Page 16 of Destroyer

I have not encountered giraffe before, but I do know the English language is far more complicated than it should be.

Fortunately, Porter and Knox enter with perfect timing.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Porter rushes to give me a big hug. "I've missed you."

"It is terrible, Poe. Mrs Gladys is mean, and she will only give me the leftovers bowl if I read for her what she needs. But the g is a j and words are too hard."

"Gelatine." Porter reads for me.

"Thank you." Gladys hands Porter the leftovers bowl, but after taking one lick, my half-brother hands the rest to me.

"You are good big brother," I praise.

"You are a demon," Gladys scolds, but I'm not sure who she is waving that spatula at.

"G-el-at-in. Jeletin." I smile, making a note of the word in my mind.

"Just wait until you realise slaughter and laughters are spelt with exactly the same letters." Knox pats his hand on my shoulder. The weekend away has been good for them, both have big smiles and happy eyes.

"Now, I need to talk to Caeo and Gregory. The Russians are up to no good."

"Caeo is upstairs. Gregory is… Not do I know where he is."

"Thanks kiddo."

He walks off and I scrape the bowl clean of muffin batter with my fingers. Porter starts telling me everything about his time on Knox's boat.

"Ya-ch-t?" I fumble over the word when Gladys demands I read it. The ch is totally pointless in the word, but I will remember it for the next time someone randomly wants me to spell boat. “Yat.”

"Nico," Caeo calls from the doorway. He hasn't been gone long enough to discuss whatever the Russians are doing, making my heart leap at the possibility they want me in on the discussion. I do speak Russian better than any of them.

I follow Caeo to Knox's forbidden room, finding only an office inside.

"Nico. I need you to tell me about last night." Knox demands, sitting at his desk like he owns this cartel. His elbows rest on the tabletop, the fingertips of each hand press together. And he waits.

He waits for me to be the perfect mafia soldier and tell him everything. But my orders come from someone higher than him.

"Last night?" I glance at Caeo, words abandoning me as much now as when Caeo did those amazing things to me. "I am not knowing the words for that."

"Paul Newman." Caeo directs my focus to what part of the night he means.

"Ah. Good. That is… secret."

"Nico, am I the head of this family?'

"You are the castle," I nod hopefully.

"O…K…?" Knox agrees suspiciously. "And Caeo is my second."

"Caeo is the horse Knight. He plays security defence. Zane is consigliere. He is the family queen.”

"Nico. You are not making any sense." Knox leans back in his posh leather chair, crossing his legs and letting the chair rock with a creak.

"I am sorry I am not understanding the question." I shuffle a little closer to Caeo, despite knowing he told Knox what I was doing, he feels like a source of protection.

"Why did you kill Paul Newman?"

"Because the tree is rotten, and you can't make good chess pieces from rotten wood."

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