suppose I must have banged it,” I said.
He was silent for a moment, as though he sensed I wasn’t telling him the whole truth. Another figure appeared, wearing the same kind of pale blue outfit, and hovered just inside his line of sight. He nodded to them.
“As I mentioned, Clare won’t be up to visitors again today,” he said to me, with a touch of impatience. “I have your number, Charlotte. I’ll call you when there’s any progress to report.”
I nodded, feeling dismissed.
“Put some ice on that knee,” he said as he moved for the door, his parting shot. And to Sean: “You should take better care of her.”
I felt Sean stiffen as the comment hit home on all kinds of levels.
“Yes sir,” he said, his face expressionless. He waited until my father had turned his back and was three paces away. “And so should you.”
My father’s hearing was excellent, always had been. But he carried on walking without a break in stride, as though Sean had never spoken.
I waited until we were nearly back to the Shogun before I asked the question that had been in my mind ever since Clare put the subject there.
“So how
Sean was in the middle of fishing his car keys out of his jacket pocket. He stopped and half-turned towards me. “With what?”
“With having blood on your hands,” I said.
He went still again but his answer came fast enough that I knew it was something he’d either been asked before, or had asked himself.
“I concentrate on what isn’t there,” he said. “On the blood that never got spilt because I did my job and I was good at it.”
“So it doesn’t bother you?”
He shrugged. “Not as much as it probably should. But I’ve never lost a principal I was guarding and I never killed anyone I didn’t intend to,” he said, his words cool and totally matter-of-fact. “There’s not many people in our line of business who can say the same.”
I was still thinking about a response to that when Sam’s Norton Commando came burbling into the car park. Sam spotted me and pulled up alongside. He cut the engine and fumbled with the strap on his helmet.
“Hi, Charlie!” he said, flicking wary little glances in Sean’s direction. “How’s Clare?”
“Not so good,” I said. “They’re operating on her legs again this afternoon. No visitors for a while.”
He looked disappointed and relieved at the same time. “Any sign of Jacob?”
Sean shook his head. “Not yet,” he said.
Sam looked at him fully then. “You must be Sean,” he said in a hearty tone, holding his hand out. “I’m Sam Pickering. Charlie and I are old mates, aren’t we, Charlie?”
Sean raised an eyebrow but shook Sam’s proffered hand easily enough. Sam was wearing his habitual old jeans and battered black leather jacket and when he took his helmet off his hair reached down to his shoulder blades. I watched them sizing each other up. The ex-squaddie and the modern hippie. What a combination.
“Really?” he said, pleasantly. “Well, thank you for coming and telling her about Clare’s accident. We appreciate it.”
“Erm, no problem,” Sam said, frowning as he realised he’d just been firmly sidelined and scrambling to regain lost ground. “So, you going tonight then, Charlie?”
“Going where?”
“Slick’s wake,” he said. He’d turned slightly further round to face me, as though he was trying to exclude Sean from the conversation altogether.
“Wake?” I said. I glanced at Sean to see how he was taking this behaviour but his face was shuttered. “That might not be a bad idea. See what rumours are flying around.”
I turned back to Sam. “OK,” I said. “We’ll come. When and where?”
“Kicks off about seven. It’s up at Gleet’s place – he’s got a workshop on a farm somewhere out towards Wray. I can probably get you in but—” He cast Sean a dubious look. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, mate, but I’m not sure you’ll blend in too well. You’ve gotta be on a bike, for a kickoff.”
“I’ll take it the way it was meant,” Sean said dryly.
My mind skated over the spare bikes at Jacob’s, but there wasn’t much beyond the Laverda and Clare’s Ducati. Both of which were too well known not to cause comment. I thought of my own FireBlade, sitting down at my parents’ place in Cheshire but there wasn’t the time to go and fetch it. Even if Sean had had a helmet or any leathers.
“OK,” I said. “I’ll go with you, Sam.”
Sam’s grin flashed. I saw Sean gathering himself to object and put my hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” I said. “I’m only going for a nosy. And Sam’s right about needing to be on a bike.”
He saw the sense in that. Didn’t like it, but saw the sense in it nevertheless.
“So, we going undercover, Charlie?” Sam kicked the Norton back into life and rammed his helmet on. He grinned at me again through his open visor. “Just like old times then, eh?”
