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Back A Change of Circumstance Save as PDF
Chapters (67)
  1. Cover
  2. One
  3. Two
  4. Three
  5. Four
  6. Five
  7. Six
  8. Seven
  9. Eight
  10. Nine
  11. Ten
  12. Eleven
  13. Twelve
  14. Thirteen
  15. Fourteen
  16. Fifteen
  17. Sixteen
  18. Seventeen
  19. Eighteen
  20. Nineteen
  21. Twenty
  22. Twenty-One
  23. Twenty-Two
  24. Twenty-Three
  25. Twenty-Four
  26. Twenty-Five
  27. Twenty-Six
  28. Twenty-Seven
  29. Twenty-Eight
  30. Twenty-Nine
  31. Thirty
  32. Thirty-One
  33. Thirty-Two
  34. Thirty-Three
  35. Thirty-Four
  36. Thirty-Five
  37. Thirty-Six
  38. Thirty-Seven
  39. Thirty-Eight
  40. Thirty-Nine
  41. Forty
  42. Forty-One
  43. Forty-Two
  44. Forty-Three
  45. Forty-Four
  46. Forty-Five
  47. Forty-Six
  48. Forty-Seven
  49. Forty-Eight
  50. Forty-Nine
  51. Fifty
  52. Fifty-One
  53. Fifty-Two
  54. Fifty-Three
  55. Fifty-Four
  56. Fifty-Five
  57. Fifty-Six
  58. Fifty-Seven
  59. Fifty-Eight
  60. Fifty-Nine
  61. Sixty
  62. Sixty-One
  63. Sixty-Two
  64. Sixty-Three
  65. Sixty-Four
  66. Sixty-Five
  67. Sixty-Six

He lunged at Connor, butted him forward, Connor kicked him in the shin and they fell in a heap, blocking the doorway. The rucksack went skidding across the floor and hit the skirting board. Books and pens went all over, Connor throwing himself on them while Brookie went to the table and bagged the last of the bread. The other two had switched on the television and were together on the brown leather sofa, the best find of anything they’d ever got from a skip. The only slightly worn parts were the armrests and that wasn’t right through.

‘Where the fuck did you get this, Brookie?’ Connor whistled.

Brookie was putting margarine and peanut butter on his bread and didn’t look round.

Next thing he knew, Connor was shoving something under his nose.

‘Amazing what you get off a skip. Not. Where’d it come from?’

It was still under his nose. A small slab of black metal.

‘That’s not mine. That was never in my bag.’

‘Where else did it come from then? Fall off the ceiling?’

The mobile phone gleamed as it lay in Connor’s hand.

‘Come on, where’d I get that from? Let’s see it.’

Connor lifted his arm in the air. ‘Finders keepers.’

‘Not yours, give it here. It was in my bag.’

‘You going to tell me the truth?’

Brookie just stood. Connor lowered his arm and looked at the phone carefully, turned it on, looked at the screen, turned it off. ‘Works,’ he said.

‘Come on, Connor, hand it over.’

‘Owner might ring it . . . then you answer it and they’ll have you for nickin stuff.’

‘How’d they know who it was answering?’

Connor’s silence acknowledged the truth of that.

Brookie grabbed his bread and four biscuits and went to sit on the sofa to watch Jamie Johnson with the other two but he didn’t take the programme in properly. Connor was at the table, eating the broken bits at the bottom of the biscuit pack and playing with the mobile. He was sure his brother had nicked it, and he didn’t know what he thought about that.

Thirteen

Hi G. Wanted you to see this as I don’t suppose you have. Thought you’d want to know. I’ve scanned it from the paper. Don’t let it bother you, you’ve moved on. Stupid idiot, and he’s how old, 55? Hope you and Liv are OK. Noelline xxx

Below was the announcement.

TONKS. To Madison (née Bulmer) and Jeffrey, magnificent twin sons, Isaac Jeffrey and Noah Patrick, first grandchildren for Kay and Patrick Bulmer. Life is wonderful!