was certain he had no clue who I was, I felt myself bristle, suddenly paranoid that this was some reference to how I’d coped without Lauren. ‘But then she managed to sort herself out. She left him and moved away, somewhere he’d never find her. Then she fought to get her kids back.’
‘What about the husband?’ I asked. ‘Where is he now?’ I wondered if Keith had told Tommy about Robbie banging on the door that night.
‘He’s inside. Not for what he did to her,’ he said, anticipating my next question. ‘Though he would have more than deserved it. No, he’s just one of those bad lads, into all sorts.’
I thought of the fear I’d heard in Keith’s voice in the alley, how he’d tried to cover for his sister. He was clearly a good person and the story he’d given me was looking more and more plausible. His sister was real, as was one of her other children, Kimberley. Had I got this whole thing horribly and completely wrong?
My eyes began to close. The last twenty-four hours were finally starting to catch up with me. I let my gaze rise up, beyond the fire, to a framed picture of the Angel of the North on the wall. With its rusty-red steel and wings spread wide, the sculpture looked majestic, magical even. It reminded me of something, but I couldn’t think what. Then I remembered. I looked down at Tommy’s forearm and the winged siren woman he had tattooed there. The anchor draped across her body had a tangle of roses running along the width of its crown.
‘One for the road?’ He gestured at my empty glass.
‘I’m driving.’
‘We could always stay here.’ He motioned to the floor above.
‘Nice try.’ I smiled. ‘But I don’t think so.’
He reached for my hand. Slowly, he curled each one of his fingers through mine. His palm was papery dry. I looked down to where our hands now lay, intertwined on his leg, and was struck by the memory of Jason’s face just before he’d walked out. His lips had been half-pursed, his eyes soft. At the time his expression had made no sense. But now I knew what it meant. Pity. That was it. He’d felt pity for me.
I looked back at our hands, still together. I could feel the heat of Tommy’s skin through the fabric of his jeans. I waited a beat. I didn’t move my hand away.
The bell rang for last orders and then time. People began gathering their things, ready to leave, and we joined the exodus into the car park.
Outside, the cool night air was a shock to the system. I was wearing a jacket made out of thin cotton and, almost immediately, my teeth began to chatter.
‘I don’t want to go home just yet.’ He motioned to a jeep in the far corner. ‘Shall we talk in my car?’
I hesitated, but then I reminded myself that the whole purpose of my coming here tonight had been to make him trust me. The things I’d learnt about Keith and his sister were useful, but I’d need more to be truly satisfied.
‘I should be getting back.’
‘Go on.’
I gave him a shy smile. It would serve Jason right if he got home and discovered I wasn’t there. Let him worry.
‘Just for a bit.’
I followed him over to the jeep and, after opening the passenger door for me, he went round and got in the driver’s seat.
Inside, the jeep was immaculate and had that chemical, pine smell cars get when they have just been cleaned. My teeth were still chattering and so he turned the heating on high. It blared loudly from the vents and soon the car was sickly warm.
‘That’s better.’
We sat there in silence, watching the other cars leave. The earlier cloud cover had given way to thin, wispy contrails, and the crescent moon shone through them, high and white in the sky. I knew I should try and find some way to bring up the topic of Keith and the boy again, to use my time here to my best advantage, but every question or opener I framed in my mind sounded too weird or obvious.
‘I’m glad you decided to come tonight,’ said Tommy, sliding his hands up and down the outside of the steering wheel.
I watched them turn out the lights in the pub one by one and was trying to work out how to respond when I felt him reach over and stroke my left cheek.