He nodded and looked away.
“I found a pen drive. It had pictures of people from Manchester, including you. Some of the people had been murdered.”
“What did you do with it?” He raised a brow.
“Gave it Alex. I don’t think he’s going to hand it in.”
Drew gave another nod, this one more certain. “He will do, just not to Garrison.”
Rayah bit her tongue, debating her next move. She didn’t think about it for long. “There’s a cult in Severton. One of my pupils lives there. She said she saw a man in her bedroom with a gun. No one believes her. I do. Something’s going on and it scares me because this is Severton and things like that don’t happen there.”
Drew turned round on his chair and faced her. She noticed how dark his eyes were, the tattoos that were partially hidden by his collar. He hadn’t looked this dangerous before but now he used something she was completely unfamiliar with. What the fuck had Alex gotten himself involved with?
“The girl probably told the truth. The cult is dangerous because they’re not what they seem. Some of the people there are true to what they believe but if you know your local history you’ll know about the land once belonging to a gang member.”
She nodded. “I was never sure if that was a myth.”
“It’s no myth. And it’s still true.” He sat back in his chair and tapped his desk. “This is a fucking mess. Rayah, stay out of it. Alex mentioned you were digging and that he didn’t stop you from finding me, one because he knew you’d be safe with me and two, you needed answers. Trust your cousin. And tell him from me, I hope he’s doing a fucking good job of his assignment.”
“What?”
“Have your drink downstairs. Enjoy the bar. Have Leah order you some food. Make sure you take a membership card. You’re welcome here anytime.”
She wasn’t going to argue with his dismissal. She was out of her depth here and her head was swimming with the possibilities of what was actually going on. The door seemed too far away.
“Rayah?”
She spun round, half expecting to see a gun in his hand.
There wasn’t and she managed to breathe.
“Do you know anyone who could tutor a six-year-old? Helene needs a tutor.”
So that answered that. And it was also something she could advise him on.
Maybe the man was human after all.
Chapter Nineteen
Jonny didn’t exactly know where Rayah had been. The cryptic message she’d left that only half explained why she wasn’t coming climbing with them hadn’t pissed him off – he wasn’t that sort of person – but he was worried. Which made him pissed off because he didn’t like being worried if he couldn’t fix it.
He knew it had something to do with the fires. And he guessed it had something to do with the cult. And he also figured that it had something to do with Rayah and the huge stubborn streak that ran right through her, a little like in his daughter.
“Daddy, if I am allowed to go to the big tree climb, I’ll become much stronger. Then I’ll be able to carry shopping bags for you.”
Jonny cast his eyes down to the little bit that was scrambling round him. “Next year, Sadie. You’re not tall enough yet.” This was true. You had to be a certain height, fortunately, and she was nowhere near it.
Her expression darkened and her eyes narrowed. Tantrum incoming. “That’s not fair!”
“Health and safety, sweetheart. You have to be that big so you can fit into the equipment. End of.”
There was a foot stamp and a huff, and the small whirlwind stropped off to where Harry was playing. Jonny felt a degree of sympathy for his middle child, as Harry was about to be Sadied, forced to do whatever she wanted to in order to keep the peace, which would last all of about fifteen minutes.
“I don’t mind not going to the tree climb.” Charlie appeared. “There’s a few from my class who aren’t doing it this year.”
“Why’s that?” The tree climb was a Severton tradition when the local kids would scale up the tall pines that grew just outside the town. They’d usually be sponsored to raise money for a local cause – he had no doubts that this year the proceeds would go to the school.
Charlie shrugged. “There are loads of the younger ones who want to do it and not enough spaces, so Libby, Rob, Peta and George all said they’d let the younger ones have the places. I thought I’d do that too.”
