Little Triggers Read Online Free PDF Page B

one’s going to blame you. Or the centre.”
    “But what if I’m right? And it makes the papers?”
    He smiled at her. “If it does, who d’you think’ll be writing it up?”
    She returned his smile. Slowly the warmth was starting to seep back into her face; her soft, hurt, brown eyes were like pools of honesty and truth.
    They talked for a while longer. Larkin got an address for Noble from Jane together with the names and addresses of his two referees. He got ready to go.
    “You know,” Jane said, her eyes shyly downcast, “we should go out again some time, shouldn’t we?”
    “Why not? Get a babysitter and I’ll take you to the pictures one night. Go for a meal afterwards.”
    “I was hopin’ we might just go out and get pissed.”
    They both laughed, then fell silent.
    “Aren’t you seeing anyone, then?” Larkin tried to make the question sound casual.
    “You’re kiddin’, aren’t you? As soon as men round here find out you run a children’s centre, a credit union, that you’re tryin’ to start a woman’s group and involved in politics, they take one look at you and think you’re some kind of maniac lesbian.”
    “Mind you,” said Larkin, “looking at most of the blokes round here, you’re best off being a lesbian.” They laughed again.
    There was another pause.
    “How’s Alison, then?”
    Jane smiled. “Ah, you want to see her, man! She’s growin’ up lovely. Really bright. And I’m goin’ to make damn sure she doesn’t make all the mistakes her mother did.”
    Larkin smiled at her. If Alison turned out anything like her mother, she wouldn’t be doing so badly. Eventually he said: “Well, I’d best be off.”
    “OK. And – thank you.”
    “No problem. It’s going to be all right.”
    “Yeah.” She sounded unsure.
    He hugged her and felt a hug in return. It wasn’t a lover’s hug, just a friendly one, but all the same Larkin felt an urge to kiss her. He looked down at her; she had her face buried in his leather jacket so he settled for a paternal peck on her forehead. He felt himself starting to stiffen. He was rapidly getting an erection, and that was the last thing he wanted her to know. He pulled apart from her suddenly, making her jump.
    “I’ve got to go.”
    She seemed surprised at the speed with which he was making for the door.
    “I’ll see you out.”
    “No, no, it’s fine. Look, I’ll ring you. We’ll do the article later in the week, yeah?”
    “Yeah, OK.”
    And with that he left her standing alone in the room, looking bewildered and a little lost amongst office furniture that seemed deliberately oversized.

    When he got outside he saw that providence had been kind and his car was still in one piece. He got behind the wheel and started the engine.
    He got on well with Jane, he thought, as he turned the car round in a side street. There was definitely something there. He tried not to think too hard about the subject; he didn’t want to push it. He wanted to get it right this time.
    He was ready to depart. And as he drew away, he saw Noble come out of the centre and get into the Fiesta. Knowing he hadn’t been seen gave Larkin an idea. He waited until Noble had started up and pulled away; then, as discreetly as he could manage, he followed him.

4: Bandits
    The arcade was cavernous and dark; lit only, it seemed, by the blinking sequences of lights emanating from the machines. A stern warning over the door barred the entrance of under-eighteens. Larkin looked at the clientele: either the notice was being ignored, or the fountain of youth had been discovered in Clayton Street.
    Kids were everywhere, dotted down the aisles of video games, fruit machines, the occasional ancient one-armed bandit, and cockpits that looked like they could be used for training astronauts. At the back of the hall was a raised area which had been turned into a gaudily lit cafe with the word DINER etched above it in depressingly cheap neon. At the tables sat a smattering of people