A Place Of Safety Read Online Free PDF Page A

daughter’s teething, that had seen off dusty resentments?
    Things felt right. New, somehow.
    Lilly laughed aloud at her flight of fancy.
    The opposing team from the village school won the toss and the match began.
    ‘Come on, Manor Park,’ Lilly shouted.
    ‘Yeah,’ shouted one of the boarders, ‘let’s show these chavs what we’re made of.’
    Lilly pretended not to hear but saw a few Manor Park parents smirk. Why did these people have to be so bloody self-important? Why did they have to look down on others just because they had less cash?
    ‘The ball wasn’t that bad,’ said Jack.
    ‘What?’
    ‘A mistimed pass, I’ll grant you, but they’re only nine.’
    It was a blatant attempt to divert her. Lilly laughed and pressed her cheek against Jack’s shoulder.
    At the far side of the grounds some parents were walking towards the pitch. They were late and would get it in the neck from their son after the match. As they came nearer, Lilly could see that they were both in overalls. Not parents, ground staff. The school had an army of them to trim and mow. Never before had fifteen acres been so well manicured, and never before had Lilly seen a woman among their ranks.
    ‘Great save,’ shouted Jack, and Lilly tore her eyes back to the game.
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘Number eight made a great run up the wing and chipped it in the left corner, but Sam just got his fingers to it.’
    Lilly smiled. ‘Since when are you into football?’
    ‘Thought I was a rugger bugger, did you?’
    Lilly spluttered. ‘Definitely not.’
    ‘What then?’
    Lilly pretended to appraise him with an earnest eye. ‘Fly fishing?’
    ‘Go on with you, woman,’ he said, pushing her away with one hand and pulling her back with the other. ‘I’m too sporty for that.’
    ‘Sporty?’
    Jack flexed a non-existent bicep. ‘Pure muscle.’
    ‘From lifting pints,’ said Lilly.
    She was about to make another remark when she again caught sight of the couple in overalls. They had stopped about one hundred metres away and were deep in conversation, heads bent together. Their hair was the same dark chestnut, thick and shiny, dancing in the wind. Suddenly the man pulled the woman into his arms. Not like lovers, but proprietorial, like a father with his daughter. Or a brother and his younger sister. He embraced her tightly, as if he were holding the pieces of her together. In turn she surrendered to him, wishing to be engulfed.
    When the woman turned her head to the side, Lilly saw she was very young, very beautiful, and very, very frightened.
    Jack felt the electric current of tension ride through Lilly’s body.
    ‘Are you okay?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ she said.
    He followed her eye-line to a couple of teenagers moving towards them. The girl was striking, with creamy skin and almond-shaped eyes. He noticed the boy too, his face grabbing Jack’s attention with its complete lack of expression.
    ‘Do you know them?’ he asked.
    Lilly nodded. ‘From the hostel.’
    ‘What are they doing here?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    But she did know.
    Maybe they had got a job at the school? It made sense, didn’t it? They lived nearby and anyone could cut grass, sweep up leaves.
    ‘She swallowed her alarm and waved in their direction. Artan.’
    He didn’t look up, but whispered something to the girl and kissed her cheek. Then he strode off, not towards Lilly but over to the group of noisy boarders. The girl stumbled after him.
    Jack looked from Lilly to the couple and back again.
    ‘Speak to me, Lilly. What’s going on?’
    She looked into his eyes, her own shining with fear. ‘Something very bad.’
    They ran towards the couple until they were almost upon them. Only then did Lilly see the gun.
    The shot rang out, incongrously clear in the graphite sky.
    Jack quickly assessed the situation. The girl had a gun, which she held out at arm’s length, both hands shaking around the handle. The boy held his above his head and whirled around, trying to