Page 76 of Waifs And Strays
I grinned. ‘Always.’
He straightened up. ‘Thank you.’ He bowed as if I were some sort of queen, and my cheeks warmed in response. ‘See you, Kit.’
I nodded. ‘See you, Nick.’
He returned to the car, hesitated then turned around and waved. I caught a glimpse of the happy, cheeky teenager he’d been before he disappeared inside and Samantha drove away.
Dave’s front door opened and he walked into his garden. ‘Been curtain twitching?’ I asked.
He scowled. ‘Well, I wasn’t going to come outside with all those wolves around. I suppose they won’t be coming here any more.’
‘You suppose right.’
He grunted. ‘Shame. I guess you’ll have to continue lowering the tone of the neighbourhood all by yourself.’
‘I guess I will.’
Another front door opened across the street, and Mrs Miller appeared dressed in her Sunday best: a tweed two-piece complete with a matching hat. She’d even taken the trouble to pin a corsage to her breast. ‘Happy Winter Solstice!’ she beamed.
I smiled back. ‘Happy Winter Solstice to you, too.’
Dave’s scowl grew more ferocious. ‘Whatever.’
She waved at us and turned in the direction of the tram for Crackendon Square rather than towards the Glebe where the Church of the Masked God was planning its more muted solstice festivities. I watched her departing back then suddenly froze.
‘Problem?’ Dave grunted.
‘Fuck, yes,’ I whispered.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
It took me four minutes and twenty-three seconds to run into the house, strap on all the weapons I could possibly need and change my clothes. It took me three minutes and forty-one seconds to sprint out of the garden down the street to the tram stop.
Frustratingly there was no tram in sight. I shoved my hands in my pockets and huffed. Would it be faster to run to Crackendon Square? Solstice was a public holiday in Coldstream, so the trams were on a reduced timetable; they could also be running late because of the large number of people heading to the square for the ‘celebrations’. I clenched my jaw as I tried to decide.
‘Hey, Mrs McCafferty!’
Mrs McCafferty?I turned my head and saw the kid, Adrian, with his mother and his brothers and sisters. ‘Kit,’ I said shortly. I hadn’t told them my name so they must have asked around. ‘I’m not married.’ I felt a flash of guilt for my lack of friendliness and forced a smile. ‘Happy Winter Solstice.’
He clearly hadn’t registered my mood because he beamed at me. ‘We’re going to Crackendon Square for the party.’
My stomach tightened. ‘No.’
There was enough force in my voice to make his smile falter. He stared at me wide-eyed while I switched my gaze to his mum. ‘Don’t go,’ I told her. ‘If you want to celebrate the solstice in public, head to the Glebe to see what the Church of the Masked God are up to. They need the support. But don’t go to Crackendon Square.’
Her face had whitened, not as a result of my words but because of my tone. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘Probably nothing. But don’t go to Crackendon Square. Trust me.’
Her eyes scanned my face. ‘Alright.’ She hesitated. ‘Thank you.’
I nodded and ignored the pouts from the younger children. She grabbed hold of their hands and started to drag them away from the tram stop. One of them was starting to cry.
I swallowed hard and thought about all the other families heading to Crackendon Square. Thankfully at that moment a tram rounded the far corner and shoogled towards me. There was still time. I could still do this.
It was standing room only inside the tram and I was squashed between a tall bony man who smelled of blue cheese and a short, plump woman who had a garland of flowers in her hair. I cleared my throat. They were going to think I was mad but I had to try.
