Page 13 of The Impossible Fortune

‘You’re tired,’ says Danny.

‘Yeah,’ she says, ‘I am.’

‘Put the gun down. I’ll get my case, get my head down somewhere, and everything’ll be better in the morning.’ Arsenal are on telly tonight: he can go to the pub and watch the match. Teach her a lesson tomorrow. She’s usually goodas gold, apart from the waterworks, but he’s not going to let this stand, is he? She’ll pay for it in the morning. The two of them can take the kid off to school, play happy families, and then he can remind her who’s in charge.

He hasn’t noticed up to now that she has her phone in her left hand. I mean, he’s been concentrating on the gun, hasn’t he? He notices now, because she raises the phone to her swollen eye.

‘Babe …’

He hears the click of a selfie being taken.

‘What’s that?’ says Danny. ‘Evidence? The police’ll love that.’

She shakes her head and presses another button on her phone.

‘How far are we from Fairhaven?’ she asks.

‘What?’

‘From Fairhaven, Danny, what do you think? If someone was angry and driving fast. Twenty minutes?’

‘What’s in Fairhaven?’ Danny asks.

‘My brother,’ she says. ‘I just sent him the photo.’

The brother. Jason Ritchie. She finally did it.

‘Your case is by the front door. I’m only giving you the chance to disappear because I don’t want Jason going to prison for ripping you to pieces. If I ever see you again, or if Kendrick ever sees you again – or if anything ever happens to either of us – you’re a dead man.’

Kendrick. Danny should take his son with him, shouldn’t he? Really break her heart. But he doesn’t like Kendrick. And Kendrick doesn’t like him. He’d be cutting off his nose to spite his face. He’ll get a plane over to Portugal;he knows people there. Bit of sunshine. The gun is still pointed at him.

She’ll regret this: Danny will make sure of that. Give him a couple of days, and he can have someone do a number on Jason, and then do a number on her. Bury them both so deep you’d never know they existed. And Kendrick? He can go and live with his grandad. He can keep that dumb lefty Ron company when his two kids have been killed. Danny smiles.

There are footsteps on the stairs. Danny turns and sees Kendrick. Kendrick is looking at his mum, who has a gun in her hand.

‘Is that a real gun?’ Kendrick asks.

‘It’s just a toy,’ says his mum.

‘So you’re playing a game?’ Kendrick asks.

‘Just a game,’ says Suzi.

‘It’s real,’ says Danny. ‘Because your mum is a psycho. You’re both psychos.’

‘It’s not real,’ says Suzi. ‘None of this is real.’

‘I think I am neurodivergent though,’ says Kendrick, walking down the stairs. ‘One of the teachers said. Does your eye hurt?’

‘It does, Kenny,’ says Suzi. ‘But the pain will go when Daddy goes.’

‘Is Daddy going?’

His mum nods.

‘When is he coming back?’

‘He’s not coming back, Kenny,’ says his mum.