‘Where’s my grandson?’
Mark nodded towards the bedroom door.
Ruth scuttled in and brushed past him. He trailed behind her.
Nathan was under the covers, staring at the ceiling. Ruth gave him a suffocating hug.
As he watched them, Mark realised he still had the gun stuck down the back of his jeans. He pulled his T-shirt down to cover it.
He’d explained to Ruth over the phone some of what had happened. She came straight away. He hadn’t called anyone else. No point in an ambulance, and he wasn’t sure about the police, not yet.
No one else had come round either, no police or neighbours. He wondered about that, with the gunshot noise, but he could understand people wanting to keep out of trouble.
While he’d waited for Ruth to arrive, he’d washed the blood off Nathan’s legs and feet then washed the boy’s hands thoroughly. Thought about gunpowder residue. Then got a change of jammies and threw the dirty ones in the washing machine. Pointless really, with a corpse leaking pints of blood all over the living room, but the methodical, mundane appearance of housework kept his mind from caving in. Nathan was like a zombie again, doing exactly what he was told, blank look on his face. Mark felt a rock in his stomach as he saw that look. He tried to think about the boy’s mind, about how this was all piling up on top of them, but his own brain couldn’t cope with it. They had both been reduced to basic functioning to keep their sanity and their lives together.
He was chewing it all up again as Ruth fussed over Nathan in bed now.
Fisher.
Fisher was responsible, but he had no proof, just a dead man’s word for it. He’d gone through the man’s pockets, no ID. Would the police take Mark seriously? Ferguson had already ignored him when he mentioned Fisher and Taylor. Mark had an assault charge pending thanks to that school thing, and now he had a dead man in his living room. That his son had shot and killed.
Ruth got up from the bed and turned to Mark.
‘Where’s the . . .’
Mark nodded towards the living room then followed as she went through.
Ruth put her hands to her mouth. ‘Mother of God.’ She crossed herself.
He tried to see it through her eyes. It was a fucking mess, a bloody, violent, disgusting mess. And he was responsible, he was in charge and had exposed her grandchild to this.
Ruth turned away from the body. ‘Have you phoned the police?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Why not?’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘What will happen to Nathan?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Can they charge him with murder?’
‘I don’t know.’
Ruth stared at him. ‘You don’t know much, do you?’
Mark scratched at his scalp. ‘I could say I did it.’
‘Then you might get put away, leaving him with no parents at all. I don’t think so.’
They stood looking at each other.
Ruth spoke. ‘I could say I did it.’
Mark thought about that. Shook his head.
‘Nathan would never be able to stick to a lie.’
‘He could just say he was asleep the whole time.’
‘And what were you doing round here?’
‘Staying over to help out, since Lauren’s . . .’
Mark put a hand on her shoulder. He could see she was serious.
‘No. I think we have to tell the truth. For Nathan’s sake as much as anything else.’
Ruth glanced back at the body. ‘Why did he have to break in here of all places?’
Mark sighed. He hadn’t told her on the phone.
‘It wasn’t random. He told me something.’
There was a slow spread of realisation on Ruth’s face. ‘This is to do with Lauren?’
Mark nodded and looked at the corpse. ‘He worked for someone who knew Lauren’s boss.’
‘So?’
‘I don’t know, he didn’t tell me. But it’s not just a coincidence. They were here looking for a password. But I’ve already checked all Lauren’s online stuff, I didn’t find anything.’
‘We have to tell the police straight away.’
‘No.’
‘What do you mean, no?’
‘This guy’s dead, so I’ve got no link to Lauren.’
‘Just tell the police what he told you.’
‘Why would they believe me? I need to get some evidence.’
‘No, you just need to tell the truth.’
Mark rubbed at his eye. ‘No, I need evidence.’
He walked through to the bedroom, Ruth behind. Nathan was asleep.
They both stood staring at him.
Ruth sat down on the bed and laid a hand on the covers. Raised her other hand to her brow. ‘This is all too much.’ She waved her hand around. ‘This is all just too much to take.’
‘It’ll soon be over,’ Mark said.
He got Ferguson’s card from his pocket and held it out to her.
‘Phone this number and tell her everything that’s happened.’
Ruth hesitated then eventually took the card.
‘Everything?’
Mark nodded. ‘There’s no point trying to cover it up.’
Ruth stared at the card. ‘What are you going to do?’
Mark looked at Nathan and thought about Lauren.
‘I’m going to get some evidence.’