‘I mean it, Beau. A criminal record would ruin things for you; I shouldn’t have to point that out. Nor should I have to tell you that your stupidity could’ve cost lives.’
‘I know. Conrad went on about it enough on the way here.’
‘Where did he overhear the phone call?’ Hudson hadn’t thought to ask before.
Beau hesitated before he admitted, ‘At Mum’s place.’
‘Mum’s place?’
Beau rolled his eyes.
‘Oh, don’t tell me… your mother is dating Detective Dickhead?’
Beau laughed and before long, Hudson had joined in, releasing the tension that had built up.
‘Detective Dickhead.’ Beau nodded his approval. ‘I like it.’
‘Don’t repeat it again.’ He wagged his forefinger.
‘He’s actually the best out of the men she’s dated since you split up.’
‘There have been others?’ He held his hand up straight away. ‘You know what, I don’t need to know. All I know is that he did the right thing by you. Maybe he does have a heart.’
‘What do you think will happen when you tell people here, Dad? About what I was involved in.’
‘That information won’t come from me. It’ll be in the form of your written apology, which you will take your time over before I send it to anyone. It’s up to The Skylarks whether they agree to you being let off with a punishment that doesn’t involve the police in a more official capacity.’
‘Do you think they might want me charged?’
Hudson was a little bit glad to see Beau had panic written all over his face.
‘Let’s just hope they’re as forgiving as possible. In the meantime, let’s find you something else to do.’
Hudson led the way to the hangar and found a bucket, some sponges and the car shampoo. ‘Fill the bucket with hot water, squirt some shampoo in, and you can start by cleaning the rapid response vehicle outside. After that, I want you in the officeworking on your apology letter.’ Hudson intended to have the letter circulated sooner rather than later. Beau could come here and do his homework instead of hanging out with friends after school and only when Hudson was convinced he’d done his time, and if the crew decided they didn’t want to take the matter further, would things go back to normal for him.
Beau said nothing, just got on with the task he’d been given as they heard the helicopter on its approach and The Skylarks came in to land.
Although grateful Conrad had chosen to give Beau a chance to redeem himself, Hudson wasn’t sure about having the man in Beau’s life, but Beau seemed to think he wasn’t that bad. His opinion probably had a great deal to do with how Conrad had dealt with this matter and maybe Conrad had been lenient because he wanted to stay in Lucinda’s good books by doing right by her son. Who knew what his motives were. And to be honest, as long as Lucinda kept her commitments with her kids, taught them right from wrong and didn’t let them down, who she saw in her personal time was up to her now.
He thought about what else he might be able to get Beau to do after the vehicles. The hangar was forever in need of a sweep – the doors were open often enough that leaves blew in, dirt accumulated. He could get Beau to pull cabinets out from around the edges and clean behind them. He could also put him on tea and coffee duty, make sure nobody else had to do it. And the reception area had a load of glass that attracted fingerprints like nobody’s business, especially when kids visited them at the airbase.
He watched his son get to work on the car outside. Perhaps he should’ve made sure Beau remembered how to wash a vehicle – he’d done it at home but not for years. Once upon a time, it had been a treat to help his dad clean the car.
Hudson quickly went outside and reminded him that if he dropped the sponge, he was to come inside and wash it in the sink to ensure it hadn’t picked up any stones that would be rubbed across the paintwork and leave scratches.
He’d only just gone back into the building when Vik came through from the hangar. He shook his head. ‘A terrible job. Kate will give you the report but we all need a big mug of coffee after that one.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Yeah, these jobs are the worst.’ But he rallied; they had to when some things were out of their control.
With Vik needing to leave early today, Maya arrived at the airbase to take over from him. ‘I’m impressed,’ she told Hudson as she came through the front door. ‘Isn’t that your son out there washing the rapid response vehicle?’
‘It is.’ Beau was facing away from them, stretching up to wash the roof of the car first, tyres last as Hudson had taught him.
‘Earning some extra pocket money?’
‘Something like that.’
