Bet Your Life (19 page)

Oh, crap
. “Just to see if anyone knows what happened.”

“I thought you’d have learned your lesson. Leave the police stuff to me and my officers.”

“OK.” I was already in trouble, and Dan was never going to like me. Recklessly, I said, “But I didn’t think you were investigating it at all.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve got someone in custody.”

“Seriously?” My voice came out as a squeak.

“I arrested him last night.”

“Who? I mean, how? Who?”

“Someone who had a row with Seb. A lad called Guy Tindall.”

“
Guy?
”

“You know him.”

“Not well. But I know that’s just impossible.” I was shaking my head. “Completely wrong.”

“He’s got fight injuries. He told me he’d argued with Seb. He admitted losing his temper with him.”

“So you’re willing to accept Seb wasn’t injured in a car accident.”

Dan had the grace to look sheepish. “It was a preliminary assumption.”

“It was wrong. And it’s also wrong to think that Guy could have injured him so badly. He’s not like that.” I was talking to Dan as if I wasn’t scared of him. But I was.

“When people lose their tempers they’re capable of doing terrible things. Things they would never do if they weren’t angry. Guy doesn’t have an alibi for Saturday night. He admits having had a fight with Seb. He won’t tell us why, but there’s obviously bad blood between the two of them.” Dan shrugged. “I’ve got him now. I can take my time with interviewing him and other witnesses. I don’t have to charge him yet, but I can, and I will.”

“Are you looking for anyone else?”

“Why should I?”

“Because Seb had lots of enemies.”

“I’ve got a credible suspect. I don’t need to go looking for any more.”

“What about Seb? Aren’t you even a little bit curious about why he got a beating?”

“No.”

I pounced. “Because you know already?”

“Stay out of it, Jess. I’m handling it. And his mother and father don’t want anyone spreading rumors while Seb isn’t able to defend himself.”

“His mother? Is she here now?”

“I meant Stephanie Dawson, his stepmother. She’s very concerned about his reputation being damaged.”

“Why would anyone bother if he hadn’t done anything wrong?”

“Because people are malicious.”

“Or because he’d done something to deserve what happened to him.”

“Blaming the victim?” Dan raised his eyebrows. “That’s not very nice, Jess.”

“Doesn’t it make you a tiny bit suspicious that Mrs. Dawson doesn’t want you poking around in Seb’s private life?”

“A bit,” he admitted. “But I can see why.”

“Because Mr. Dawson would be heartbroken if he knew his son was a bully.”

“That sort of thing.”

“Who suggested it was a car accident? He’d have had to be blind and stupid to believe it. I know he didn’t think it’s true.”

“That came from Stephanie.” He sighed. “She just wants all this to go away. You know she doesn’t get on with Seb. He’s caused her a lot of trouble and grief. She’s trying to protect her husband and keep her family out of the public eye. I have been investigating what happened, Jess, even if you don’t believe I’ve done enough, but I’ve been doing it quietly, behind the scenes. And I really do think I’ve got the right person in custody. When Seb wakes up, he can confirm it.”

“Is he still unconscious?”

“No change.” Dan held onto the bridge of his nose for a second, frowning, as if he had a headache. “Where were you going when I interrupted you?”

“That way.” I pointed toward town.

“Me too.”

We started walking toward Fore Street, side by side. He looked exhausted. I had always been terrified of him and avoided talking to him if I could, but I’d learned something from dealing with Claudia and Immy. Sometimes being nice could work wonders. And I wanted a miracle. “Busy week?” I risked.

“You could say that. Vandalism and underage drinking and some public disorder to deal with. The usual, for half-term.”

Not to mention your son getting into trouble
. “Have you seen Will today?”

“Not yet.” A quick glance. “He wasn’t up when I left. Why?”

“No reason.” At least Dan didn’t yet know he’d been fighting. He’d see the bruises on Will’s face, though, and I didn’t think he’d be all that pleased, fake fight or not. I carried on. “At least you have him back. To help with his mother, I mean. That must take some of the pressure off you.”

Instant suspicion. “Not really. He’s been out a lot.”

“Not with me.”

