible
Para: paratrooper
Pay-as-you-go: a cell phone you pay for calls in advance
PC: police constable
Pear-shaped: gone wrong
Petrol: gasoline
Pictures: movie
Pillbox: a concrete building, partly underground, used as an outpost defence
Pillock: fool
Pips: police insignia indicating rank
DYING EMBERS an unputdownable psychological thriller full of breathtaking twists Page 32