‘Yeah. A tall kid with dark hair. That’s all he said, but he reckons he can’t have gone far . . .’ said Frankie. ‘I’ll get Vance on the lookout.’ Frankie nodded, with a smirk in Forest’s direction. ‘Got it. Find the boy. Kill him on sight.’

‘Ahab,’ he croaked, disoriented. ‘Ahab will stop you.’

The man with the gold chains laughed. ‘No one can hear you, mate.’

He dragged Forest into one of the bedrooms, still laughing. He grabbed a pillow case and made to put it over Forest’s head, but Frankie stopped him.

‘Just one more thing.’ Frankie’s grinning face was the last thing Forest saw. ‘I win.’

CHAPTER 50

AHAB

Ahab sat on one of the beds in Davey’s room, Davey sat on the other.

Ahab licked his lips. His mouth was dry. ‘Nervous?’

‘What do you reckon?’ muttered Davey. He turned his head. ‘You?’

‘She’ll find a way to make me pay for not telling her you were alive,’ said Ahab.

‘Don’t worry. She’ll be too busy punishing me . . .’

Someone began pounding on the door and didn’t stop.

Davey hesitated too long and Ahab got up to answer it instead.

The moment he turned the knob, Ivy came bursting through, pushing Ahab out of the way. She took in her son. ‘You!’

‘Hi, Mum,’ he said quietly.

Ivy’s eyes overflowed with tears, but her mouth was set in an angry line. ‘You dare do that to me?’ She crossed the gap between them and pulled him in for a hug. She burst into loud, wet sobs. ‘You stupid boy! You absolute idiot!’

Shelby was hovering in the doorway, not wanting to intrude, but Ahab pulled her inside so he could close the door.

‘What should I do with this?’ whispered Shelby. She pulled a ziplock bag out of her pocket. It was full of golden shards.

‘Bloody bliss salt,’ muttered Ahab. He leaned against a wall, wanting nothing to do with this scene.

‘What’s that?’ said Shelby.

‘My mum used to call it that . . .’ said Ahab. ‘Get it out of my sight.’

‘You think I like it?’ said Shelby. ‘Mackerel was a mess after one smoke.’

‘Don’t call him Mackerel,’ growled Ahab.

Ivy continued to hold Davey, loud sobs still escaping her stony demeanour, slapping him on the back of the head every now and then.

Eventually she composed herself, straightening her dress and her hair. She sat on the bed next to Davey and turned to the room. ‘Right. Show me.’ Her voice was hoarse from crying, but like usual she was taking control.

Shelby held out the bag. ‘We’re calling it Golden Sunshine.’

Ivy refused to take it, clasping Davey’s hands instead. ‘I just don’t understand. Why are they involved? What on earth do you think you’re doing?’