At the same time, Vernon could not ignore the fact that he was a little jealous. Titus was a success in the City, where being ruthless was basically a virtue, while at home he showed a different side entirely and his family clearly adored him for it.
‘Some people have it all,’ he muttered, and eased himself to his feet. ‘Others make do with the leftovers.’
Taking himself to the window overlooking the pound shop on the high street with the sale on, Vernon pressed his forehead to the glass and sighed. He kept a handful of pictures in simple wooden frames on the ledge in front of him. All of them were taken during his marriage, from the honeymoon to the last Christmas they’d spent together. In each one, the face of his ex-wife had been carefully obliterated with marker pen. As far as he was concerned, she no longer existed. Even so, he wasn’t prepared to deny himself the fact that he had once shared his life with someone special. He picked up one of the frames and studied it. Had things worked out between them, he too could’ve been a loving father. Whatever Titus hid from the world, Vernon English could only begrudgingly admire his commitment in building a family and keeping it together.
‘What is your secret?’ Replacing the picture on the ledge, Vernon returned his attention to the wall. His eyes darted from one image to another, following pencil trails and then imagining fresh alternatives. Yet again, it just looked like a tangled mess. Vernon turned away, his thoughts switching to the possibility that there might be some hot sauce in the kitchen cupboard, and then came around full circle. ‘There it is,’ he said, and took a step back to gain some perspective. This time, he didn’t focus on individual surveillance shots or his scribbled hunches. He just stared at the little gap at the very heart of it all. All of a sudden, it looked like the eye of the storm. Vernon grabbed a pen from the top of the TV and scribbled one word in the space. He underlined it with a slash before standing back once again. Everything he had discovered about the family was tied to it in some way. What he’d missed until now was that it had to include the death of Lulabelle Hart.
‘Food,’ declared Vernon, reading it out loud as if that might help bring him clarity. It didn’t prove anything, but just then there was something in it that the private investigator pledged to pick apart. ‘Food is the key,’ he said with some confidence, and glanced at a shot of Titus once more, ‘or I’ll eat my words.’
A cheer broke out from the boys who had gathered on one side of the skateboard ramp. One of their number had just pulled a frontside five-forty turn. It was an impressive trick, but went completely ignored by the girls opposite. Sasha Savage, Maisy and Faria sat across from them with their backs turned, elbows flat on the safety rail and their feet dangling over the drop. They were on lunch break, talking about everything and nothing in particular.
‘You’re quiet,’ Faria said to Sasha. ‘Everything all right?’
‘I’m good,’ Sasha replied. ‘Just hungry.’
Faria offered her a cigarette.
‘It’ll kill your appetite,’ she said. ‘And then some.’
Sasha smiled but declined the offer.
‘She’s waiting for Jack,’ said Maisy, and flashed them both a look. ‘It would be rude to eat now if he’s planning on sharing his lunchbox with you.’
Everyone giggled at this, including Sasha.
‘Seriously, he’s been good like that,’ said Faria. ‘Why can’t he do the same thing for us two?’
‘Because we eat meat,’ Maisy said, as if to remind her. ‘Plus he doesn’t fancy us.’
‘How do you know?’
‘When was the last time you saw the inside of his car? Sasha’s the only one who gets a ride in there.’
‘Maisy!’ Sasha pretended to look scandalised, only for Faria to adopt a charitable expression. Sasha picked up on it straight away. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
‘Nothing,’ Faria replied quickly, but found she couldn’t escape Sasha’s gaze. ‘Probably nothing, anyway.’
‘What nothing?’ asked Sasha.
Faria sighed to herself.
‘My sister saw him at the weekend,’ she said. ‘He was up at the university campus. Dropping off some girl.’
Faria stopped there and turned to Sasha as if perhaps she could provide an explanation.
‘Jack was upset with me the last time I saw him,’ she said, thinking back to that moment in the house, ‘but he wouldn’t do that.’
‘It was his hybrid,’ insisted Faria. ‘For sure.’
Sasha held Faria‘s searching gaze for a moment more, and then broke off with a shrug.
‘You don’t seem too concerned,’ said Maisy.
‘It’s probably something to do with his new vegan regime,’ said Sasha. ‘Jack is taking things much further with his food than I’m prepared to go, but I’m sure he’ll have an explanation. I’ll ask when I see him.’
‘Why was he upset with you?’ asked Faria.
‘Not me as such,’ said Sasha. ‘My brother confessed to a practical joke he’d played on him.’
Both Faria and Maisy sucked the air between their teeth.
‘Did Jack suffer any injuries?’ Faria enquired.
‘He’ll survive,’ said Sasha, and winced to herself at the memory of the knife she’d pulled without thinking.
‘Whatever the case, he’s late,’ said Maisy, checking the time on her phone. ‘He’s usually here for you by now.’
Leaving straight after morning lessons, Jack Greenway’s journey from school to the university took twenty minutes. The journey was unplanned, but he felt compelled to catch up with the young woman who had moved into his thoughts. Amanda Dias wasn’t hard for him to track down. He found her handing out leaflets at the main entrance to campus.
‘Do you drink milk?’ she asked Jack when he trotted up to greet her.
‘Sometimes,’ he said hesitantly. ‘I should stop that, too, shouldn’t I?’
‘It would be kinder on cattle to drink their blood,’ she said. ‘Did you know that in some industrial dairies calves are forcibly removed from their mothers so they don’t drink from the udder. It might mean a higher volume of milk for the farmers, but how would you like to be taken from the teat?’
‘Me? Oh…’ Jack wasn’t sure if this was a direct question. He had planned a conversation on the way to campus, but mostly it involved what nice weather they were having. ‘I don’t know,’ he said hesitantly. ‘Thirsty?’
Amanda thrust a leaflet into his hands.
‘You’ll find all the facts here.’
Jack looked down at the leaflet, his focus swimming.
‘Give me a handful,’ he said. ‘I’ll hand them out at school.’
Finally, Amanda offered him a smile.
‘It’s good to see you,’ she said. ‘I enjoy our chats.’
For several days now, Jack had sought out Amanda and treated her to everything from coffee to lunch and supper. Every time they visited a café, bar or restaurant of her choosing. Jack spent much of the time just listening to her views on man’s crimes against the natural world. He made all the right noises as she laid out her vision for a vegan society, in which compassion towards animals replaced their suffering. He even kept up the enthusiasm when she talked about how to achieve her dream. Privately, all the stuff about waging war against the worst offenders Jack took with a pinch of salt. It was the force of her convictions he found entrancing, plus the fact that up close Amanda Dias was hot as hell.