Page 80 of A Simple Mistake
“Something bothered me.”Daniel leaned a bit more.“A phrase I thought I’d heard.Do you think Manville had something to do with Pavel finding us?”
Jack blinked.“Manville?How does he fit in?”
“Dunno.But while they went through the house, looking for us, Pavel said something about how he’d not let anyone else take a strap to my arse.”
Daniel shivered, and Jack rubbed his back, offering comfort.He didn’t interrupt or disturb Daniel with questions, though he had a million and four boiling on his tongue.Daniel would continue when he was able.Though when he spoke, what came out of his mouth was unexpected.
“He never did, you know?Pavel.He never used a strap, always a cane.But it’s something Manville kept saying during the dance lessons.‘Do it like this or I’ll take a strap to your arse’.”
“He threatened to beat you—”
“Not just me.”
“—and nobody said a thing about it?”
Daniel shrugged.“He always sorta giggled when he said it.We all thought it was a joke or a figure of speech.It wasn’t, was it?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel leaned into Jack’s side.“He made me uncomfortable anyway, so the stupid comments barely counted.But you’ve taught us to note coincidences, and Aidan said even a feeling can be evidence—”
“He’s right.And this is good, too.You paid attention, and you connected two things I’d never have put together working alone.I’m going back to ripping Manville’s life apart, and if I find any kind of connection…” He stopped there, not wanting to scare Daniel with more violent imagery.
Daniel giggled.“You’re going to rip his head off and feed it to him?”
“Nah.I have other ways to make him wish he’d never been born.”
“Nico told me he wants to help you hunt, because it’s important to him.He thinks it’s worth the nightmares.I’m… I’m not so brave.But if I tell you what I remember, that’s helping, right?”
Jack wrapped him in a hug.“It’s helping, yes.Massively so.Men like Pavel Mitrovic don’t live their lives on social media for anyone to see.I need a map to find them.And you’ve just given me that.”
“Manville is your map?”
“He is.Remember how you went through Mrs McTavish’s social media and collected the names of people she interacted with?Same thing.”Jack wanted to say more, wanted to point out that Daniel wasn’t Nico, or Jack for that matter.That they all fought their battles in different ways.In the end, he decided to save it for later.Daniel had risked discomfort to verify a hunch and then shared it with him.That was enough bravery for one day.
Not Hers to Wear
Despitealltheirtimeliving together, Gareth still didn’t know what drove Jack’s music choices.That night, saxophone jazz wafted from the loudspeakers in his den along with the sounds of heavy rain.Jack lay stretched out in his chair with his head thrown back and contemplated what Gareth had learned to recognise as spaghetti salad in four dimensions spread across all seven screens.He also knew what the garbled mess meant.
Jack was stuck.
Gareth wondered whether it might be a better idea to return the mug of coffee he’d brought to the kitchen and come back with a couple of shots of whisky.
“It’s fine,” Jack said as if he’d heard the thoughts and held out his hand.“Coffee is just what I need.”
“That’s not what Frazer told me the last time your screens looked like this.He said you needed a bottle of hooch to help you unravel that.And why rain?”
“What?”
“Your music.It’s raining.”
Jack shrugged.“It’s soothing.Helps me think.”
“About?”
“A touch of digital B and E.”
Gareth sighed.When Jack was doing what he did best, he didn’t speak English.
