“Call me whatever you like, dear. I’m only saying what most of the country thinks. Peter was probably just a petty criminal like the rest of them. Tonight he got his comeuppance.”
To the obvious surprise of everyone, Jess’s small frame managed to get loose of Lucas’s restraining grasp and she leapt towards a nearby table snatching at the nearest thing she could find, which turned out to be an empty pint glass. Harry watched in awe as Jess flung the object in a sweeping arc through the air, pitching it with all the aggression of a baseball player seeking their target. It hit Kath’s with an almighty thonk!
Immediately, Kath hit the floor, clutching at her face and screaming, not like an injured person but like…
A furious person, Harry thought.
Without delay, Kath rose to her feet, almost like a boxer rising after being knocked down by a fluky sucker punch, ready to start swinging. She was not happy and her blood-streaked face was a testament to it. “I’ll kill you!” she vowed.
“Nobody is going to kill anybody!”
Everyone turned to find Steph coming out from behind the bar. Damien was with her as she confronted them all. “Now, what the hell is going on? And why is Kath covered in blood?”
“The little bitch threw a glass at me. She’s insane.”
Steph turned to Jess with such ferocity that the young girl took a step back. “Is this true? Are you causing trouble in my pub?”
Jess nodded and took another step back.
Steph pointed a finger. “Go look after Peter, now, and if I see you move from there for the rest of the night I’ll throw you out in the snow myself.”
Jess moved so quickly it was almost a sprint.
Steph then turned to Kath. “There’s a first aid kit in the back, sweetheart, and a little kitchenette with a sink. Take a candle from the bar and clean yourself up. Okay?”
Kath still bristled with fury, but her bile-filled hate was beginning to simmer down. Not completely though. “That girl should be locked in a padded cell.”
Steph sighed. “Well, for now we don’t have that luxury, so the best I can do is keep you both separated. Jess will be staying up here so you should come downstairs with the rest of us. Now, go get that blood cleaned up before it freezes on your face.”
Kath nodded unhappily and left the room, while Lucas and Nigel went back to their tasks. Steph and Damien approached Harry.
“What happened?” Steph demanded.
Harry ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I was trying to get everyone together so I could tell them something and it all kicked off. Those two really don’t like each other!”
Steph shook her head wearily. “Tell me about it. I’d call the police if I could. There’s no excuse for that kind of violence.”
“It wasn’t just Jess’s fault,” Harry told her.
“I don’t doubt it. But violence is violence; and on a night like this everyone is tense enough already.”
“Speaking of tension,” said Harry. “There was something I was trying to tell everyone before it all went haywire. Come with me.”
Steph nodded and followed; Damien too.
Good, he can back me up. He already knows about the fire and the crucifixes outside.
The three of them made it over to the exit door in the rear corridor. Harry pointed to the glass panel. “Look through, but try to stay calm.”
“What do you mean?” Steph said. “You’re worrying me.”
“Just…look, and then we’ll talk.”
Anxiety etched itself across Steph’s face, but she obliged nonetheless, moving up against the door and peering through the glass for several seconds. “Jesus Christ,” she said finally.
“You see! You see what I mean?”
Steph turned around to face him. “Course I do. The snow out there is getting insane. We need to wrap up warm or we’re all going to freeze. I don’t like this at all.”
Harry didn’t understand. He pushed Steph to one side and peered through the glass himself. The fire was gone. In fact it was as though it had never been there. The snow was deeper than ever and there were no shallow areas where the heat of a flame would have caused it to melt. Everywhere Harry looked was cold, bleak, empty, and white.
But there was no sign of fire.
“There were flames!” He shouted it. “Flames everywhere.”
Steph looked confused and Harry didn’t blame her.
“Tell her, Damien.”
Damien shrugged. “What you talking about?”
Harry blinked and shook his head in disbelief. “What am I talking about? You saw it too! In fact it was you that showed me!”
Damien shook his head adamantly. “Think there’s a stripe missing off your Adidas, mate.”
“No,” said Harry, still shaking his head and feeling more and more desperate. “No, no, no. You saw the flames too! Why are you doing this?”
“Sorry dude! I think you got me confused with someone else good looking.”
Damien walked away, leaving Harry alone with a confused-looking Steph. He started to wonder if he’d imagined the entire thing.
No way!
“I swear it!” said Harry forcefully. “Damien’s playing games.”
Out of the blue, Steph hugged Harry and whispered in his ear. “If you say there was a fire out there then I believe you, okay? Just don’t get yourself worked up, because I need you tonight. I would have gone insane if you weren’t here.”
“You really believe me?”
Steph nodded. “Yes! Now go make yourself useful. Old Graham was asking for you, so go see him. I’ll get all the toilet paper and hand towels. We’re going to get the fire going in a minute.”