The Half Truth(42)

Tina went to protest that she still wasn’t happy but then remembered that Dimitri was home alone. ‘Let’s get back.’

Tina watched Dimitri eye John from across the top of his cereal bowl. He had that look on his face he got when he was thinking about something. Tina and John had returned from Mr Cooper’s the previous night and the first thing she had done was check on her son. He was fast asleep, just as she had left him.

She had sat downstairs with John for ten minutes while they went over the events of that night, but neither of them had been able to come up with a completely plausible or reassuring explanation. In the end they had reluctantly decided to drop the subject. However, the incident was well and truly logged in Tina’s mind.

‘I’ve got to make a few calls,’ said John, standing up and taking his coffee with him, he hooked up his blue Harrington jacket.

‘Where’s your black coat?’ said Dimitri.

John looked round. ‘Black coat? I don’t have one.’

‘Yes you do,’ said Dimitri. He grinned as if John was teasing him.

‘Sorry, fella, but I definitely don’t have a black one.’

Dimitri dipped the spoon into the chocolate-coloured milk in his bowl. ‘You had it on last night.’

‘Last night?’ Tina stopped buttering her toast. ‘When did John have a black coat on?’

Dimitri looked from his mum to John.

‘You’re not in trouble,’ said Tina. ‘It’s just neither of us can remember the coat.’ She smiled reassuringly at her son, though the corners of her mouth felt tense. ‘Dimitri?’

‘When you came to see me in my room.’ Dimitri’s voice was matter of fact. He pushed the spoon into his mouth and noisily sucked the milk up.

John slowly sat back down at the table. Tina shot him a warning look. She would handle this.

‘And John was wearing a black jacket?’

Dimitri gave a big sigh. ‘Yes. I pretended to be asleep, but really I was peeking. You didn’t know, did you?’ This time his face lit up with excitement.

John shook his head and smiled.

‘No, I didn’t see you. That was clever of you.’

Another exchange of looks passed between Tina and John.

‘You’re very clever, indeed. Tell me, what was John doing when you saw him?’

Dimitri’s face broke into a broad smile of satisfaction. ‘You picked up Billy the Bear. Can I have him back now?’

‘Billy the Bear. He’s a stuffed toy.’ She noted the concerned look on John’s face. ‘Do you have Billy the Bear?’ Her voice was practically a whisper. John shook his head.

‘But you took him. I want him back.’ Dimitri let his spoon clang noisily into the bowl and sat back in his chair with folded arms.

‘I’ll find Billy the Bear later,’ said Tina. ‘In the meantime, we need to get you dressed for school. Come on. Let’s go and brush your teeth. There’s a good boy.’ Tina stood up and ushered Dimitri from the table.

Once upstairs, she left Dimitri in the bathroom brushing his teeth and hurried into her son’s bedroom. Billy the Bear, was a present from Sasha. He had given it to Tina when she found out she was pregnant. A gift for their unborn child. Billy the Bear usually sat on the bookshelf just inside the door. There was an empty spot the soft toy usually occupied.

Dimitri came into the room. ‘I told you, Mummy, John took Billy.’

The tide of foreboding that had been brewing, rushed her like a spring tide, drenching every fibre in Tina’s body with fear.





Chapter 21


Tina sat in the car beside John, with Dimitri in the back. Tina had taken the week off from work, the incident at the café being passed off as an attempted robbery for the benefit of her boss and Fay. Only Tina, John and his team knew differently.

Tina walked Dimitri into the playground while John waited in the car. From where she stood she could see both of them. Dimitri was happy running around the playground, having an early-morning game of tag. Tina tracked him this way and that, her eyes never leaving him while her peripheral vision was vigilant to any adult coming within range. Anyone she didn’t recognise as a parent got a second look and a long second look until she was satisfied they were not a threat.

At last the school bell rang out, signalling the day was about to start and the children were to line up in their respective classes to wait for the teachers.

‘Have a good day at school,’ said Tina, bending down to plant a kiss on her son’s cheek. ‘Here’s your book bag and lunch box. Love you.’

‘Love you,’ said Dimitri, already distracted by the class line that was filling up. He blindly grabbed at the two bags before running over and jumping with two feet into the line, right behind one of his class mates, leaving no opportunity for anyone to cut in between them. His feet were rooted to the spot, his toes almost touching the heels of the boy in front of him. He turned and waved at his mum.