27

It was a strange sight that greeted Joseph at the zoo gates.

Its bars acted as a cage in themselves, dividing two parties, both bristling and shouting. There was so much anger bouncing around, it was difficult to say which of the animals involved was the wildest.

It didn’t take Joseph long though, to work out who was trying to get inside.

The large man shaking the gates had to be Bert’s father. There was the same cruelness in the eyes, the same power in the forearms. He was a bear of a man, much bigger than Joseph’s own father, and he couldn’t help but wonder why such a huge, fearless-looking person wasn’t doing the same as his dad. Risking it all, somewhere in France.

If there was a physical reason why Mr Conaghan couldn’t fight, then he was doing an excellent job of concealing it: he shook the gates with such ferocity that the hinges were under threat, and this wasn’t lost on Mrs F.

‘I’ve already been told I may lose these gates to the war effort, but until they melt them down into bullets, I’ll thank you to leave them alone.’

‘Well, if you’d let me in to have this out properly, I wouldn’t have to lay a finger on them.’

Mrs F sighed. ‘The zoo has been closed for months now. Not my choice, but it has. That’s why the gates are locked. To keep people out – for their own safety.’

‘Well from what I hear, there’s animals inside and outside the cages.’ He pointed at Joseph.

His words didn’t hurt Joseph. He’d heard worse than that. He was surprised to see that Bert had come along for the ride, though, hiding behind his father’s heft. He might have changed his wet trousers, but he still wore the same expression, a mixture of hatred for Joseph, and overwhelming fear of what he’d experienced. His eyes kept moving over Joseph’s shoulder, in the direction of Adonis’s cage.

‘If it’s animals you’re wanting to talk about,’ said Mrs F, ‘then let’s have that conversation, shall we? It’s clear there’s strife between your son and Joseph, and boys will be boys after all, but I do know this: from the second Joseph walked into that school, your boy made a beeline for him. He looked to belittle and humiliate him in front of every kid there.’

‘Well, he would tell you that, wouldn’t he?’

‘No, he wouldn’t. And he didn’t. Stupidly, he didn’t say a word about it, which is a shame. First I heard of it was minutes ago.’

‘And were you told your boy punched my Bert?’

‘I wasn’t, but it doesn’t surprise me either. And to be clear, Joseph here, he’s not strictly my boy, but I am happily responsible for him. So if he ever, ever came to me and told me about bullies like your Bert, then I’d tell him to do exactly what he did do. Stand your ground. Stand your ground and if you have to, fight.’

Mr Conaghan didn’t like that, not a bit. He seemed to grow several more inches, hate filling every cell as his chest expanded and his fists squeezed the bars.

‘And if he’s too cowardly to do that, then get your pets here to do it for you – eh?’

‘Mr Conaghan, please—’

‘Don’t you “Mr Conaghan” me.’

‘Then don’t spout such ridiculous comments in my direction. Do you honestly think Joseph could train a silverback gorilla to attack your son? Adonis isn’t a dog. He’s a wild animal, which is why the gates here are locked. Unfortunately, your son chose to ignore this, and in doing so put his own life at risk.’

Mr Conaghan didn’t like what he was hearing, but he was learning that there was little you could do once Mrs F was in full flow.

‘If these boys want to fight, then there’s precious little that you or I can do about it. But I’ll tell you this, he won’t do it in my zoo. Not again. Not without me contacting the law.’

But as she drew breath, Mr Conaghan swooped in with a rant of his own that seemed to knock the air from them all.

‘If anyone’s contacting the law, it’ll be me. And I won’t be waiting, neither. I’ll be doing it now, today. But it won’t be about that ruffian of yours. It’ll be about your ape. Wild or otherwise, closed or otherwise, a woman, especially one like you, shouldn’t be left in charge of such dangerous beasts. And if I get my way, and I will, then it won’t be for much longer. I’ll see that ape of yours ended, so he can’t do any more harm. I’ll even pull the trigger myself, if I have to. Happily.’

‘Have you finished?’ Mrs F blurted back, but there was a change in her tone. She sounded weakened: there was suddenly tension in her shoulders.

‘Mrs, I haven’t even started. But I will soon enough. I’ll be seeing you. All of you.’

And with a final glare, he left, Bert skittering afterwards.

No one said a word. Mrs F stood motionless until they disappeared, before gathering herself and turning back towards Adonis.