Read Online When I Wasn't Watching by Michelle Kelly - Free Book Online
Authors: Michelle Kelly
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her to confide in him not so much as an officer of the law, but as a man.
He cleared his throat, searching for something to say to lighten the sudden, strange tension in the room when a surly Ricky came down the stairs, glaring at both his mother and Matt.
âDid you bring me home to teach me a lesson or to hit on my mum?â he challenged Matt, puffing out his scrawny fifteen-year-old chest. Lucy got up quickly and went to him, laying a placating hand on his shoulder.
âRicky, this is the detective who handled your brotherâs disappearance.â
Ricky grinned at Matt, such a change in attitude that Matt blinked as Ricky bounded over to him and shook his hand.
âYouâre the one who roughed Prince up in his cell, right?â
âEr, I didnât quite ârough him upâ.â Damn it, he was beginning to think that the whole city knew. But he returned Rickyâs handshake anyway, glad to have finally got a smile out of the boy. The shoplifting seemed irrelevant now, but even so he put on his best authoritative voice, then winced at how damn old he sounded.
âI trust I wonât be seeing you again under these circumstances?â
Ricky just shrugged and then, at a furious glance from Lucy, shook his head with vehemence.
ââCourse not. Promise. Mum, can I go back out now?â
âNo. You can go back up to your room please. Iâll come and talk to you when the inspector has gone.â
Ricky glared at her but obeyed, the thump of his trainers on the stairs leaving no ambivalence as to exactly how he felt about his confinement. Matt set his cup down again, knowing this was his cue to leave but not wanting to go. He turned to her before he walked out of her front door, his eyes lingering on her full mouth just for a moment, but long enough that she noticed and a corner of that mouth turned up wryly.
âThank you, Iâm glad you were there. Iâll have a word with him; itâs really not like him at all.â
âHeâs just a kid. Still, if you would like me to have a more thorough word with him, or if thereâs anything I can doâ¦â he trailed off, feeling suddenly ridiculous. He had never been tongue-tied around a woman, but this was far from a usual situation. When Lucy disappeared behind the door he had to wonder if he had offended her, then she was back, pressing a piece of paper into his hand.
âMy phone number. In case you think of anything you can do.â
She was definitely flirting, there was no mistaking it. Matt smiled at her and pocketed the number before he walked back to his car, feeling unsettled again He looked back as he opened the driverâs door, expecting her to still be watching, but the door was closed.
***
When he first saw the man watching him playing in the garden, he wanted to go and talk to him, because he looked so sad. Maybe he wanted to play, but was too shy to ask, just like when he had gone to nursery and wanted to play in the sandpit with the bigger boys. But Mummy had told him not to talk to strangers so he didnât, even though the man didnât look like the bad men Mummy worried about, the ones like the baddies on TV. This man just looked sad.
Perhaps it would be okay if he asked him his name, because if you knew someoneâs name then they werenât a stranger were they? But then the man had gone, and he decided he should ask Mummy first anyway, because she would know what to do. He would ask her at tea time.
Except, by the time he was ready for tea and saw that he had his favourite fish fingers, he had forgotten all about it.
Chapter Five
Saturday
The woman hoisted the heavy bag containing all the various forms she had to fill in onto her shoulder and smiled with no real conviction at the weary young man in front of her.
âSo that will be all for nowâ¦John,â she said in a bright tone, wondering what his real name was, because he didnât look like a
He cleared his throat, searching for something to say to lighten the sudden, strange tension in the room when a surly Ricky came down the stairs, glaring at both his mother and Matt.
âDid you bring me home to teach me a lesson or to hit on my mum?â he challenged Matt, puffing out his scrawny fifteen-year-old chest. Lucy got up quickly and went to him, laying a placating hand on his shoulder.
âRicky, this is the detective who handled your brotherâs disappearance.â
Ricky grinned at Matt, such a change in attitude that Matt blinked as Ricky bounded over to him and shook his hand.
âYouâre the one who roughed Prince up in his cell, right?â
âEr, I didnât quite ârough him upâ.â Damn it, he was beginning to think that the whole city knew. But he returned Rickyâs handshake anyway, glad to have finally got a smile out of the boy. The shoplifting seemed irrelevant now, but even so he put on his best authoritative voice, then winced at how damn old he sounded.
âI trust I wonât be seeing you again under these circumstances?â
Ricky just shrugged and then, at a furious glance from Lucy, shook his head with vehemence.
ââCourse not. Promise. Mum, can I go back out now?â
âNo. You can go back up to your room please. Iâll come and talk to you when the inspector has gone.â
Ricky glared at her but obeyed, the thump of his trainers on the stairs leaving no ambivalence as to exactly how he felt about his confinement. Matt set his cup down again, knowing this was his cue to leave but not wanting to go. He turned to her before he walked out of her front door, his eyes lingering on her full mouth just for a moment, but long enough that she noticed and a corner of that mouth turned up wryly.
âThank you, Iâm glad you were there. Iâll have a word with him; itâs really not like him at all.â
âHeâs just a kid. Still, if you would like me to have a more thorough word with him, or if thereâs anything I can doâ¦â he trailed off, feeling suddenly ridiculous. He had never been tongue-tied around a woman, but this was far from a usual situation. When Lucy disappeared behind the door he had to wonder if he had offended her, then she was back, pressing a piece of paper into his hand.
âMy phone number. In case you think of anything you can do.â
She was definitely flirting, there was no mistaking it. Matt smiled at her and pocketed the number before he walked back to his car, feeling unsettled again He looked back as he opened the driverâs door, expecting her to still be watching, but the door was closed.
***
When he first saw the man watching him playing in the garden, he wanted to go and talk to him, because he looked so sad. Maybe he wanted to play, but was too shy to ask, just like when he had gone to nursery and wanted to play in the sandpit with the bigger boys. But Mummy had told him not to talk to strangers so he didnât, even though the man didnât look like the bad men Mummy worried about, the ones like the baddies on TV. This man just looked sad.
Perhaps it would be okay if he asked him his name, because if you knew someoneâs name then they werenât a stranger were they? But then the man had gone, and he decided he should ask Mummy first anyway, because she would know what to do. He would ask her at tea time.
Except, by the time he was ready for tea and saw that he had his favourite fish fingers, he had forgotten all about it.
Chapter Five
Saturday
The woman hoisted the heavy bag containing all the various forms she had to fill in onto her shoulder and smiled with no real conviction at the weary young man in front of her.
âSo that will be all for nowâ¦John,â she said in a bright tone, wondering what his real name was, because he didnât look like a
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