We lined up around the gravesite to say our final goodbyes.
I stood next to Jenny. “Everything okay?” she whispered. Fox and I had done a final check of the perimeter once everyone else had filed into the church.
“Yes.”
We both watched as the coffin was lowered into the ground.
“You sure he won’t mind having company down there?”
Jenny smiled. “He’d be glad to help. It would give him a good chuckle. One last favor for a beloved daughter.”
I looked around at the gathered mourners. Many of Frank’s old police colleagues were in attendance. It was undoubtedly the first—and hopefully the last—time we’d buried a body knowing a good number of law enforcement would be at the site the next morning. A loving goodbye to Frank. A “fuck off for good” to Mario.
Our family might be a little less conventional than the others in the suburbs around us, but I couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Chapter Seventy-Two
Fox
The village fete was infull swing, with laughing children and parents gripping Styrofoam cups of very average coffee.
We found who we were looking for by the bouncy castle.
“Go on, Bibi. We’ll wait right here.”
Bibi kicked off her shoes and was clambering into the castle before I’d finished my sentence.
Benjamin Norwood was standing watching his daughter charging around the bouncy castle at full speed, her braids swinging.
I walked up to him. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”
He turned to look at us, his eyes immediately flicking to the nearby bodyguard who was doing his best to blend in, despite his dark glasses and thick jacket.
We knew The Corporation would’ve had a presence at Balgray Hall. Someone there to do the job. Someone there to watch us. Jenny had obtained security footage of the party.
“Not here,” Norwood said.
“Absolutely here. It’s good to remind you what’s at stake.” I nodded toward the two laughing girls. Then I spoke fast. “We are nobodies. Independent. We have a hobby. It’s a little different to other parents’ hobbies. And there might be similarities with your work—but to us, it’s not work. It’s not a career choice. We are not trying to take over anything.”
“We’re just having fun.” Haze attempted a smile.
“This is what The Chameleon told me, too.”
“But you didn’t believe him?”
Norwood shrugged. “He was so emphatic, so desperate to get us off your case, it made me think he was in business with you both.”
“I understand you see threats everywhere. Everyone is out to get you and take over—but that’s not what’s happening here.”
Reggie started crying. Haze leaned down and plucked him out of the stroller, bouncing him on her hip. “We’re parents, first and foremost. But we need a little something to keep us going. Something more.”
Norwood looked at Haze. “Pilates and online shopping not enough for you? That did it for my ex.”
“We all choose our own ways to help us be the best we can be. The key is finding what works for you.” She smiled up at him.
A surprisingly Zen response from Haze considering that he’d just asked her why stretching and working out her credit card didn’t keep her quiet.
Norwood observed us both. “You two just have a ‘hobby.’ There’s no bigger plan?”
