The Serpent's Skin Erina Reddan (affordable ebook reader .TXT) 📖

‘Asking what?’

‘Why did you tell us she was staying at Peg’s?’

‘Because it’s a cold, hard fact.’

I gathered all my nerves and leaned them forwards. ‘The calendar says your so-called fact is a LIE. Mum—was—missing—for—six—days before she died.’ Each word was an island in a sea of meaning.

He blinked. ‘Peg was off her nut. That was why your mother was there in the first place. She’d had a turn. Peg was probably too far gone to write anything sensible down. Peg told you herself, clear as day, when she came to stay for the funeral.’

I thumped the table with all the force I had. ‘You know as well as I do that Peg was lying for you. What did you have on her to make her do that?’

‘What’s this bullshit?’ He blustered and looked around as if somebody might spring to his defence.

I leaned all of me further forwards. ‘Tessa and I phoned Peg before you visited her that day. She told us “clear as day”,’ I put my head on the side to emphasise his words, ‘that she hadn’t seen Mum for ages.’

His eyes lit up. ‘So she either lied to you on the phone or she lied to you in person later.’ He leaned over the table, too, forcing me to retreat. ‘You just picked the truth that suits you.’

‘I’m sticking to the calendar—not being a relative, it can be trusted.’

‘For God’s sake, JJ. It’s never enough for you, is it?’ He stood up and flung his arm towards the door. ‘You’ve got my word and now written proof that your mother was there and still—’

Out of nowhere he dropped his arm, went to the fridge and pulled the ring top back from a can. With the door of the fridge still ajar, he tipped the beer straight down his throat. I wanted a drink myself.

‘Dad.’ I made my voice go soft. ‘I know you didn’t kill her so how bad can it be? Where did Mum go after she left Peg’s? What about that address in Mum’s missal?’

He kicked the fridge shut with his foot. ‘Kill her? The bullshit that comes out of your mouth.’

‘Where, Dad?’

‘Nowhere. She was with Peg. Look,’ he said, sitting, ‘I loved your mother.’ He pointed an accusing finger. ‘She was my moon and my stars. I’d have done anything to protect her, anything.’ His voice rose to a whine. ‘Your mother was a saint.’

‘Philly heard Mum threaten she’d leave you the night before.’

‘Bullshit. It was a normal blue, Philly was just a baby, what, six or seven? She’s not remembering straight.’

‘Nine.’

He nodded as if it proved his point. ‘They don’t understand stuff, twist it around. Baby stuff.’

He held my eye, all battle ready, but then dropped his, pushed back from the table to give his beer gut more room. ‘When you get older, you’ll understand not everything’s black and white.’

I sank my head onto my arms on the table, tired through. A fly landed on a crumb on my plate. It rubbed its hind legs together and turned to face me, rubbing again. Dad waved his hand and it took off.

Maybe I shouldn’t have let Mrs Tyler’s conspiracy set me off. Maybe I should have gone to the beach with Philly and Ahmed today instead of coming here after all. Maybe those big black words on Peg’s calendar were just mad scribble and not a sign from Mum. Or, just maybe, I was getting Peg obsessed. I shivered. Definitely I shouldn’t have taken advice from Tye, a guy who’d never seen a rat close-range in his life. I sighed and put my head back. ‘I want to know, Dad. That’s all. It’s just a small thing.’

‘She was at Peg’s.’

I sighed, giving up. ‘Was she happy?’

‘Happy? What a question.’

‘Did she love you?’

He looked up, surprised. ‘Reckon she did. Had all you buggers, didn’t we?’

WHAT TESSA KNOWS

It was too hot to sleep that night, so around midnight I wandered up to the roof to see if I could catch a breeze. There was already the orange burn of a cigarette end in the far corner. I headed in that direction. Rocco gave a soft, deep-of-the-night laugh when I collapsed into the sixties retro sun lounger beside him. He reached over to offer me a swig out of his home-labelled bottle.

I screwed up my face. ‘Not feeling brave enough right now.’

He laughed out loud this time, sucked on his rollie so the end flared up again in the dark. ‘Only the wicked can’t sleep, JJ. What’ve you been up to?’

It was my turn to laugh. ‘I’d curl your ears just in the telling, Rocco.’

He gestured with his bare big toe at his tobacco pouch. I leaned over to pick it up. Spent a deal of time getting the roll of it right. He lit it for me. I sucked on the end and took the hit. That tiny, satisfying rush to the brain. I sank back into the plastic weave.

‘Marge got her date,’ he said.

‘Oh shit.’ I straightened back up. ‘When?’

He gave me the details.

I sunk back. ‘That’s the wicked thing I’ve been up to, then. There’s a special place in hell for people who don’t watch a friend’s back. I should’ve checked in on Friday night.’

‘She’s a tough old bird,’ he said. ‘Been expecting it.’

‘It’s not her I’m worried about. She can’t leave me here with you lot.’

‘You could always move out yourself, you know.’ He turned to look at me directly. ‘A big fancy lawyer doesn’t need to live in a dive like this.’

‘When I get paid like a big fancy lawyer, I’ll keep that in mind.’

We smoked some more, although truth was, I let the air smoke down most of mine.

‘There has to be another way for her,’ I finally said.

‘You’d think.’ He stubbed out his cigarette, wrangled the back of his lounger so it flattened out and lay fully down, the plastic under his weight squeaking in