Even when Gordon had rearranged Grandpa in an armchair with a Scotch, Carl on the balcony with a cup of tea (Big W mug for him), and Lou had escaped into the dark with Principal Oxenford, Ben couldn’t figure out how two fights had broken out simultaneously. Eventually he pieced together that Grandpa, who had been quietly watching the card game, had hobbled behind Carl to get eyes on the dealer’s side. Grandpa then announced that Carl was cheating. Carl said Grandpa was giving signals to Josie, who was passing those messages to Red Cap. To this counter-allegation, Josie had become confused by the detail and taken maximum umbrage, not at Carl but at Tony Eastaugh, whom she had known all her life and didn’t think a lot of. Tony said some things about Josie’s marriage, which had ended with the death of her husband some nineteen years earlier, information which was freshly injurious. When Red Cap defended his mother’s honour, Tony said some more choice words about Red Cap’s teaching career and threw the first punch—at Tonsure Man, who had been standing by innocently. Tony seemed to mistake him for someone else.

Carl, whose enthusiasm for the card game had evaporated, had shuffled outside to take cover from the fiasco. Nothing was guaranteed to upset his fragile equilibrium more than old people in a bar-room brawl. He didn’t like being accused of cheating either. But what threw him right out was seeing an adult giving kids drugs, which was what he literally stumbled upon outside, after tripping on the Shitfuckerpoobum and falling into Dog, who was offering a joint to Daniel’s friends. Carl spoke to Dog about pushing dope to minors and, on the way through, about fucking his best friend’s wife. This in turn led to Daniel telling Carl that he had no high horse to get on. Who threw the first punch was now beyond relevance.

Carl was trembling and sweating. ‘I’m a bit shaky,’ he said to Ben.

‘Generally, or tonight?’

Carl’s tea mug knocked against his teeth with a Big W clink. He lowered the cup and looked at the white line of froth on a broken wave in the moonlight.

‘Neither.’

A noise interrupted them. From inside, Lou was rapping urgently on the sliding door. At her side was Principal Oxenford, who still smiled like she was watching a TV comedy, and behind them was Ben’s mum, hair piled on her head, dressed like one of the Bangles. Ben wasn’t sure if he felt caught and guilty or left behind and innocent. Kelly’s panic-stricken face moved to one side; behind her stood two blue-shirted police officers. To Gordon she was silently mouthing, ‘What the fuck?’

‘Officers, welcome to The Lodge,’ said Ronald Grimes, hobbling past Gordon. ‘How may I assist you?’

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