“No?” Dan frowned down at me.

“I promise you, we haven’t been together.” Deep breath. “And we’re not going to be.”

“Is that right?”

“I wouldn’t lie about it.” I waited a moment. “So I was wondering if—”

“No.”

“But you haven’t even heard—”

“You’re going to ask if Will can leave his boarding school and go back to Sentinel College, and the answer is no. It’s a great opportunity for him academically, and socially. He’s lucky to get to go to Stonehouse.”

“I think he’d rather be here.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

“It just doesn’t seem fair to send him away.” My bottom lip was trembling. “His mother…”
Also known as your wife
. “She might not be around for much longer.”

“I know. She’s dying,” Dan said coldly. “She’s been dying for a while now. She’ll probably still be dying when he finishes his exams. And when he graduates. I’m not encouraging Will to hang around here just because of that.”

“You sound as if you wish she’d get on with it.”

He actually laughed. “Sometimes. The progress of her disease is so uncertain. It could be soon, or it could be years. I remember when she got the diagnosis. It took ages because there’s no test for motor neurone disease. They have to rule out every other possible cause for the symptoms. We were hoping and praying it would be something else.”

“Really?” I couldn’t help sounding skeptical.

“Yes. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Horrible disease.” He tucked his chin down into his chest for a moment, then straightened up. “I don’t want Will to put his life on hold while she takes her own sweet time about dying. He has a chance to do something with his brains, but in three or four years it will be too late for him.”

Like it was for you
. I thought it but I would never have dared to say it. The reason Dan hadn’t achieved his dreams was because of Will and, at least in part, my mother.

As if he’d been following my train of thought, Dan said, “How
is
Molly? I haven’t seen her for a while.”

“She’s fine. Working hard.”

“Nick’s keeping her busy.”

“I suppose.”

As if he couldn’t stand not to, he asked, “Does she ever talk about me?”

Oh my God, no
. “Um. Not to me, really.”

“But to Tilly?”

“I have no idea.” I stared up the street, desperate to find something that I could use to change the subject. The answer to my prayers was right in front of me. It was also, potentially, a total disaster. “I don’t believe it.”

“What?” A couple of seconds too late, Dan looked where I was looking. “I don’t see anything.”

“Nothing to see.” I picked up speed. “He’s gone into the gallery now.”

“Who?”

“My dad.” I left Dan standing as I ran.

I don’t know what I was expecting to find when I burst in through the door, but it wasn’t the sight that greeted me. Mum was sitting on the edge of her desk with her arms folded while Dad leaned toward her with one hand on either side of her hips. She had a familiar, dazed, rabbit-in-headlights look on her face, and Dad was saying something in a soft voice. It could have been nice; it could have been vile. There was just no way to tell.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, slightly out of breath from pelting up the street.

He turned round. “Jessica. I was just asking your mother where I could find you.”

Mum glanced at him, surprised.

“Elementary mistake, Dad. If you’re going to lie, don’t involve Mum in it.”

He held his arms out expectantly. I went over and submitted to a kiss on the cheek. I’d got my fair hair from him, but not his height. He was strikingly like my uncle Jack—the sisters had chosen men who were physically very similar—but he was better looking. To balance that, Jack was infinitely more pleasant than him.

“Why are you here?” I asked again.

“To see you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really? Now?”

“Why not now?”

Because maybe you could have done the decent thing and visited when I almost
died
, instead of sending me a get-well-soon card written by your girlfriend.

Which reminded me. “How’s Martine?”

He looked uncomfortable. “Gone back to Germany.”

“Permanently?”

“As far as I know. We’re not in touch.”

I was sorry to hear it. Martine had been nice. She’d tried extremely hard to be my friend, and it wasn’t her fault that Mum and Dad had split up. She was the girlfriend after the girlfriend after that.

“Is this relevant to why you decided to visit?” Mum sounded uncharacteristically tough.

“I had some time off. I wanted to use it wisely. See the people I love.” He was looking at Mum as he said “love,” watching for the blush that, inevitably, turned her cheeks pink.

The door opened behind me and Dad looked past me. His expression changed. “I wasn’t expecting to see you, Dan.”

