Innocent Blood

yourself.’

‘What? How can I forget about him?’

‘He says that you have to look forward, not back.’

‘How do I know that it’s really him?’

‘He says he forgives you, he knows that it wasn’t really your fault. He was angry before because he didn’t realize that he was dead.’

‘Yes, but how do I know that it’s really him, and not this other spirit pretending to be him?’

Nevile covered his eyes with one hand, and didn’t say a word for more than a minute. At last he said, ‘Mr Rumbles. Does that mean anything to you?’

‘What?’

‘Mr Rumbles, his teddy bear. He says that you called it Mr Rumbles because you blamed it for your stomach rumbling when you were reading him a bedtime story. Green Eggs and Ham, that’s what you were reading him.’

Frank opened his mouth and closed it again. It was Danny. It had to be Danny. What other spirit could have known that? And Danny had said that he was forgiven. Unexpectedly, his eyes filled up with tears.

‘Danny! Danny, can you hear me, it’s Daddy!’

Nevile listened again, and then said, ‘Yes, he can hear you. He loves you. He just wants you to be happy. He says you should make a new life.’

‘Danny, I’m not going to forget you. Not ever.’

‘He says you should follow your heart. You’ve already met the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with.’

Frank frowned at him. ‘I don’t understand. How does he know about that?’

‘Because he’s with you, wherever you go, and he always will be.’

‘Danny – who do you mean? Who are you talking about?’

Another pause. ‘He says her name begins with A. A is for aardvark.’

‘Who do you mean, Danny? Who are you talking about?’

Nevile waited, and waited. ‘No answer. I think he may have gone. Either that, or he’s too tired to talk to us anymore. It’s very exhausting, getting in touch with people who have passed over; and they find it very exhausting, too.’

Frank said, ‘You’re sure he’s gone?’ He looked around the room, half expecting to see Danny standing in one of the corners, or out on the deck.

‘I think so. I can’t hear anything, and I can’t feel any resonance.’

Frank pulled out a crumpled tissue and blew his nose. ‘I don’t know what to say. That was Danny, wasn’t it? I mean, he knew what his teddy bear was called, and why.’

‘I wouldn’t take that as conclusive proof, Frank. But it does seem very likely that it was him.’

‘God, I wish I could have heard him myself. But he forgives me, and that’s what I care about most.’

Nevile stood up and laid his hand on Frank’s shoulder. ‘I’m pleased about that. I’m really very pleased. But . . . I don’t know. There was one thing that didn’t quite ring true.’

Frank looked up at him and frowned.

‘It’s nothing much,’ said Nevile. ‘I just wonder why he was so enthusiastic about your starting a new life.’

‘Maybe he knows that Margot and I have reached the end of the road. I mean, if Margot can’t accept that I didn’t kill Danny on purpose—’

‘I don’t know. It seems to me that most eight-year-old boys would want their parents to stay together, no matter what.’

‘I guess he realizes that we’re never going to be happy.’

‘Hmm. That’s rather a grown-up assessment for an eight-year-old boy – particularly an eight-year-old boy who’s just been killed . . . But how about a drink? I’ve got some rather good Riesling if you like that kind of thing.’

‘No, thanks. I think I’d better be going. I have to get back to the studio to find out what’s happening with Pigs.’

‘Is there a woman in your life beginning with A?’

Frank hesitated for a moment, and then said, ‘Yes.’

‘I hope you don’t think I’m being inquisitive. But when I come to write this up for my book, I’d like to be able to say if Danny hit the mark or not.’

‘Her name’s Astrid. I met her at The Cedars after the bomb went off. She’s very attractive, and I guess we get along pretty good, although I think it’s way too soon to think about spending the rest of my life with her.’

‘Of course.’

‘For one thing, she’s very secretive about her background. I don’t know where she lives or what she does for a living. I’ve never met any of her friends. For all I know, her name isn’t Astrid at all.’

‘That’s unusual. Not unheard of, I suppose, especially if she’s married. But unusual.’

‘I know. But she’s a very good listener, and she seems to understand how I feel, and as far as I’m concerned that’s all that matters for now.’ He stood up and took hold of Nevile’s hand. ‘I want to thank you for this. You’ve taken a load off my mind. Really.’

‘We should do it again. Perhaps we can find out more.’

Nevile opened the study door and Frank went into the hallway. As he did so, Danny stepped out of the living room, right in front of him, even though the walls were all glass and Frank hadn’t seen him waiting for him.

Frank heard himself saying, ‘Oh my God!’

Danny looked as solid as if he were still alive, except that his hair was wildly tousled and his face was deathly white. He was wearing a gray check shirt and khaki shorts and gray worn-out sneakers with no socks – clothes that Frank didn’t recognize. His shirt and his shorts were blotchy with dried blood, and there was dried blood on his left ear, as well as bruises on his forehead and briar scratches on his legs. His eyes were wide open but they stared at him like glass eyes in a stuffed animal, expressionless.

Frank felt as if his skin were shrinking. ‘Danny?’ he said hoarsely. He took a step forward, but Nevile grabbed hold of his arm.

‘Frank – don’t!’

‘You see him too?’

‘Yes, but it isn’t Danny. Believe me, Frank, Danny wouldn’t have the strength to do this.’

‘Danny?’ Frank repeated. ‘Danny, what the hell happened to you? Did somebody hurt you?’

He tried to pry Nevile’s fingers free from his arm, but now Nevile caught him around the waist as well, trying to pull him back. ‘Don’t, Frank! He could be dangerous!’

‘That’s Danny, Nevile! Look at him! That’s Danny!’

‘For God’s sake, he can’t be!’

‘Danny, who did this to you? Who hurt you? Let me go, Nevile. For Christ’s sake, let me go. I have to know who’s hurt him.’

Danny said nothing but continued to stare. Frank wrestled himself free from Nevile and took two or three steps toward him, holding out his hands.

‘Frank, will you listen to me – don’t!’

Frank went down on one knee. ‘Danny, don’t you know me? It’s Daddy. Who hurt you, Danny? Let me help you.’

Danny’s eyes turned toward him. They didn’t look like Danny’s, but there was something about them that Frank recognized, as if somebody familiar were watching him through the cut-out eyes of a Danny mask. ‘Daddy,’ he whispered.

‘What?’

‘Daddy hurt me.’

‘I don’t understand. I never beat up on you, not like this.’

‘Daddy hurt me.’