Page 65 of Fool Me Twice
Adam stepped forward impatiently.“Where’s Zig right now?”
Si was getting a bit uneasy.“Right now?Dunno.He’s got an extra shift tonight, and he’ll be gone by the time I get home.He said he’d be going for a wander before then, but he didn’t say where.What d’you want him for?Cos, not being funny, but it’s a first, you wanting him for anything.”Si was aware he was babbling a bit, but Adam didn’t look happy.Had something happened to make him change his mind on Zig again?
“It’s not—”
Adam broke off as Corin put a hand on his arm.“Let me?It’s my fault.”
At least they didn’t seem to thinkit, whatever it was, was Zig’s fault.“You know,” Si said conversationally, “if the plot thickens any further, we’ll be up to our knees in it like cow shit, and here’s me without me wellies.”
“Sorry.”Corin sounded like he meant it.He took a deep breath.“I think Zig may be in trouble,” he said in a rush.“And I think I may have made it worse.”
Si went cold.“Meaning?”
“It’s his dad,” Adam burst out.“Come looking for him.”
That couldn’t be good.Si didn’t reckon the bloke would’ve turned up wanting to play happy families.Not from what he’d heard about him from Zig.
“And I didn’t know that was an issue,” Corin put in.“Adam and I had arranged to meet for lunch at the Isle of Avalon, and while I was waiting for him, a man was asking around, showing a photo on his phone.Saying he was worried about his son.And of course I only looked to be polite, because I didn’t imagine I’d be able to help.But the picture showed his eyes, and the man pointed it out too—one blue, one brown—and I, well...”He reddened.“I was so surprised, and pleased, I suppose, to recognise him, that I said, ‘That’s Zig, isn’t it?’And he said yes, that was his boy, and did I know where to find him?So, I told him Zig was staying at Esme’s with you.And he’d probably be around during the day, because he works evenings at the Prince of Wales.”
Si felt hollow inside.Knee-deep in cow shit?Up to our bloody necks, more like.And rising.
Corin’s face was twisted with guilt.“I didn’t think it could be a problem.I just didn’t think,” he added bitterly.
“He didn’t know there was bad blood between them,” Adam butted in, with an unspokenDon’t you dare get on his case.
Si was quick to agree.“Course he didn’t.”Corin didn’t talk a right lot about his mum and dad, and it was obvious there was some tension there, but it was also obvious he’d grown up in a nice middle-class family planted firmly on the right side of the law.Parents presenting actual danger wasn’t gonna be the first thing he thought of.“Well, bugger,” Si added, because he was only human.
Corin still looked worried.“So, after Adam told me about the, um, jail thing, we thought we should probably warn Zig that his dad’s in town.”
“You’re sure it was his dad?”Si frowned.“Don’t suppose you can tell me what he looked like?”
“Grey hair.Clean-shaven.And a gold tooth.Oh, and the one next to it was chipped.Quite well-built, and smartly dressed for here.Business casual.”Corin made a face.“Sorry, that’s all.Does that sound like him?”
“Not a scooby.I never met him.Zig always reckoned he wasn’t too keen on the gay thing, so he never took blokes home.But that’s great, that’s loads of info.”Much more than Si had dared hope for, what with Corin being face blind.“I’ll give Zig a call, put him on guard.”
“Tell him I’m sorry.”
“You weren’t to know,” Si said, at the same time Adam came out with, “Not your fault.”
Corin looked a bit less unhappy at that.Si only wished he could feel so cheerful.
Adam gave him an intent look.“Let us know if you or Zig need anything, all right?You know.If it turns into a situation.”
Si’s heart swelled.“Will do.Cheers, mate.I’ll owe you.”
“No, you won’t.We’ve got to go, but you keep me posted, yeah?”
Si nodded.After they left, he rang Zig straight away, going so far as to hold up an apologetic hand to a customer who’d walked in and mouth,Be with you in a mo, at her.
It went straight to voicemail.Si cursed under his breath and left a message.“Call me as soon as poss, all right?It’s a bit urgent.”
Then he shoved his phone into his pocket and turned to apologise to the lady waiting patiently.
Zig sat on the bench at the top of the rise and looked down over the Chalice Well gardens.The trees might have been bare but somehow there was still a rare sense of being among nature, in the midst of living things, here.Well, rare for him, at any rate.
After he’d left Esme and her confusing job offer, Zig had wandered aimlessly for a bit, until he found his feet leading him towards the tor path.Apparently, his subconscious wanted to talk to someone.And...it probably wasn’twrong.Moping around town on his own until it was time to go to work wasn’t gonna solve anything, so maybe talking would help.Not exactlyaboutAni’s phone call and what it might mean, but...just talking to someone.Someone like Kai, who didn’t judge and didn’t make conversation like it was a prize fight.
Zig kinda liked Esme, and he definitely respected her, but he felt like he needed to bring his A game whenever they had a chat.
