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Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. About the Author
  4. Title Page
  5. Intoroduction
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EITHT
  14. NINE
  15. TEN
  16. ELEVEN
  17. TWELVE
  18. THIRTEEN
  19. FOURTEEN
  20. FIFTEEN
  21. SIXTEEN
  22. SEVENTEEN
  23. EIGHTEEN
  24. NINETEEN
  25. TWENTY
  26. TWENTY-ONE
  27. TWENTY-TWO
  28. TWENTY-THREE
  29. TWENTY-FOUR
  30. TWENTY-FIVE
  31. TWENTY-SIX
  32. TWENTY-SEVEN
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT
  34. TWENTY-NINE
  35. THIRTY
  36. THIRTY-ONE
  37. THIRTY-TWO
  38. THIRTY-THREE
  39. THIRTY-FOUR
  40. THIRTY-FIVE
  41. THIRTY-SIX
  42. THIRTY-SEVEN
  43. THIRTY-EIGHT
  44. THIRTY-NINE
  45. FORTY
  46. FORTY-ONE
  47. FORTY-TWO
  48. FORTY-THREE
  49. FORTY-FOUR
  50. FORTY-FIVE
  51. FORTY-SIX
  52. FORTY-SEVEN
  53. FORTY-EIGHT
  54. FORTY-NINE
  55. FIFTY
  56. FIFTY-ONE
  57. FIFTY-TWO
  58. FIFTY-THREE
  59. FIFTY-FOUR
  60. FIFTY-FIVE
  61. FIFTY-SIX
  62. FIFTY-SEVEN
  63. FIFTY-EIGHT
  64. FIFTY-NINE
  65. SIXTY
  66. SIXTY-ONE
  67. SIXTY-TWO
  68. SIXTY-THREE
  69. SIXTY-FOUR
  70. SIXTY-FIVE
  71. SIXTY-SIX
  72. SIXTY-SEVEN
  73. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  74. CLIMATE EMERGENCY
  75. Copyright

His eyes look panicked. There is the slightest shake of his head. ‘It’s a bit sore today. It doesn’t like the cold I don’t think.’ He raises his voice a little, makes sure John can hear him. ‘Bloody foolish of me, falling down those stairs like that.’

Catching on to his meaning, I join in. ‘Oh. That’s awful. Er… Sorry to hear it.’

John looks away from the growing queue at his stall, looks at Dan. ‘Two minutes?’

‘Thanks, Boss.’ Then, to me, ‘Mind if we sit down, Kid?’ Dan picks up a crutch from behind the stall and gestures with it towards a nearby bench. ‘I can’t lean on this thing for too long.’

‘Sure, yeah. Fine.’ I think I see the back of Dana’s head. She’s fifty yards or so down the high street. It’s OK. I know where she’s going.

‘Look, Josh,’ Dan begins, placing himself heavily on the bench. I perch on the other end. He leans in and his voice drops. ‘If you happen to see him, Carl I mean, can you tell him I’m alright?’

‘Yeah, sure.’

‘It’s just, John offered me this job, and it’s alright actually. Doesn’t change how I feel about … you know … things. But I don’t want him thinking badly of me.’

I’ve never heard a less convincing statement, but I let it go. Other things to worry about. ‘Is that why Carl … your leg?’

‘Don’t know. That and some other stuff. I asked a few times about this whole plan. Maybe I did a bit too much asking. Just all seems a bit … much. I mean it’s just a kid, isn’t it? He’s what, your age? Not that I don’t agree that something has to be—’

‘Yeah, of course, Dan. I’ll pass that on.’ I can’t stand the hollowness of his voice. Is that what I sound like?

‘And I suppose I should apologise to you, too. For not … you know, with your dad and everything…’

‘Oh.’ I’m struggling for words. Should I let on? His loyalty to Carl, despite everything, suggests I shouldn’t. ‘Well … it’s OK. I guess. Don’t worry about it.’

‘Thanks, Josh. You’re a proper hero.’ Dan goes back to sounding jocular, friendly. ‘So what’s he got you running around with today then? Suppose you can’t say much about it really, can you?’

‘No, not really.’ My discomfort must be pretty clear by now. One knee won’t keep still.

‘I won’t keep you, Josh. Good to see you though. Maybe see you about sometime, back at the Crown maybe?’

‘Yeah, maybe.’ I stand to leave.

Dan heaves himself back onto his one good leg. He’s wrapped the handle of his crutch in cloth bandages, like Jamie did, but I can see his left hand’s all sore where it’s been rubbing.