– as if she could actually see the smoke curling off it.
‘Can I come with you?’ she whispered. ‘On the posse.’
‘It’s not a game, Rubes. This is serious work.
Man’s
work.
‘I
know.’
Ruby frowned. She was the wrong sex – again.
‘But I could help you,’ she suggested. ‘I could look out for him.’
Daddy wrung out the cloth. Bloody water squeezed out between his knuckles. ‘Mummy will be home soon.’
Ruby could tell he was trying to change the subject and she was determined not to let him. ‘Please, Daddy? You can look one way and I’ll look the other way. Then we’re looking
all
the ways. I’m
really
good at looking for things. Even out of the very corners of my eyes. Watch this!’ To demonstrate, she looked away from Daddy and slid her eyes right to their very corners. ‘See?’ she said. ‘I can see you really well.’
‘I don’t know, Rubes …’ The water ran clear through the cloth now.
Ruby rushed, ‘Please, Daddy – I want to go on the posse! I’ll be really, really good and quiet. I
promise
.’
There was a chink of silence and Ruby held her breath.
‘You’ll get bored.’
‘I won’t!’ said Ruby vehemently. ‘I
won’t
get bored! I’ll be too excited!’
‘You’ll whine to come home.’
‘I won’t! I won’t whine!’
‘Well, we’ll be out really late and what if it’s a school night? Mummy will be cross with us if she finds out.’
‘She’ll be at work! And I won’t tell her! I won’t!’
‘What if she sneaks in to kiss you goodnight and you’re not there? Then I’ll get it in the ear.’
That could be a problem. Mummy did come in and kiss her when she got home from work. Sometimes Ruby woke up and grumbled at her.
Ruby frowned. She felt the approach of crushing disappointment. Mummy was such a spoilsport!
‘Can’t we get home before her?’
Daddy shrugged as he wiped down the sink. ‘We can
try
’, he said. ‘But maybe there’s some way we could fool her into thinking you’re
in
bed when you’re really not.’
Ruby had a flash of inspiration. ‘I’ll put Panda in my bed so he looks like me! I’ll put him under the blankets. Mummy won’t even know I’m gone!’ It was a ruse they’d seen in more than one TV Western – the baddie emptying his gun into the hero as he lay by the campfire, then picking up the bedroll full of rocks that he’d mistaken for a man. Panda was quite big. It would definitely work.
Daddy laughed. ‘That’s pretty clever, Rubes.’
‘Can I come then?’
He put up his hands in cowboy surrender. ‘You got me, Deputy.’
Ruby squealed with delight and buried her face in his old blue jersey that smelled of salt and smoke.
19
DC CALVIN BRIDGE looked down at Frannie Hatton and thought that she was just his type.
If she’d been alive, of course – he wasn’t sick.
Dark-haired, petite, but with nice tits – if you ignored the Y-incision – and with a neatly tended ladygarden.
He stared at the dead girl’s crotch and thought that Shirley could really take better care down there. She had when they’d first started to go out together three years ago, but nowadays he was lucky if she shaved her legs, let alone her bits. Calvin never mentioned it. But now, seeing Frannie Hatton’s wasted Brazilian made him wonder if maybe things with Shirley weren’t happening a bit quick. He didn’t object in
principle
to marrying her – just to the
speed
of it all.
But how to raise the subject without Shirley mistaking one for the other?
He couldn’t.
Could anyone?
He sighed.
‘Hard day, Calvin?’ said DCI King sarcastically.
‘Excuse me, Ma’am,’ said Calvin. ‘I was miles away.’
‘Well, don’t be,’ said King sharply. ‘Be right here.’
Calvin blushed. He had a tendency to drift off, and knew he
must
try to concentrate if he was going to be even slightly impressive.
‘Was she sexually assaulted?’ asked King.
‘No indication of that,’ said Dr Shortland. He had a manila case
‘Can I come with you?’ she whispered. ‘On the posse.’
‘It’s not a game, Rubes. This is serious work.
Man’s
work.
‘I
know.’
Ruby frowned. She was the wrong sex – again.
‘But I could help you,’ she suggested. ‘I could look out for him.’
Daddy wrung out the cloth. Bloody water squeezed out between his knuckles. ‘Mummy will be home soon.’
Ruby could tell he was trying to change the subject and she was determined not to let him. ‘Please, Daddy? You can look one way and I’ll look the other way. Then we’re looking
all
the ways. I’m
really
good at looking for things. Even out of the very corners of my eyes. Watch this!’ To demonstrate, she looked away from Daddy and slid her eyes right to their very corners. ‘See?’ she said. ‘I can see you really well.’
‘I don’t know, Rubes …’ The water ran clear through the cloth now.
Ruby rushed, ‘Please, Daddy – I want to go on the posse! I’ll be really, really good and quiet. I
promise
.’
There was a chink of silence and Ruby held her breath.
‘You’ll get bored.’
‘I won’t!’ said Ruby vehemently. ‘I
won’t
get bored! I’ll be too excited!’
‘You’ll whine to come home.’
‘I won’t! I won’t whine!’
‘Well, we’ll be out really late and what if it’s a school night? Mummy will be cross with us if she finds out.’
‘She’ll be at work! And I won’t tell her! I won’t!’
‘What if she sneaks in to kiss you goodnight and you’re not there? Then I’ll get it in the ear.’
That could be a problem. Mummy did come in and kiss her when she got home from work. Sometimes Ruby woke up and grumbled at her.
Ruby frowned. She felt the approach of crushing disappointment. Mummy was such a spoilsport!
‘Can’t we get home before her?’
Daddy shrugged as he wiped down the sink. ‘We can
try
’, he said. ‘But maybe there’s some way we could fool her into thinking you’re
in
bed when you’re really not.’
Ruby had a flash of inspiration. ‘I’ll put Panda in my bed so he looks like me! I’ll put him under the blankets. Mummy won’t even know I’m gone!’ It was a ruse they’d seen in more than one TV Western – the baddie emptying his gun into the hero as he lay by the campfire, then picking up the bedroll full of rocks that he’d mistaken for a man. Panda was quite big. It would definitely work.
Daddy laughed. ‘That’s pretty clever, Rubes.’
‘Can I come then?’
He put up his hands in cowboy surrender. ‘You got me, Deputy.’
Ruby squealed with delight and buried her face in his old blue jersey that smelled of salt and smoke.
19
DC CALVIN BRIDGE looked down at Frannie Hatton and thought that she was just his type.
If she’d been alive, of course – he wasn’t sick.
Dark-haired, petite, but with nice tits – if you ignored the Y-incision – and with a neatly tended ladygarden.
He stared at the dead girl’s crotch and thought that Shirley could really take better care down there. She had when they’d first started to go out together three years ago, but nowadays he was lucky if she shaved her legs, let alone her bits. Calvin never mentioned it. But now, seeing Frannie Hatton’s wasted Brazilian made him wonder if maybe things with Shirley weren’t happening a bit quick. He didn’t object in
principle
to marrying her – just to the
speed
of it all.
But how to raise the subject without Shirley mistaking one for the other?
He couldn’t.
Could anyone?
He sighed.
‘Hard day, Calvin?’ said DCI King sarcastically.
‘Excuse me, Ma’am,’ said Calvin. ‘I was miles away.’
‘Well, don’t be,’ said King sharply. ‘Be right here.’
Calvin blushed. He had a tendency to drift off, and knew he
must
try to concentrate if he was going to be even slightly impressive.
‘Was she sexually assaulted?’ asked King.
‘No indication of that,’ said Dr Shortland. He had a manila case
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