“Same with us,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Our budget was slashed nine years ago. This place is falling apart.”
“Do you think my friend will be here much longer?”
“All depends.”
“On what?”
“Well, let’s see. First off there’s refusal to leave the property when told to do so by the court. Then there’s resisting arrest.”
“He didn’t resist arrest.”
“Apparently there was a tussle in the van.”
June put her head in her hands. “Oh god.”
“Let’s hope that solicitor friend of yours is as good as his spring rolls. Speak of the devil...”
The door swung open and Alex walked in.
“What happened...” June started to say, but the door opened again, and Stanley walked through. He looked gray, his brow furrowed, and this time June couldn’t stop herself from running across the room and throwing her arms round him. “Oh, Stanley, are you all right?”
“Of course I am,” he said, looking embarrassed.
“Let’s get outside, shall we?” said Alex.
June turned to say good-bye to Riley, but his head was buried in the book again. She noticed he had a plum sauce stain on his shirt.
“What happened?” she said when they got out into the car park.
“Not a thing,” Stanley said.
“Really? What about the charges?”
“It turns out Inspector Parks is a fan of the library,” Alex said. “He agreed to let Stanley off with a warning. Although he asked that you consider dropping his wife’s charge for an overdue Michael McIntyre DVD.”
June was so relieved she laughed out loud. “That’s amazing.”
“It was all thanks to young Alex,” Stanley said. “He was most impressive in there.”
“Parks just likes my dad’s cooking. He’s a regular at the takeaway,” Alex said.
“Have you been waiting here this whole time?” Stanley asked June. “You didn’t need to.”
Alex walked toward his car. “I’m afraid I’ve got to get back to the Golden Dragon. Dad’s on his own and he’s still meant to be off work. Can I give either of you a lift back to Chalcot?”
“I’ll get the bus,” Stanley said. He was leaning on a bollard and June noticed for the first time how tired he looked.
“Why don’t we get a lift with Alex?” she said.
“The bus is fine.”
June shrugged. “I’ll get the bus back with Stanley, then. Thanks so much for helping, Alex.”
“You’re more than welcome.” He gave her a wave, got into his car, and drove off.
“You should have gone with him,” Stanley said.
“Don’t be silly. I’ll come back with you.”
