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From his hands and knees Fox caught sight of Eddie looking quite comical in his Jackie Chan stance.
Though he was taller than William Baillie, who was six feet, his arms looked like matchsticks by
comparison.
The halo of light cast by the nearby lamppost was sufficient for Fox to clearly see his father s
scarlet face. Someone was going to die, and it couldn t be Eddie. Eddie! Run!
Stupidly brave, Eddie stood his ground. Even with his black belt he was neither as fast nor as
vicious as William Baillie. He didn t have the killer instinct to go with his skills. The combination
was lethal, and Baillie had it. With one kick to the groin, Baillie felled Eddie before grabbing Fox
again to continue dragging him across the park.
In what seemed like only seconds, Eddie was behind them again, and this time he was ready.
With one swift karate chop after the next he engaged Baillie in combat. Terrified for Eddie s safety,
because no matter how hard he fought Baillie would win, Fox screamed, Eddie, stop.
The moment of distraction was enough for Baillie to get Eddie on the ground and pin him down,
sitting on his chest with his forearm on Eddie s throat. Keep away from my lad, you frigging arse
bandit.
Terror shot through Fox s muscles when he saw Eddie s eyes begin to bulge. Sir, please stop!
Fox screamed.
Amazingly William Baillie obeyed and withdrew his arm from Eddie s throat. He stood up and
grabbed Fox calmly by the arm as though he had not just tried to kill a man.
With effort Eddie sat up, one hand holding his throat, the other going into his trouser pocket.
When he spoke, his voice was strained. This is madness. I m calling the police.
Eddie, no, you don t understand. One of his lies was about to be exposed, but he had no
choice. He s my dad.
Shocked, looking back and forth between them, Eddie said, But you said your father was dead.
Did you tell him I was dead? Baillie demanded, shaking Fox like a mother dog shakes a bad
pup. Why would you say that?
Because I wish you were, Fox said clearly.
Stabbing his finger at the air in Eddie s direction, Baillie shouted, Stay away from my son, you
fucking homo. Just to drive home his point, he released Fox long enough to kick the phone out of
Eddie s hand and land another in his midsection.
Not even out of breath, Baillie dragged Fox across the park by the back of his shirt. The Lexus
was illegally parked on York Terrace. Baillie pulled out his keys when they were ten feet away and
clicked the locks. Only when he had the car door open did he release Fox, shoving him in the
passenger seat. Once he was comfortable in the driver s seat, he backhanded Fox in the face. I m
going to kill you when I get you home, boy. What did I tell you about seeing that queer again?
Whenever William Baillie was enraged, his face grew impossibly red, and he sprayed spittle
everywhere. Do you want me to kill that fucker?
But Fox knew his father had no intention of killing Eddie, at least not until after his gang of thugs
had everything they wanted from him. No, sir.
They were stopped at a traffic light when again Baillie s hand flew out, the thick knuckles
catching Fox on his right cheekbone. Blood spurted from the wound. With the edge of his kilt he
dabbed at it.
You will not see him again. Are we fucking clear?
Pain screamed through his head. Yes, sir.
The beating began as soon as they walked through the front door.
Chapter Ten
The first person Fox saw when he entered the printmaking studio five minutes late was Nik
sitting at her usual station. The station beside her, usually his, was empty. With a pathetic attempt at
avoiding her, he skirted the classroom to find a vacant table, hoping she had not seen him, but several
times during the class she turned round to look right at him. At the end of the hour she got up and
walked between the tables until they were face-to-face. She grabbed a chair and swung it round like a
cowboy in a saloon to straddle it.
Bout time you showed up. Where ve you been all week? And what the hell happened to your
face? You missed studio. You missed art history.
Still avoiding her gaze, Fox said, Got busy. Isn t it a bit warm for the hat?
It s my signature. Like your emo attitude is your signature.
Fuck off.
Several other students turned to watch them when her voice rose. I won t fuck off! My brother
has phoned my mobile twice a day since his birthday, lamenting the fact that he hasn t heard from you
and has no idea how to find you. Then two nights ago he told me you were both attacked in Regent s
Park by some bloke in camo that you identified as your dad. Is it true?
You think Eddie s a liar? Fox looked away.
Eddie has never told a lie in his life. He thinks you live on the street and don t have a mobile.
When Fox did not answer, she continued. You don t live on the street, and you do have a mobile
because I ve got the number.
You didn t give it to him, did you?
Not yet. Why did you lie to him?
Why do you live in a squat and talk with that cockney accent when you have a wealthy family
who speak very far back? he mimicked Eddie s accent on the last three words. We re both liars, so
don t point the finger at me, mate.
Nik s cheeks pinked up at the accusation. I m not a liar, she said more quietly. I just want to
be someone else for a while.
Fox looked at her this time. Me an all.
But your lies are hurting my brother. Eddie s lovely. He s always been a good brother to me,
even though I used to sneak into his room and steal money from his trouser pockets.
Fox said, Yeah, he s been good to me too.
Then at least have the honesty to tell him the truth. Whatever the truth is. What exactly is it? I ve
never seen where you live, and you told me the twins were five or something when they re nearly
fourteen. Where did you meet him, Eddie?
Didn t he tell you?
No. He just told me you live on the street and the twins live with your mum and her boyfriend
and the boyfriend hates queers and your dad is dead. A war hero. So who the fuck was the ghost who
beat up my brother in the park? And he looks like he s had a go at you since.
Fox s last sight of Eddie had been of him struggling to sit up, barely able to speak. Have you
seen him? Is he all right?
I m meeting him tonight to find out. Who was the camo dude?
My dad, he mumbled. He s not dead. I just wish he was. I don t want to hurt Eddie, but I
can t see him again. I was going to tell him at the park, but I bottled it. How could he tell Eddie his
father had sent him out to whore himself for some scary doctor and some Ugandan bloke who looked
like Idi Amin?
If you don t fancy someone, then you don t have to go out with them, but phone him, for God s
sake. He s really worried about you. And he s confused about the dad thing. He s got no idea he s
been dumped. Eddie may be a genius when it comes to science, but with people he s retarded. He
trusts everyone.
Sorry, he said again.
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