hand hurt like hell, and there was nothing in all the burnt-out darkness of his mind to tell him what had happened to his husband and his little girl. “I’ve got to go.”
One of the paramedics glanced up, grinning. “Yeah, of course. It’s Sergeant Frayne, isn’t it, from over in Dark?”
“Er... yes.”
“You won’t remember me. My team and I picked you up after you got stabbed in Bodmin town. Nice to see you on your feet again. And don’t worry about this chap—his burns look superficial.”
“Thank God.”
“More a case of thank the local bobby, if you ask me. Another thirty seconds and he would’ve been fried. If you’re looking for your other half, by the way, he’s down on the quayside. Saw him two minutes ago.”
Air rushed into Gideon’s lungs, sweet and pure with relief. He couldn’t find his voice to thank the medic, who had turned her attentions back to her patient anyway. He turned and stumbled away. If anything further needed doing here tonight, any more fires doused or hoodlums arrested, someone else would have to manage it, at least for now. Gideon would return to the fray and gladly, but not before he’d set eyes on Tamsyn and Lee.
An odd hush had descended on the town. Saul Priddy and his mates had vanished, of course, seeing a charge of manslaughter in their shared futures. The crowd in the square was thinning. Gideon didn’t quite get it. He couldn’t work out how the promising riot he’d observed from Gwidder Hill had dispersed so fast. Either the Penzance coppers had done a phenomenally good job, or...
Or somebody had ordered up a miracle. He emerged from Quay Street onto the sea front. Battery Road, normally thronged with harbour traffic, was closed off and silent. People were coming from all directions to the open space in front of the Dolphin Tavern. Among them Gideon saw faces he would store away for later identity parades, feral or idle or just plain thick, the very lads who’d been wreaking havoc in the town. His fingers itched to collar them, but he was on his own, and anyway they’d ceased to behave like thugs. They were just walking in silence, some of them with torches still borne aloft, joining the outskirts of the crowd.
The crowd had a centre. Gideon couldn’t quite see it, but the people flowing in were moving clockwise around it, each one dropping to a slow, almost stately pace, like a dustcloud around a newly formed star. A couple of the crowdy-crawn drummers were giving them the beat. Round and round they circled, expressions becoming young with wonder as they drew closer to the core, torchlight mingling with moonlight in the clearing sky, boats gleaming on the high-tide waters in the harbour beyond.
Compelling and beautiful, and if Gideon could get enough uniformed muscle down here, easy pickings. Fish in a trawl net. He had no idea what had drawn the little bastards’ attention, what was holding it now, and he didn’t care. He pulled out his mobile.
Lee met his eyes through the crowd. It was a glimpse only. He was in the inner circle, walking clockwise with the rest, the baby in his arms. Gideon forgot the kids and his potential arrests with perfect totality. That look, brief though it had been, meant get your arse here right now . The serenity Gideon had read through their strange link had been a front. Beneath it Lee was terrified, elated, holding back fireworks by a pure effort of will. Gid, come here!
He went. He was good at parting crowds without disturbing them. Even out of uniform, when he pushed, people moved. He accepted the circular current, spiralled in through it and joined Lee with a gasp of relief. “There you are. Are you both all right?”
“Fine. Just walk with us, okay? Don’t say anything.”
“About what?”
Lee made the smallest gesture. “That.”
In the centre of the circle, fire was floating in mid-air. Gideon’s eyes were sore and stinging with smoke. He blinked and focussed, trying to make sense of what he was
One of the paramedics glanced up, grinning. “Yeah, of course. It’s Sergeant Frayne, isn’t it, from over in Dark?”
“Er... yes.”
“You won’t remember me. My team and I picked you up after you got stabbed in Bodmin town. Nice to see you on your feet again. And don’t worry about this chap—his burns look superficial.”
“Thank God.”
“More a case of thank the local bobby, if you ask me. Another thirty seconds and he would’ve been fried. If you’re looking for your other half, by the way, he’s down on the quayside. Saw him two minutes ago.”
Air rushed into Gideon’s lungs, sweet and pure with relief. He couldn’t find his voice to thank the medic, who had turned her attentions back to her patient anyway. He turned and stumbled away. If anything further needed doing here tonight, any more fires doused or hoodlums arrested, someone else would have to manage it, at least for now. Gideon would return to the fray and gladly, but not before he’d set eyes on Tamsyn and Lee.
An odd hush had descended on the town. Saul Priddy and his mates had vanished, of course, seeing a charge of manslaughter in their shared futures. The crowd in the square was thinning. Gideon didn’t quite get it. He couldn’t work out how the promising riot he’d observed from Gwidder Hill had dispersed so fast. Either the Penzance coppers had done a phenomenally good job, or...
Or somebody had ordered up a miracle. He emerged from Quay Street onto the sea front. Battery Road, normally thronged with harbour traffic, was closed off and silent. People were coming from all directions to the open space in front of the Dolphin Tavern. Among them Gideon saw faces he would store away for later identity parades, feral or idle or just plain thick, the very lads who’d been wreaking havoc in the town. His fingers itched to collar them, but he was on his own, and anyway they’d ceased to behave like thugs. They were just walking in silence, some of them with torches still borne aloft, joining the outskirts of the crowd.
The crowd had a centre. Gideon couldn’t quite see it, but the people flowing in were moving clockwise around it, each one dropping to a slow, almost stately pace, like a dustcloud around a newly formed star. A couple of the crowdy-crawn drummers were giving them the beat. Round and round they circled, expressions becoming young with wonder as they drew closer to the core, torchlight mingling with moonlight in the clearing sky, boats gleaming on the high-tide waters in the harbour beyond.
Compelling and beautiful, and if Gideon could get enough uniformed muscle down here, easy pickings. Fish in a trawl net. He had no idea what had drawn the little bastards’ attention, what was holding it now, and he didn’t care. He pulled out his mobile.
Lee met his eyes through the crowd. It was a glimpse only. He was in the inner circle, walking clockwise with the rest, the baby in his arms. Gideon forgot the kids and his potential arrests with perfect totality. That look, brief though it had been, meant get your arse here right now . The serenity Gideon had read through their strange link had been a front. Beneath it Lee was terrified, elated, holding back fireworks by a pure effort of will. Gid, come here!
He went. He was good at parting crowds without disturbing them. Even out of uniform, when he pushed, people moved. He accepted the circular current, spiralled in through it and joined Lee with a gasp of relief. “There you are. Are you both all right?”
“Fine. Just walk with us, okay? Don’t say anything.”
“About what?”
Lee made the smallest gesture. “That.”
In the centre of the circle, fire was floating in mid-air. Gideon’s eyes were sore and stinging with smoke. He blinked and focussed, trying to make sense of what he was
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