Page 102 of Child's Play
No one argued but all three turned and looked around as though they could spot him right here in the breakfast room.
‘Folks, he ain’t wearing a bloody sign,’ she said, with amusement.
‘Could be a she,’ Tiff offered.
‘We never rule it out, Tink,’ Kim explained. ‘Trust me, we’ve come across our fair share of lady killers but for ease of reference we use the term “he”.’
‘Don’t female killers tend to use poison?’ she asked, finishing her second cup of tea.
‘So the true crime books say, but of the female killers we’ve dealt with not one of them used that method,’ Bryant answered.
‘But keep whistling those show tunes, Tiff,’ Stacey said. ‘And I’ll certainly consider it.’
They all chuckled as Stacey looked pointedly at Tiff’s tea cup.
The smile was wiped swiftly from Kim’s face as a figure she knew well appeared in the doorway.
‘Okay, guys, what the hell is she doing here?’
Seventy-Three
‘You almost ready, bud?’ Penn asked his brother as he took the final bite of his toast.
Always the same. Once slice, half with just butter and half with strawberry jam.
‘Remind me why I pay for breakfast club?’ he asked.
‘Dunno,’ Jasper said, rubbing his hands together furiously to despatch the crumbs from his fingers.
Jasper had been in mainstream school for five years now and loved every minute of it.
Initially Penn had been terrified of the taunts and bullying his brother would be subjected to, had wanted to protect him from the ugliness that existed in the world to people who were different.
One day Penn had asked his brother if he got bullied and called names. Jasper had nodded and told him some of the taunts.
Penn’s rage had travelled around his body. He had kept his face neutral as his brother spoke but in his mind he was already heading down to that school and demanding action from the teachers or he’d pull him out of school completely. His mind had been set. His brother was not going to be forced to endure the torture of being singled out.
‘Billy gets picked on cos of his limp. Sarah gets picked on cos her eyebrows are thick. Misty gets picked on cos her parents are vidorced.’
‘Divorced,’ Penn corrected.
‘’Swat I said. You know what Billy says to do with bullies?’
‘What?’ Penn asked.
Jasper had covered his mouth and laughed as though he was going to say something naughty.
‘Go on,’ Penn had urged.
‘Kick ’em in the nuts.’
His brother had waited to see if he was going to be chastised, but Penn had burst out laughing, feeling all of the tension drain from his body. He’d never loved his brother, or Billy, more.
‘Go on, then. Go brush your teeth,’ Penn said, looking at his watch.
He heard the familiar sounds of his brother as he cleared away the breakfast dishes, placing the half slice of jam-laden toast on to a square of kitchen roll.
He heard the farewells between his brother and mother, who rarely made it down for breakfast any more.
