“He’s dead, isn’t he? I heard you. He’s dead.” The words were distorted, blurry, but somehow she understood.
“No, you turnip, it was the other one.”
“What?”
“The other bloke they arrested. A big bloke, Dad said, covered in tatts.”
Tattoo Face?
“He went mad in his cell, started smashing everything up. Took eight of them to stop him, and he died in the middle of it all.”
“He died?”
“They don’t know if someone hit him or if he had a heart attack or whatever. All hell’s broken loose down at the station, anyway. Dad was one of the eight – he’s been suspended for the time being.”
Tattoo Face, not Spider. 12112010.
“Britney?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know when it happened? What time?”
“Just before midnight. Just before the end of Dad’s shift.”
It was like things were slotting back into place again. The ground had shifted beneath my feet for a while, rules bending, but now we were back on solid ground: sickening, nightmarish, but solid ground. The numbers were real. Spider was still alive, but he only had three days to go.
“You OK?”
“Yeah, kind of.”
“Need a hug?”
I didn’t answer, but she leaned forward anyway and put her arms ’round me. I stiffened, and she must have felt it, but she didn’t let me go.
“It’s alright,” she said. “Everything will be alright. Here, have some of that tea.” She handed it over – hot, sweet tea, best thing I’d tasted for a long time. I drained the cup and we both lay down, curled up at opposite ends of the bed, legs hooked into each other’s. The tea had soothed me; my mind was so full I couldn’t think anymore. I was completely exhausted now; I could feel waves of sleep starting to wash over me.
“Britney?” I said quietly into the darkness.
“Mm?”
“Thanks.”
“You’re alright.”
“I mean it.”
“Shuddup, and go to sleep.”
That made me smile; it was like listening to a reflection of myself. And I did go to sleep, an instant, dreamless sleep, away from the world for a few hours, away from the
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I reached for the alarm clock and held it in front of my face. Nearly half-six. It was still dark, but wouldn’t be for much longer. I shifted around in the bed, trying to figure out how I felt.
“Are you awake?” Britney’s voice whispered.
“Yeah.” Truth was, I felt pretty rough. I’d had a few hours good sleep, but I felt tired, a bit queasy.
“We’ll have to be really, really quiet.”
“OK.” We were both in our clothes, anyway, so we got up in the dark and padded downstairs.
“I’ll go in first, make sure we don’t startle Ray.”
Ray?
She opened the kitchen door, and I could hear her whispering to someone. So it was a setup after all. I should have known it was too good to be true. People will always let you down. I looked down the hallway. I could easily let myself out the front door.
“It’s OK, come on.” Britney was beckoning me into the kitchen.
I took another look at the front door, but something told me to trust her. I walked toward the square of light coming from other end of the hall. She was bent over in the kitchen, holding the collar of an enormous dog, a great big hairy German shepherd. I don’t do animals. Never had a pet, obviously, don’t know anything about them. The way some people fuss over them and talk to them, it’s just odd, isn’t it? They don’t see them for what they are: something other, different, not human.
“Close the door behind you,” Britney hissed. “This is Ray, he’s Dad’s work dog.”
Christ! I was shut in a room now, ten by eight, with a bloody police dog.
“He was looking for you yesterday, too, weren’t you, Rayray? You’ve found her now, haven’t you? Clever boy! Say hello to him,” she said to me, “he’ll be fine.”
“Hello,” I said, trying not to look him in the eye or wind him up in any way.
Britney stifled a giggle. “No, not like that, pet him, on his shoulder, not his head. Go on, he’ll know you’re a friend.”
“Is he going to bite me?”
She smiled and shook her head.
I edged toward him, waiting for him to lunge forward and grab my arm in his massive jaws. Slowly, slowly, I leaned forward and put my hand on the fur at the bottom of his neck and rested it there. I could feel his solid body underneath, warm and full of life, and the fur itself, it was fantastic: clean and soft. It felt like I was touching a lion. I moved my hand gently. “Hello, Ray. You’re a nice dog.” My words were as wooden as my movements. He sniffed at my leg and then quickly, almost violently, rubbed his huge, hard muzzle up and down my jeans, almost knocking me over.
“What’s he doing?”
“Nothing. He likes you. He’s putting his scent on you. Just let him.” I wasn’t going to argue, and so I stood there and let him mark me as one of his own. Not so bright after all, dogs. He hadn’t got a clue he was cozying up to the enemy.
Britney was busy in the corner with her back to me. When she turned ’round, she proudly held up a backpack, black with all sorts of stuff sewn onto it, and badges.
“I’ve put some things in. Your clothes and a bit of food, some water. I’ve got a blanket here, too, but it won’t fit inside. I’ll tie it on with some string.” She fished in a drawer, found a ball of twine, and started wrapping it ’round the rolled-up blanket. I didn’t know what to say.
“Is that your bag?”
“My schoolbag.”
“Won’t you need it?”
“I’ll just get another one, say the strap broke. No biggie.”
From upstairs, there was the sound of the bathroom door opening. We looked at each other. I wanted to bolt, there and then. Britney held her hand up to stop me. After the bog flushed, a man’s voice rang out from the landing.
“Who’s that down there? Britney, is that you?” My heart was up in my mouth again. Britney opened the kitchen door and shouted up.
“It’s OK, Dad. It’s me. The dog was whining. I’m going to take him out.”
“OK. Thanks, love.”
She came back in, finished tying the blanket onto the bag, then clipped the dog onto its leash and made for the back door, beckoning me to follow her. I closed it carefully behind us, shocked to feel the cool air on my face again. I’d felt out of place indoors, stifled, but now that I was heading back to an outdoor life, the uncomfortable reality of it came back to me.
Britney led me along the back alleys. She was holding the dog, and I had the backpack on. We walked in
