‘What did I say? Do you think I like it? Not one little bit! But we asked the public for information, and now we’ve got it. We’ve got procedures to follow, standing orders. Suck it up. We’ve got to do things by the book.’

‘What, like Grav used to do, you mean?’

‘That was different. He was different. Times have changed.’

‘Yeah, things have changed all right, and not for the better.’

Kesey rose to her feet, pulling in and then slowly releasing a deep breath. ‘Okay, you’ve said enough. Let’s get this done. The quicker we can get it over with, the happier I’ll be.’

20

Heath stood watching, partially hidden behind the dark-blue velvet curtains in the master bedroom of his home on Picton Street, as Megan was led through her front door to the waiting police car. A female officer took the lead and a male held their prisoner’s arm just above the elbow.

‘Look! Can you see her, Mother? Can you see? They’re putting the bitch in the back of the car. It’s the same two pigs who were on the evening news, oink, oink, the stupid, ineffectual morons. And look at the bitch mother’s demeanour. Ha! What a state she’s in, the tears, the morose expression on her stupid face. What a triumph! I did that, me, that’s my achievement. Mine and nobody else’s. The shrew’s destruction continues, and there’s a great deal more to come.’

His mother’s image gradually came into sharper focus, emerging through the wall initially, and then sitting on the bed, resting her chin on one hand, and looking only mildly interested in anything he had to say or do. She sighed and then spoke, the sound of her voice filling his head as if projected loud and clear from every part of the room. It came from every direction at once, bombarding him with noise. ‘What on earth am I supposed to be looking at, Henry? All I can see is this bedroom, the four walls, the fading furniture, and the double bed, covered in its familiar quilt. I mustn’t forget the bed. It’s the one I shared with your dear father. The one in which you were conceived all those years ago. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn’t touched me at all.’

Heath flinched at the mere mention of his deceased father, but he drove the man from his mind. ‘Quickly, Mother, quickly, come to the window, come and see. They’ll be driving away soon.’

‘What on earth are you making such a fuss about now?’

‘There, there, look, there, the bitch mother’s been weeping. She looks close to collapse. Come to the window, look, the male pig’s helping her into the car. What are you waiting for? Hurry before they go. For goodness’ sake, get up, it’s well worth seeing. Please, Mother, come and see.’

But she didn’t look. She just lay back on the bed, hugging a feather pillow, pulling it close, brushing it with her lips, as she sometimes had in life. ‘I shared this bed with your dear father for over twenty long years. I can still smell his cologne on the sheets. It’s quite a turn-on in some strange way. He was a very sexual man, your father, but then you claim to know that as well as I do. His memory stains the sheets. Why don’t you have a sniff?’