Like This, for Ever

grasped it and pulled upwards, stretching the muscles in his right thigh. ‘Yeah, and I’d callyour bluff on that one if I’d ever read it myself,’ he replied, with a wobble and a grin. ‘Will I see you older ones at football on Tuesday night?’
    ‘Not me, Sir, because I’m a girl,’ said Hatty.
    ‘Girls play football,’ said Sam.
    ‘Only butch ones,’ Hatty told him.
    ‘You alright, Barney?’ Mr Green was looking at him oddly. He realized the conversation had been going on without him. He’d been staring at the ground like a dork.
    Barney made himself look back steadily. ‘
War and Peace,
Sir,’ he said. ‘It’s a very thought-provoking book.’
    ‘See you, then.’ Mr Green nodded at the group and jogged off along the touchline.
    ‘Shit, she’s here!’ Harvey dodged behind his elder brother, as if trying not to be seen.
    Panic hit the group.
    ‘Who is?’
    ‘Where?’
    ‘Don’t look, idiot! The policewoman. The one we sent the text to.’
    Barney fixed his gaze on the match and then let his eyes wander to the left. Harvey was right. Lacey Flint was walking towards them along the path from the car park. Her hair, which she normally kept tied back, was flying around her head. She looked like a mermaid. Or a siren.
    ‘Crap, she is too,’ said Lloyd. ‘She’s coming towards us.’
    ‘For God’s sake, calm down,’ said Jorge. ‘And don’t look at her. She doesn’t know a thing.’
    ‘She must do.’
    ‘She can’t prove it,’ said Barney, before raising his voice. ‘Chiswick are having a go at goal.’
    ‘I’m getting out of here.’
    ‘Don’t move,’ said Jorge. ‘If we leave, it will look suspicious. She’s probably not in the slightest bit interested in us.’
    ‘So why’s she here?’
    ‘She knows Huck Joesbury’s dad,’ said Barney. ‘She’s probably come to watch him play.’
    ‘Which is Huck’s dad?’
    ‘Number 7, open side flanker. Now will you watch the frigging game?’
    The kids on the touchline were watching her approach. Lacey studied each in turn. The smaller boy was edgy and nervous. The girl was bold-faced and defiant, just like she’d been at that age, but scared underneath it. The young were so bad at hiding their feelings. All except Barney, who, she had to admit, was a pretty cool customer. He’d turned back to watch the match again, she’d almost be convinced if it weren’t for the angle of his head. He was watching her. Then the taller of the boys followed his lead, turning his back on Lacey, slinging an arm round Barney’s shoulders, saying something a little louder than necessary. Then he laughed. Barney laughed too, as though the two of them had just shared something hilarious.
    As Lacey drew close, the girl looked her up and down, sizing up everything she was wearing, and then turned her back, as though she wasn’t worth any more interest. Little minx. The younger boys couldn’t take their eyes off her. They were like small mammals when a snake gets ready to strike.
    Lacey was tempted to make them sweat for a while, but she really needed to talk to Barney this morning, away from his father, and if she wasn’t careful, this lot would scarper.
    ‘Lacey!’
    She jumped, and turned to see the tall, blonde woman with brown puppy-dog eyes and the skinny, dark-haired child. Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Rowley of the Tayside Police, Dana Tulloch’s long-term partner. And not necessarily someone she could count on as a friend any more.
    If Helen was aware of the spat of the night before, though, she seemed determined to ignore it. She came up close, put a hand on Lacey’s shoulder and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘And have you met this little fella?’ she asked, looking down at the boy whose head just reached her elbow.
    Inexplicably, Lacey felt the same pang of nerves she always experienced when the bigger Joesbury male was close. ‘Hello, Huck,’ she said. ‘I’m Lacey.’
    Turquoise eyes met Lacey’s for a second. He looked away, shyly. Then he seemed to think of something and looked back up again. It was quite astonishing, their eyes were exactly the same.
    ‘Lacey Flint?’ he said.
    She nodded, intrigued.
    ‘You’re number one in Favourites on my dad’s phone,’ he informed her.
    ‘I’m honoured,’ said Lacey, as Helen suppressed a giggle behind Huck’s back.
    ‘So am I,’ said a voice behind her. ‘Did you see me poleaxe that guy?’
    The few visible parts of Joesbury Senior that weren’t covered in