BooksBarbecue
Back Grow
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

Sargant Prangle notices too, her eyes locking on Dana as she continues. ‘Until that stunt at the mosque last year when he was chucking rocks from right underneath his own banner. We’ve seen the videos on that private section of his website and—’

Dana speaks again. Her voice is thin. ‘So why haven’t you done anything? Why have you let him get away with it?’

Sargant Prangle leans forward. One hand edges across the table, towards Dana. ‘It’s … complicated, Dana. The videos won’t stand up in court. It’s not clear enough who’s who, and we can’t identify the gentleman that gets attacked. He’s never reported it. So we don’t really know who’s doing what. Except…’ She looks back at me. ‘You’re lucky no one was hurt at that charity shop, Josh.’

My breath stops in my throat. I can’t speak.

Sargant Prangle continues. ‘I had a hunch it was you. They didn’t show your face, but I thought I recognised your coat, the way you were walking. I was going to come knocking on your door for the full story, but something told me you might come looking for me, so I waited.’

Dana stands up suddenly, her chair falling backwards and clattering against the wall. ‘You’re playing with us! You could have stepped in at any time. Stopped it. Arrested him, Carl, all of us, so I didn’t have to … So he wouldn’t have …’

It all pours out of Dana then, all the hurt she’s been carrying. I thought I was doing an OK job of helping her but, as she lets out a deep groan that quickly takes flight as a scream, it’s obvious I haven’t been. The anger at her father, her mother, at Carl. All the ‘what ifs’ form on her face in the second it takes Sargant Prangle to get round to our side of the table. She grabs Dana’s fists, holding her by the wrists as they flail towards her. Dana only has a few good attempts in her before she’s weeping into the Sargant’s chest, arms flopping in the Sargant’s tight grip, and then hanging limply at her sides.

Sargant Prangle speaks into the walkie-talkie on her shoulder, and soon there’s a knock at the door. A woman enters with her hair cut into a soft bob. She looks kind. She leads Dana away. When the door shuts, it’s just the two of us.

Sargant Prangle lets the silence stew for a while. ‘So, what are you here for, Josh?’

My voice is barely above a whisper. ‘Something bad’s going to happen. People are in danger.’

More silence, then she speaks the words I’ve been dreading.

‘Josh, we need to call your mum.’

SIXTY-FOUR

SIXTY FOUR