Deadly Cry (DI Kim Stone #13) - Angela Marsons Page 0,72
open up between the two of them following their mother’s death.
The time she spent in the hospice should have prepared them, but it hadn’t. They were both in unchartered territory, and he had no road map. All he knew was that he had to stay strong for his brother: try and keep the routine and the continuity, no matter how much he wanted to break down. Especially after a day like today. He had no choice but to keep it together.
As he opened the front door, the first thing he heard was laughter. A woman’s laughter.
‘Lynne?’ he questioned, reaching the kitchen.
His brother and his old colleague were comparing two trays of chocolate muffins.
‘Jasper called me. He wanted to cook,’ she said, shifting uncomfortably. Reading the surprise on his face, she reddened. ‘I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have…’
‘No, no, it’s fine,’ Penn said, getting over the shock. Jasper knew he wasn’t allowed to cook in the house alone. The two of them had struck up a friendship over the course of police social events where Jasper had been his plus one.
‘Hey, bud,’ Penn said, reaching over to ruffle his hair. Jasper ducked out of the way as his face hardened.
Lynne caught his look and planted a big smile on her face.
‘Hey, matey, you wanna finish up your computer game while these cool?’
‘Okey dokey,’ he said, leaving the kitchen in his apron.
‘He’s angry cos I’m late again,’ Penn observed, sighing deeply.
‘That’s not why he’s angry,’ Lynne said, removing her own apron. ‘He’s pissed at you for being strong.’
‘What?’ he asked, dropping down into a seat at the dining table. The exhaustion of the day suddenly caught up with him.
Lynne joined him. ‘Bloody hell, Penn, you’re an intelligent man but you often don’t see stuff that’s right in front of you.’
‘Like what?’ he asked.
‘Never mind,’ she said, shaking her head.
‘Lynne, I don’t…’
‘What qualities does Jasper possess?’ she asked, using the tone he knew she reserved for young children and difficult witnesses. ‘Describe him to me.’
‘He’s kind, sweet, thoughtful.’
‘Indeed, he is, and where did he learn those qualities?’
He shrugged.
Her head rolled back, and she groaned.
‘From you, you bloody idiot. He’s been watching and copying you his whole life.’
‘But I…’
‘Do you remember that pile-up we went to years back?’
Penn nodded. He didn’t need to ask which one. Two families including three children had been wiped out that day.
‘I still think about it now,’ she said. ‘I remember everything about that day: the weather, the victims, the placement of the mangled metal, the smell of charred flesh and something else.’
‘What?’
‘That you sent every other officer away for a breather before you went yourself.’
He could still see the stricken faces of the officers dealing with the incident. Some had kids of their own.
‘It’s not that you don’t feel, but it’s like you’ve got this extra reserve of strength, another gear that is only to be used when it truly matters.’
Lynne paused and waited for the penny to drop in his mind.
He shook his head as the fatigue continued to wash over his body.
‘Blimey, Penn, it must have been a long day. He’s trying to stay strong for you.’
‘But he’s so angry with me.’
‘Because he wants to break down. He wants you to break down. He needs you to, so that he can do it too.’
‘Aww… shit,’ he said, rubbing his hand through his curls.
‘He needs you to talk about her, not pretend she didn’t exist. He needs to remember her and mourn her.’ Lynne’s hand moved towards his but stopped an inch away. ‘You both do.’
He met her gaze fully for the first time. ‘I fucked up, didn’t I?’
She smiled. It was a smile he liked. He really did miss working with her.
‘Yeah, you did, but you can put it right,’ she said, nodding towards the lounge.
He was suddenly overcome with gratitude that she had been there for Jasper, that she had dropped whatever she was doing to help his brother.
‘Listen, Lynne, thank—’
‘Forget it, Penn. It’s what friends do. Now get in there and talk to your brother. I’ll let myself out.’
He nodded his thanks and headed into the lounge.
Jasper was holding the game controls, but nothing was moving on the screen.
‘Hey, bud, what are you playing?’ he asked cheerily and immediately understood that was exactly what his brother didn’t need him to do.
He sat on the sofa, resting his forearms on his knees and realised that neither of them had yet sat in the armchair that had been their mother’s favourite place to sit.