Chapter 29
The Chevy pulled out of the school car park with Molly sitting unusually quietly in the passenger seat. Her backpack was pressed tightly against her stomach and her gaze remained fixed on the side window as houses, bus stops and late-afternoon traffic slipped past outside.
Billy left her alone for a while.
Normally she would talk almost without drawing breath, jumping from school to YouTube clips to some strange theory she had come up with all by herself, so when Molly went quiet it usually meant she was thinking.
And when Molly was thinking, it was generally better to let her finish before trying to interfere.
Eventually, he glanced across at her. “You know the backpack isn’t going to get away, right?”
Molly looked down and only then seemed to realise how tightly she was clutching it.
“So?”
“Looks like it’s having trouble breathing.”
She rolled her eyes. “Billy.”
“What?”
“I think Dad lied.”
That made him raise an eyebrow. “About what?”
“About the adult stuff.”
Outside, the traffic continued moving while Billy considered how the hell he was supposed to answer that.
Molly had inherited far too much from Reeze to settle for half an answer, but she was still only eight, and there were things she shouldn’t have to carry simply because the adults around her did. “He probably didn’t lie.”
“He did.”
“No.”
“He did.”
Billy laughed quietly. “All right, then. What did he lie about?”
Molly ran one finger along the zip of her backpack. “That nobody did that to him.” She pointed at her own forehead, exactly where Reeze had the bandage.
Billy turned his attention back to the road. “He didn’t actually say that.”
“He said it was adult stuff.”
“Yeah.”
“That means the same thing.”
“No, flea. It means adults do stupid things children shouldn’t have to worry about.”
Molly considered that for a moment. “Adults seem to do a lot of stupid things.”
“They do.”
“You lot fight all the time.”
“No.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“You do.”
Billy tried to keep a straight face and failed miserably. “We call it discussing things.”
Molly gave him a look so much like Reeze’s that it was almost disturbing.
“You’re really bad at discussing things.”
“We are.” That earned him a small snort, and for the first time since leaving the school he saw some of the tension disappear from her shoulders.
The silence that followed was different from the one before, calmer now, and as the houses became fewer and they left the centre behind them, Molly rested her cheek against the window and watched the world roll past.
“Was Dad scared?”
The question came so suddenly that Billy almost thought he had misheard her. “What makes you think that?”
Molly shrugged. “He sent me away. He doesn’t usually do that.”
No, he didn’t. Reeze held on to what was his, and Molly more than anything else. If he sent her away, there was always a reason, and Billy realised she had probably been carrying that thought around ever since they left the school.
He drew a breath. “Yeah. He was scared.”
Molly turned so quickly her ponytail swung over her shoulder. “Really?”
“Really.”
“For himself?”
“No.” Billy didn’t even have to think about that one. “For you.”
Molly went quiet again and looked back out of the window. This time it took a long while before she said anything more, and when she finally did, she sounded almost as though she had already worked out the answer herself. “He’s weird sometimes.”
Billy laughed. “Sometimes?”
“All right. Always.”
“I’ll sign that.”
“You too.”
“Absolutely.”
“Grandma too.”
Now Billy laughed properly. “Yeah, you’re actually right about that.”
Molly’s head snapped round. “Is Grandma at HQ?”
“Yep.”
Her entire face changed. “And Boris?”
Billy groaned. “Fuck.”
Molly started giggling.
“Is Boris there?”
“Probably.”
“Good.”
“Why is that good?” She grinned so widely her front teeth showed. “Because then Grandma doesn’t have to talk to you all the time.”
Billy sighed heavily. “You’re mean.”
“I’m honest.”
“You got that from your father too.” Despite the words, he couldn’t stop himself smiling, and by the time they turned in at HQ, Molly sounded like the eight-year-old she actually was again.
She had barely made it through the door before she spotted Charlie standing beside Mia at the long table, sorting plates for dinner.
“Charlie!”
Charlie barely had time to turn before Molly came racing across the room, her backpack bouncing against her back, and threw herself at her with enough force that Charlie had to catch her with both arms to keep from losing her balance.
“Oh my God.”
Molly laughed and wrapped both arms around her waist as though they hadn’t seen each other in weeks rather than a few hours. “I won.”
Charlie looked down at her, unsure whether she should be worried or amused. “Won what?”
“School.”
She said it with such absolute conviction that Charlie had no chance of holding back her laughter.
