Page 17 of Deadly Cry

‘Come on, mate, I’ll even let you grate the cheese.’

Jasper shook his head and continued to focus on the game.

‘Okay, what if I let you?…’

‘No, Ozzy,’ he said testily.

Anger was not a natural state for his brother, so Penn knew when not to push.

‘Okay, what do you want to eat?’

‘Not hungry.’

‘Mate, you gotta eat something,’ Penn insisted.

He could already see that his brother had dropped a few pounds, offering Penn the proof he’d been right that Jasper had eaten as much as he’d baked.

‘You want beans on toast?’

Hardly a balanced meal, but it was his favourite and it was hot and right now he’d take it.

Jasper shook his head.

‘Mate…’

‘Had a noodle.’

Penn opened his mouth to argue and thought better of it. One of Jasper’s biggest frustrations was being treated like a small child when he was almost sixteen years of age. He knew his own mind and Penn sometimes had to respect his right to choose.

‘Okay, bud, I’ll be downstairs if you want me,’ he said, leaving the door slightly ajar.

He was halfway down the stairs when he heard it close completely.

Penn switched on the kettle for a cuppa and checked the bin. Sure enough on top was a half-empty pot noodle container. It wasn’t enough, but he couldn’t force-feed the kid.

If he was honest, he felt he was in uncharted territory. He missed his mum every day. The months they’d known she was dying hadn’t prepared him for the eventual loss.

Between the three of them they’d stumbled along. His mum had been the firm but gentle parent with Jasper, always able to reach him, and Penn had been the older brother, making Jasper laugh, encouraging him to try new things while protecting him from the harsher elements in the world. Both he and his mum had held a place in Jasper’s life, fulfilled a role in his development. But what was his role now? Was he fun-loving brother or firm parent? If he was both, how did he juggle the two? All he knew was that his brother needed him to be strong and that’s what he intended to be.

He poured the water into the cup as his phone began to ring.

He smiled when he saw the caller’s name.

‘Hey, Lynne,’ he answered.

‘Yo, comrade,’ she responded. It was how she had greeted him when they’d worked together at West Mercia.

He had been grateful for her support at his mum’s funeral, and she’d called to check on him a couple of times since.

‘What you up to?’ he asked, enjoying hearing the sound of her voice.

‘Just finished a long shift and wondered if you two guys wanted to help me eat my own body weight in pizza?’

‘Where’s Simon?’ he asked. Lynne had been engaged to the accountant for almost five years.

‘Oh, err… squash practice. Not sure what he’s practising for, but hey ho with all this practice he’s gotta be getting better.’

Penn laughed out loud. It was a good feeling. Lynne had always been able to make him laugh.