BooksBarbecue
Back Man at the Window Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  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. Acknowledgements
  61. About the author

‘Do you believe Leggett did it?’ Cardilini asked, turning on the boys.

Carmody and Mohr looked at each other. ‘No,’ Carmody said.

‘I don’t either.’

Mohr asked. ‘But is he correct? Would the boys have to testify about Edmund?’

‘Yep. That could happen,’ Cardilini replied.

‘I know he wouldn’t do it,’ Carmody said. Cardilini and Mohr looked doubtfully at him.

‘Tell me about Harper,’ Cardilini instructed.

Carmody and Mohr sat and stared back gloomily.

‘Carmody?’ Cardilini prompted sitting.

Carmody took a deep breath then started to speak slowly, outlining in detail what Mrs Lockheed had already explained to Cardilini. He described how Edmund would put the boys’ penises in his mouth while they stood holding their rifle, then threaten to reveal to their parents what they allowed him to do. The boys at this stage, he said, were completely under Edmund’s power, fearful of the pain it would cause their families. Cardilini listened to the sound of Carmody’s steady words, sinking further back in his chair as if trying to distance himself from them. At several points Mohr swore and vigorously wiped tears from his eyes. Camody told him about the boy having the bullet and of the fight he’d had with a third form boy. When he finished and looked imploringly at Cardilini.

‘What are you going to do, sir?’ Mohr asked earnestly, just as the boy stood in the doorway.

Fifty-Three

FIFTY-THREE

Day 20

Legget’s

8.15 p.m. Friday, 13th November 1965

After he’d walked past the room Carmody and Mohr had entered, the boy followed Mrs Leggett into the kitchen. He sat at the kitchen table.

She had curly hair and tiny lines that all grouped up when she smiled and the boy couldn’t help smiling back. She placed a glass in front of him, it held a cloudy liquid.

‘Leggett makes it. Do you make ginger beer?’ she asked. He didn’t, but he had wanted to, other second formers did and they always talked about it and swapped it between themselves. He breathed a smile, he might be able to do that now.

‘I’m going to,’ the boy said and Mrs Leggett smiled again.

‘Leggett did when he was at school, when he was your age.’ The boy wondered if she meant the spindly man. ‘Drink up.’

The boy put the glass to his lips, the bubbles on the surface tickled his top lip. He sipped, and it was cold and sharp and sweet.

‘How does it compare?’ Mrs Leggett asked him.

He wasn’t sure, he’d never tasted any of the other boys’ brews, he’d been a ‘creep’. Even if they didn’t know, he knew, and a ‘creep’ couldn’t do things that other boys did. A frown travelled across his face. He couldn’t be a creep anymore because . . .

‘Does it taste funny?’ Mrs Leggett said and poured herself a small glass to taste. The boy shook his head, smiling.