Page 82

“Oi, I didn’t mean it like that, dirty old man.” She tore open the box and held it out to George. “Dip one in your tea?”

George glanced down at the cup in his hand as if he’d forgotten it was there. “It’s gone cold.”

Alice shrugged and popped a chocolate finger in her mouth, holding it like a cigar. “I hear it was good news about the MRI. No brain injury, after all?”

“No, apparently not. Even so, I’m stuck in here and I’m not really sure why.” He sighed. “It was my birthday.”

“When?”

“The night you found me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“How could you have known? To be honest, I didn’t remember until yesterday.”

“Well, happy birthday, George.” Alice continued to suck the chocolate from the biscuit finger. “Well, whatever you were up to, it didn’t end so well, did it?”

“That’s the thing. I have this terrible feeling about it all. I just can’t quite…” George clenched his fists.

“I’m not sure whether anyone told you, and you might’ve just been dreaming, or whatever… but before you woke up, you kept mumbling about a pig.”

George looked at her, his thick eyebrows drawn down towards his eyes. “A pig?”

“Yeah. And Marjorie told me you were saying something about a dog, too.”

“Ah.” George’s eyebrows shot up.

“What?”

“Was I saying Pyglet?”

Alice frowned. “No, just pig.”

“Oh, well, I must have been talking about Pyg then.”

“Yes, that’s right, you kept saying pig.”

“No, you don’t understand — Pyg.”

Alice looked at him through wide eyes.Maybe they should do another MRI?

“P-Y-G. Pyg, she was our dog. Such a beautiful girl.” George smiled as if seeing her in his mind’s eye before his forehead rumpled into a frown. “But why was I talking about Pyg?”

They both pondered the question for a moment; it seemed as impossible for George to answer as it did Alice.

He turned to look at her again. “I was going to ask you a favour before you broke your arm. But I’m not sure it’d be fair of me to ask you now.”

“Just ask.” She shrugged and pulled another chocolate finger from the box.

“I wanted to ask if you’d go by my house and see if everything’s in order. I’ve been wondering whether there’ll be any clues as to why I was out and about that night.”

“You’d be okay with me doing that? How do you know I won’t steal everything?”

“Because one, I don’t have much to steal and two, you brought me here and you keep coming back. So, either you’re in it for the long game, hoping I’ll write you into my will and promptly pop my clogs, or you’re genuinely a good person.”

Alice giggled. “You got me. I’m in it for the will.”

“Plus, you brought my coat and wallet back, and there was still money in it.”