“Being afraid of Frankie. I am too. I guess lots of people are.”
Davie smirked and puffed up his shoulders. “I’m not afraid of anybody. Especially not my own brother.”
Rebecca nodded and smiled at him. Davie thought the expression contained all the caring in the world, but also a great deal of pity. She asked him one last question before he went. “If you’re not afraid, why won’t you help us?”
Davie was thinking of an answer when he heard someone shout from behind him. It was his brother’s voice. Frankie was here.
“Davie? What the fuck are you doing? Why the hell are you coming out of that fucker’s house? I’m going to kill him!”
Chapter Ten
Andrew heard Bex scream and immediately panicked. His first thought was that he’d completely misjudged Davie and that the boy had done something to hurt her. He pushed past Pen and rushed into the hallway, heading directly for the porch. Bex was still crying when he got there but she didn’t seem to be hurt. In fact she was alone.
“Bex, what the hell is going on?”
She spun around. “It’s Frankie! He’s outside.”
Andrew stepped up to the front door and looked out into the night. Davie was halfway down the path. Frankie was with him and the two were arguing – both voices were heated and angry, but the sound of Davie’s voice seemed to be more pleading than aggressive.
“What the fuck happened to you, bro?” Frankie demanded, pointing to the bandage on Davie’s head. “Did that fuckin’ mug give you a kicking? He’s a dead man.”
“No,” said Davie. “I got hit by a car. The guy who lives here was just helping me. He took me to the hospital and drove me back.”
Frankie looked towards the house and spotted Andrew standing there. “Oh, did he? Is that what you do, old man? Give lifts to young boys? Fuckin’ perv.”
Andrew pushed Bex back and told her to go and join her mother in the living room. Then he looked back at Frankie. “He was injured. Would you have preferred I just left him there?”
Frankie didn’t say anything and Andrew hoped that he was getting through to him. When he eventually did say something, it was in a calmer tone than his usual aggressive slur. “No, course not, but how the hell did you happen to be there, anyway?”
“Right time, right place,” Davie quickly answered.
But Andrew owned up. Lying could make things worse. “Because it was me that hit him, Frankie. It was an accident. That’s why I made sure he got to the hospital.”
Frankie’s face dropped. “You mowed down my little brother? You’re a dead man.” Frankie marched up the path, shoving aside his brother’s attempts to stop him. “A motherfuckin’ dead man.”
Andrew stood rooted in the doorway, unsure how to proceed. When Frankie pulled out a flick knife and released the blade, the decision was obvious. Andrew slammed shut the front door and locked it as quickly as he could. Then he called the police.
***
Frankie stood outside Andrew’s house for almost ten minutes, screaming threats and vowing that Andrew would pay for what he’d done. Bex and Pen were both in tears by the time he left. Five minutes later the police arrived and were now sitting in the living room as they had done only hours before. It was the same two officers, Dalton and Wardsley.
“He actually threatened your life,” asked Wardsley.
Andrew nodded. “Several times. My entire family heard him. Then he pulled a knife on me.”
“Okay.” Wardsley nodded. “I think we have good reason to go and ask this Frankie a few questions now.”
“Questions?” said Andrew, leaning forward in his armchair. “I want you to do more than that! He’s a danger to society.”
Wardsley nodded. “I understand you want something done, sir. Believe me, we’ll be arresting him and holding him over night. We’ll do what we can to get him in front of a judge, but…”