“You won school?”
“Yep.”
“I suspect the headteacher might have a different version.”
Molly considered that before shrugging. “She seemed weird.”
Charlie laughed again and brushed a few strands of hair away from the girl’s face.
For the first time since Billy had driven away with her, the tight knot of worry in her stomach began to ease.
Molly didn’t look frightened or upset. If anything, she looked rather pleased with herself, which probably meant the afternoon had been every bit as chaotic as Billy had suggested.
“I heard something about you biting someone.”
Molly immediately looked considerably less remorseful than most people probably would have.
“He took my cap.”
“And then you bit him?”
“I told him to give it back first.”
“But he didn’t listen?”
“No.”
“So then you bit him.”
“Yes.” Molly looked triumphant, as though Charlie had finally grasped the perfectly logical sequence of events. “It was his own fault.”
Charlie bit her lip to stop herself laughing again, and behind her Mia made a strangled sound that suggested she was fighting the exact same battle.
“You don’t sound even slightly sorry,” Billy observed from the doorway.
Molly looked at him in confusion. “Why would I be?”
“Because people usually are when they bite someone.”
She thought about that. “But I wanted to bite him.”
Silence lasted for perhaps three seconds before Mia gave up and started laughing. Charlie followed almost immediately, and eventually Billy joined in despite clearly trying not to.
“What?” Molly demanded, looking between them.
“Absolutely nothing,” Charlie said, ruffling her hair.
Molly finally released her and climbed onto one of the chairs beside the long table with the easy certainty of someone who already considered the place hers.
Charlie freed the backpack that had become trapped behind the chair and pushed the nearest glass of juice towards her.
Molly took it without asking, and Charlie didn’t even think about what she had done until she happened to meet Mia’s gaze.
Mia stood with her coffee mug in one hand, watching them over the rim, while Billy remained leaning against the doorframe a few metres away. When their eyes met, Mia lifted one eyebrow almost imperceptibly and Billy answered with a crooked smile that said far more than words could have done.
Neither of them looked particularly surprised.
As though they had already seen what Charlie herself hadn’t quite had time to understand.
Molly had chosen her.
It really was that simple. Children did that sometimes. They didn’t spend weeks analysing people or weighing advantages against disadvantages. They opened a door or they closed it, and somewhere along the way Molly had opened hers to Charlie.
She was still sitting there telling Charlie about every injustice committed at school when Charlie began glancing towards the entrance.
At first she didn’t even realise she was doing it, but every time the door opened or someone came in from the yard, her head lifted automatically.
Reeze should have been back by now.
She knew he could take care of himself. The entire club knew it, and after what she had seen earlier that day she probably didn’t need any more proof. It didn’t help much, though, when all she had to do was close her eyes to see the blood on his face again.
Eventually, Mia noticed. “If you keep staring at that door, you’re going to make it self-conscious.”
Charlie looked at her. “What?”
“Reeze. You’ve been looking for him every time someone comes through the door since Molly got here.”
Billy’s grin immediately widened.
“She’s right.”
“I’m not staring.”
“You are.”
“No.”
“You are.”
Charlie gave them both a dark look, although it probably lost some of its effect when she almost immediately glanced towards the entrance again. “He should be back by now.”
This time some of the amusement left Billy’s face. He straightened away from the wall and ran a hand through his beard. “He’ll be fine.”
It wasn’t really the answer Charlie wanted, and judging by his expression, perhaps it wasn’t the answer Billy wanted to give either.
“What happened?”
He hesitated for a second. “He noticed someone following him when he left the school.”
The cold feeling returned immediately. “Who?”
“Police. They pulled him over for a so-called routine check.”
Mia’s expression hardened. “Really?”
Billy nodded, and none of them looked as though they believed that explanation for a second.
“Is he alone?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah.”
“And you let him go?”
Billy gave her a look that made her realise immediately how ridiculous the question sounded.
“Charlie.”
She sighed. “Yeah. All right.” Nobody stopped Reeze once he had decided to do something.
Probably not even if they tied him to a fucking chair.
Molly had gone unusually quiet during the conversation. She sat with both hands around her glass of juice, watching the adults’ faces as though she were trying to piece together everything nobody was actually explaining to her.
“Is it those men again?” she finally asked.
Billy nodded.
“Probably.”
Molly grimaced. “I don’t like them. They looked at Dad funny.”