Mr Jones hopped off his stool. ‘No trouble,’ he said.

‘No, sit down, Mr Jones, Dad and I can talk over here,’ James said, indicating an empty table in the corner.

‘Call me Andy, please. Here, let me leave you with one of these,’ he said, holding out a business card.

James took it and moved away. His father followed.

‘No need to be rude,’ Dad muttered.

‘I’ve got to get over to Wishaw, can I just get that envelope, please?’

As he produced the folded yellow envelope from inside his jacket, a tear became visible in the crags of his father’s big, suddenly soft and handsome face. ‘You don’t leave town without talking to me about this, right?‘ he said.

James took it, but his father grabbed him by the wrist and squeezed so tight that a pain shot up James’s arm all the way to his shoulder.

‘There’s always been way, way too much crime in this cop’s family,’ Dad said. ‘Just remember, there’s two sides to every story in a marriage, mate. Watch my beer, I’m going to the dunny.’

City girl’s darkest secrets revealed.

James waited for the life to return to his arm and his father to disappear along the corridor to the men’s toilets. The bar had emptied a bit. Mr Jones and his grandson had drifted across to the trays of sandwiches and were helping themselves.

There was little doubt now. James could imagine that slight frame inside a dark hoodie and cap, a caricature of a boy with a very adult ability to maim, and possibly kill.

He flipped open his mobile phone, pretended to dial and started a serious-sounding conversation with nobody, tucked the envelope under his arm, waved at the potential suspects in the non-existent murder investigation and rolled his eyes at them as though he was taking a boring work call as he passed, and left the pub.

One hour left in town, and:-

There’s no use going to the police. I’m on my own.

Dad always got violent when confronted with my sexuality.

They all did.

Fourteen 1985

FOURTEEN
1985

Tony scanned the wall of guests at the wedding reception, but he couldn’t see Jamie. Maybe the kid had gone home early?

‘I’m going to the dunny,’ he said to Leanne.

‘Don’t say dunny,’ she whispered, patting him on the leg and smiling at Uncle Daniel dancing with Louise Beaumont.

He nodded, gave her hand a squeeze, and went for the back door.

Outside, the tinny sound of music coming from the big speakers gave way to the silence of the hot afternoon. He leaned on the corner of the brick wall at the bottom of the ramp and inhaled the cooler air of the shade, thinking he’d better not drink much more if he was going to drive his bride to the coast.