“Really? This is where I live. And work.”

Dan’s eyes were always a muddier shade of gray than Will’s, but at that moment they were the inky color of thunderclouds in a heat wave.
Storm a-coming
, I thought.

“Still a policeman?”

“Just an ordinary copper,” Dan said, leaving out the fact that he was the local inspector and they didn’t come more important than him for a good thirty miles. “Why are you here?”

“Are you asking in your official capacity?”

“I like to know what’s going on in my town.”

“
Your
town,” Dad repeated. “Certainly something to be proud of.”

“I think so.” Dan was visibly bristling.

“You must really love it here. Since you never left.”

Good old Dad, straight in with the killer line. I’d have enjoyed Dan getting to see what it was like on the receiving end of snide comments, but it made me uncomfortable to know why they hated each other. Mum and Dan had been madly in love until they broke up over a stupid argument. He took up with Karen, who then announced she was pregnant with Will, and Dan married her. Devastated, Mum had run away with my father, who was practically the first man she’d ever met who hadn’t been brought up in Port Sentinel. No wonder it hadn’t worked out.

Mum was so tense she was digging holes in the desk with her fingernails. I felt much the same way.

“I had reasons to stay.”

“Yes, you did. How’s the little boy?” Dad asked, in what might have been a non sequitur but wasn’t.

“Taller than you.”

Dad looked surprised for a moment, then glanced at me and obviously did some mental arithmetic. “Time goes by, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, but some things don’t change.” Dan’s voice was heavy with meaning.

“No. They don’t.”

The two of them stared at each other and the air was so charged a spark would have been enough to send us all sky-high.

“What are you doing here?” Dan asked again.

“I had some news I wanted to share with Molly and Jessica.”

Oh no. What now?
From the look on Mum’s face, she felt much the same.

Dad turned his back on Dan, the better to stand a bit too close to Mum. At least he’d given up on the creepy leaning. “I might as well tell you this now. They’re winding up the firm. I’m getting a decent lump sum and I’m using it to set up on my own.”

Dad was a financial adviser, which was exactly as interesting as it sounded. He loved money more than sunshine, even if it was someone else’s money rather than his own. He’d always wanted to have his own company, with his own name on the door. Living the dream, Christopher Tennant–style.

Mum’s face lit up. “I’m so glad. What a wonderful opportunity for you.”

“It shouldn’t affect my income if you’re worried about me providing for Jessica. I’ve got several clients lined up already.”

“I wasn’t worried.” Mum, as usual, had total faith in everyone but herself. “You’ll do brilliantly.”

“Thanks, Molly.” He looked at her without saying anything more, until she ducked her head, embarrassed. It was as if that was what Dad had been waiting for. “Can I ask you a massive favor?”

“What is it?” I asked, on Mum’s behalf, since she didn’t seem capable of speech.

“Can I stay with you? Just for a couple of days?” Dad ran a hand through his hair, looking hassled. “I’m going to be busy with work for the foreseeable future. I won’t be able to take a break and I’d like to have some time with you first.”

“With Jess,” Mum prompted, seeing my face.

“With you too. I missed you, Molly.”

She looked stricken. “Christopher.”

He reached out to touch her and Dan snapped.

“Get away from her.”

“Are you still here?” Dad glared at him. “This is a private conversation.”

“Yeah, whatever, but seriously, don’t touch her,” I said, moving forward to get between them. I hated being on Dan’s side, but I couldn’t stand to see Dad playing games with Mum. “You got divorced. You divorced her.”

“Thank you, Jessica. I remember.” He looked back to Mum. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No. I don’t know.” Mum was huddled on the edge of the desk, miserable. “Of course I don’t want you to go. You should spend time with Jess.”

“Don’t stay on my account,” I said. I was trying to work out what game Dad was playing, because there was definitely a game, even if he wasn’t prepared to tell us the rules.

“That’s nice.” He nodded, his eyes cold. “I’ll remember that.”

“I don’t want to be your excuse.”
Because I know it’s a lie.

He must have seen what I meant from the look on my face, because he backed off straight away. “It’s not just you. Of course not. I want to see the whole family.”