Search is underway and there is no sign of Craig Crawford’s blue hoodie at his house. We have however found something else. We’ve put a warrant out for Craig’s arrest.
TWENTY-ONE
JUSTINE
After Justine and Danny left the police station, she couldn’t help but stop her son as soon as they’d turned a corner. ‘You said what I told you to say, didn’t you?’
He nodded.
‘What have you done, Danny? Tell me about the message.’
Her son rubbed a bit of fluffy stubble on his chin. His eyes were purplish underneath from lack of sleep and the hangover he was obviously carrying with him. ‘I told you already and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.’
She grabbed his arm. ‘I don’t care what you want. I hid your laptop. I’ve just lied to the police and they are gunning for your dad. You do know that, don’t you?’
‘I can’t do this, not now.’ He pulled nervously at the edge of his T-shirt. ‘Mum, just drop it.’
‘I will not drop it.’ She clenched her fists. A man walked past them with a dog. She awkwardly smiled until he turned the corner. Now they were making a public spectacle of themselves. Her neighbour would love to be a fly on the brick wall that her son was leaning against. ‘Not until you tell me about the message. What can’t you live with over your head? What have you done?’
Her son’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down and he ran his finger through his sweaty hair. A few specks of rain fell on his cheek. ‘It’s nothing. Just leave it, Mum.’
‘Don’t treat me like an idiot. Answering with “It’s nothing” is not an option. Do you know how bad it is? How about your dad?’ She shivered as the pathway became a slight wind tunnel. A used chip wrapper blew past her head.
‘Poor Dad. Poor, poor Dad.’ Her son pulled a phone she didn’t recognise out of his pocket.
She began to shake. ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘He’s sleeping with someone else, Mum. I’m sick of the way he comes and goes. Even I can see that he’s not always needed at work. The constant stench of his aftershave should give you a clue but you’re too dumb to see it.’
She heard the slap before what she did registered in her head. ‘I… I…’ She didn’t know what to say. She’d never slapped her son – ever. He stared deep into her eyes and his began to water up. For a second, she saw her little, sweet boy with his goofy grin, the one he always pulled when he said, I love you, Mummy, and she had just slapped him. ‘I’m sorry.’ She reached up to stroke his cheek but he flinched and before she had a chance to say anymore, he ran as fast as he could. ‘Danny, wait.’
Despite being in her trainers, she couldn’t catch her strong, athletic son. He’d darted off between the newsagents and the snack van. She could only hope that he wouldn’t go missing, like his father. Her phone rang. She snatched it from her pocket, hoping that Craig had finally surfaced but it was Lindy.
‘Hi.’
‘Hi, Lindy. I’m sorry I didn’t call and I’m so sorry about what happened to Kain.’ Justine didn’t know how much to say to her friend but she couldn’t help the guilty tears that were starting to fall. Her son was acting suspiciously; her husband was definitely sleeping with someone else and even her son knew. She’d liedto the police and they were searching her home. She couldn’t go home until they’d finished and she couldn’t face her mum.
Lindy filled her silence. ‘That’s okay. It’s hard to know what to say and there’s nothing any of us can do. I know he wasn’t the best of brother’s but we can only hope the police do their job and find the person who hurt him.’ She paused. ‘Are you crying?’
Her sobs came that hard, she couldn’t even answer Lindy because very soon, whenever the truth of it all came out, Lindy was going to hate her.
‘What’s wrong, Justine? You can tell me anything.’
She wanted to cry about how she suspected her son of having something to do with Kain’s murder. Danny was certainly acting suspiciously enough. She wanted to unburden herself with how she’d lied to the police, putting Craig in the picture to take the heat off her son, but she couldn’t say anything about all that, not to Lindy. ‘Kids, they break your heart.’
‘I’m sorry, you’re going through a tough time too.’
‘I’m not about to make this about me, Lindy, not with what’s happened. How are you?’
‘Do you fancy coming over for a tea or coffee? It would be nice to see you.’ She paused. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Err, yes.’ Everything was not okay. Her son was hiding things from her. Her husband was cheating. Both of them, like two peas in a pod. She began to shake, realising that her husband and son could be in this together. Her phone beeped with a message.
Where is hubby now, lovely Justine? Wow, my bed is so warm and look at you, so sad with your world falling apart.
She glanced up and down the path, struggling to swallow the lump in her throat. Her husband was a lying scumbag. Shefrowned and wiped her teary eyes with her sleeve. How did the messenger know she was sad?
TWENTY-TWO
