‘Well, that’s fine then.’
She blushed at the memory of scrambling up from the sofa in her slippers and pyjamas. Karyn and her mate Stacey glittered, surrounded by boys, fresh from the pub. They smiled down at her, told her she should stay and talk to them. But she knew by the look on her brother’s face that he wanted her safe upstairs, and she felt such an idiot making an excuse about having a headache.
‘The other thing I told them,’ Ellie said, ‘was I looked out of my window later and saw everyone outside.’
Tom turned from the mirror and blinked at her. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘I just said everyone looked like they were having a good time and you and Karyn had your arms round each other.’
‘What did you say that for?’
‘Because the police need to know she fancied you. Was that wrong?’
‘It’s OK,’ he said. ‘There’s no need to get upset. It’s me they’re going to grill, not you.’
‘She was flirting with you all night though.’ Ellie curled her fists tight and pinched her thumbnails into her palms. ‘I bet when you went into the bedroom to get the sleeping bag, she just pulled you down on top of her, didn’t she?’
Tom winced. ‘It’s not something I’m proud of, Ellie, but yeah, that’s pretty much what happened.’
She nodded. ‘I thought so.’
He pushed the chair back under the desk. ‘You reckon we can stop talking about this now? A sad little shag with a crazy girl is a bit humiliating to discuss with my sister. Maybe we should go downstairs and see if they need any help.’
He wrapped the newspaper into a parcel and put it in the bin. Ellie picked up the handful of hair from the corner and did the same. She was an idiot. It was horrible for him to be reminded of that night when he was supposed to be feeling safe with his family.
‘Are you going to dress up?’ he said. ‘Team Parker and all that? Best foot forward.’
He was trying to make her laugh. This was how their father would speak.
‘All hands on deck,’ she said, because she wanted to give him something back.
He patted her quickly on the head. ‘Don’t forget.’
Another expression from their father.
Don’t forget whose side you’re on.
Six
They parked the car by the river and walked up the lane to the house, Jacko still feeding Mikey last-minute bits of information from Tom Parker’s Facebook page. Jacko had checked it out on the computer at work and now they both knew the bastard liked golf and sleeping and that all the friends on his page were girls.
‘His favourite celebrity’s Vin Diesel,’ Jacko said, ‘though I don’t think we need to let that worry us, because he also likes
But at the gate, even Jacko was silenced. They stood openmouthed, taking it in. The house was lit up like Christmas, with fairy lights strung in the trees and torches with real flames staked along the path.
Jacko whistled. ‘Man, they’ve gone to town!’
‘They’ve got no shame. I told you.’
The place seemed even bigger than before. There must be at least five bedrooms and the lawn wrapped itself round the whole house. There were flowers that showed up their colours even in the dark, like flowers from a shop stuck in the earth. The windows seemed bigger too, all glaring with light. They obviously didn’t worry about heating bills, could just chuck cash away, probably had radiators at full blast and doors open and everything on standby all night long. There was a confidence to it that Mikey admired and hated at the same time – how come some people had so much? How come some kids got this for free?
‘You think they’ll suss we don’t belong?’ he said.
Jacko screwed up his forehead and looked offended. ‘We belong everywhere.’
‘What about the scratched-up Jag? You think they’ll know it was me?’
‘Nah, plenty of people hate the guy. Just keep the spanner out of sight.’ Jacko drew in a last chestful of smoke before chucking his fag on the gravel. ‘Right, remember what we said? First one to see him sends the other a text, then we reconvene for phase two.’
Mikey checked his mobile. He supposed it was some kind of plan.
Jacko went first, straight through the front door and inside like he knew the place. Mikey made his way round the side, following a trickle of guests just arriving. Round the back of the house, the garden opened up. It felt different from the front, almost tropical, with heaters belching out hot air and the grass still wet from the rain.
There were masses of people – adults as well as kids standing in groups on the lawn, others sitting at tables in a marquee with drinks and plates of food. Mikey was stunned by the effort that had gone into this.
He grabbed a beer from a woman with a tray and knocked half of it back. He wondered if anyone from school would recognize him. It’d been two years since he left and these kids were the ones who went on to college, so it was unlikely. He took another gulp of beer and tried to concentrate.
There was a group of boys sitting at one of the tables, there were more queuing for food, another group swigging beer over by the fence. They all had that posh look Mikey was expecting to find, but none matched the pixellated photo Jacko had shown him in the car.
He walked round the garden once, a whole circuit. Music pumped out from speakers, the leaves on the trees shivered, the grass thumped under his feet. He hated all these people in their smart clothes, with their wine and champagne. He thought of his sisters at home – Holly drawing crazy pictures with colours like mud and grey. Karyn trying to make dinner with no food in the house. Mum asleep. These people didn’t care about his family at all. They were here to support Tom Parker. In fact, they were probably laughing at Karyn. Whispering about her, nudging each other. It was unforgivable.
A girl wobbled by on very high heels. She was drunk, he could see that.
‘Hey,’ he said, ‘I’m looking for Tom Parker. You know him?’
She stopped and smiled. Her eyes were dark and drawn round the edge in blue. ‘Who are you?’
He couldn’t stumble at the first hurdle. ‘Joe.’ He had to be someone other than himself and he knew he’d never see her again.
‘You’re very good-looking.’
‘So, do you know where Tom is?’
She waved her arm in the vague direction of the house. ‘Somewhere. How do you know him?’
‘College.’ Second time today and it was beginning to sound true.
She leaned in to him as if she had a secret. ‘You want to kiss me?’
‘Not really.’
She laughed, puckered her lips and moved in closer. ‘I bet you do.’
He looked about, but no one was taking any notice. He could pick her up and carry her off. He could drag her behind the marquee where it was dark and do whatever he liked to her. He could say she wanted it, that she asked for it.
‘Come on,’ the girl said. ‘Kiss me then.’
Was this how trashed Karyn was that night?
He nudged her off. ‘I don’t want to.’
She looked insulted. ‘Don’t you like me?’
He gave her a peck on the cheek to shut her up. Her skin tasted expensive. He told her he’d see her later, though he’d run if he saw her coming. He waved her off and fumbled for his phone. He couldn’t do this. He shouldn’t be here. This was the stupidest idea he’d ever had.
Just as he was texting him, Jacko appeared. ‘Target located,’ he said.
‘What?’