CHERUB: Class A - Robert Muchamore Page 0,53

the clothes before scooping Nicole off the floor. Out on the driveway, Kyle had opened up the people carrier.
‘She’s taken some cocaine,’ James blurted.
He didn’t want to grass, but it might save her life if the doctors knew what was in her system.
‘Christ almighty,’ Ewart shouted, as Kyle helped him lay Nicole across the back seat. ‘That’s all we need.’
Ewart climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed the door so hard James thought the glass might break. When the car was out of sight, James closed the front door and turned around to face Kerry and Zara, who were both in tears.
‘I hope she’s OK,’ Kerry sniffed.
‘You’re absolutely sure she took cocaine?’ Zara asked.
James nodded, feeling a lump forming in his throat. ‘I saw it.’
‘Why didn’t you stop her?’ Kerry asked angrily.
‘I tried to,’ James lied. ‘She wouldn’t listen to me.’
‘What about you, James?’ Zara asked. ‘Did you take any?’
‘No way,’ James said. ‘I’d never go near it.’
‘That’s a relief,’ Zara said. ‘If they find traces of cocaine in Nicole’s urine, they’ll expel her from CHERUB.’
‘Is that for certain?’ James asked.
‘You both know the rules,’ Zara said. ‘There’s zero tolerance for class A drugs. We even put the reminder at the bottom of the mission briefing where you guys signed your names, in case you considered anything silly.’
‘Are you two going up to bed?’ Kerry asked anxiously.
‘I suppose,’ Zara said. ‘Unless you want a drink or something first.’
‘I don’t think I’ll sleep,’ Kerry said. ‘I don’t want to be on my own wondering what’s happening with Nicole.’
Zara pulled Kerry into her chest and gave her a hug. ‘I’ll sit up with you for a while,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry.’
James thought about Nicole. Imagining her being wheeled into hospital and having tubes pushed down her throat and needles under her skin. He wondered what it would be like to go into a coma and realised he didn’t feel like being on his own either.
*
James and Kerry got their duvets and sat together in the living-room with their feet on the coffee table. It was a weird feeling; anxious for news, being exhausted but not able to sleep. The hands on the clock seemed to be frozen.
Zara had to go upstairs to sort out Joshua when he started bawling.
‘Did you really snort any coke?’ Kerry whispered.
‘No,’ James said indignantly. ‘I already told you.’
‘In front of Zara,’ Kerry said. ‘What about just between you and me?’
‘I saw them doing it and got offered a snort, but I said no.’
‘I’m glad,’ Kerry smiled. ‘I’d have bet my life savings that if something as dumb as that was going down on your birthday, you’d be into it.’
‘I’m not a complete moron, you know,’ James said.
Kerry’s mobile started ringing. James had changed her ring tone to the national anthem for a joke while she was in the toilet at the youth centre, but that didn’t matter now.
‘Dinesh,’ Kerry said, surprised. ‘Are you crying? Calm down … Tell me what the matter is. What the hell are you doing at the police station?’
21. BRAINDEAD
Three hours earlier, Dinesh had hitched a lift home in Kelvin’s car with April and Junior. He lived with his mum and dad in a flash house a few doors down from Keith Moore. Mr Singh was in his study, working on his laptop. Dinesh wasn’t surprised to find him there, even though it was past eleven.
‘Good time at the youth club?’
‘Nothing very exciting,’ Dinesh said. ‘Did Mum ring up?’
‘She asked me to make sure you washed behind your ears and changed your underpants.’
‘Very funny, Dad,’ Dinesh said, grinning. ‘I’m off to bed. Don’t sit up working all night.’
Dinesh had brushed his teeth and was getting into bed when he heard a saloon car pull on to the driveway. Sometimes cars used the drive to turn around, but this one stopped and Dinesh watched two doors open. Another car stopped behind. It was white, with blue lights and cop markings on the roof.
‘Dad,’ Dinesh shouted.
The two cops from the first car were in plain clothes. The three out of the second wore uniform and carried rifles. Two cops split off and jogged around the house, covering the back exit. Dinesh quickly slid on his tracksuit bottoms and ran on to the landing.
‘Dad,’ Dinesh shouted again, nervously. ‘The police are outside.’
The front door exploded into the hallway. Police never ring the doorbell when it’s a drug bust, because it gives the suspect a chance to destroy evidence. Dinesh had never seen a gun outside of