little snort. “Is that indecent?”
“Only if you fake it,” she said.
He shot her a glance and smiled shyly.
“You sure aren’t PC Flowers,” he said. “Thank you so much for dropping everything like this.”
“It’s no problem. I’ve no one to please but myself.”
“Oh,” he replied.
“No one at all,” she added, just to be clear on the matter. She gave a little nod, aware that he was looking at her.
He cleared his throat.
“Shannon, you made quite an impression on Ben.”
“I’m sorry I made him push the scooter all the way home. I did think of jumping on the back and telling him to ride it,” she said.
He laughed and then fell silent. It was obvious he wanted to say more.
“Spencer, he’s a good lad. You know that.”
“Can I just talk to you?” he said suddenly. “Ben has had a couple of issues....”
“Yeah, but kids do. Christ, I was completely out of control at his age. I know he got stopped for a bit of blow, but if the stuff is about they all try it. If you ask me he was just unlucky to get caught. Has he ever claimed to you that he was innocent?” she asked.
“He hasn’t said much. He thinks one of his mates put it in his pocket when the police stopped them. I really don’t know if that could be true.”
“Well, it could be—but why not just drop it? Why make things more complicated by trying to get it into someone else’s pocket?”
Spencer nodded and appeared to think for a while.
“Cops are different aren’t they, Shannon? You approach things with a criminal mind, if I can say such a rude thing.”
“You’re right. It’s not rude to say that. You’re Lord of the Manor. You see things from there. All I’ll say, Spencer, is that I believe him. I could speak to the officer who nicked him.”
“And?” he questioned.
“And, I might have a peek at the file, just to be certain,” she replied. “All I can say is that a stop on a kid like Ben on his way to the cinema doesn’t often happen. I’m guessing there is a bit more to it. Maybe he’s not telling us everything.”
She shrugged and looked at him as he watched the road ahead as they passed through the center of the village. His profile was strong and his eyes deep set under dark brows.
A big vehicle was heading towards them at very high speed.
“Christ—a maniac!” he shouted.
Shannon studied the door mirror and read the registration plate backwards. It wasn’t too tough. She knew it already.
“It’s from one of those new houses at Badger’s Bog,” she said.
“What! Ha! Badger’s bloody Bog. The place is an eyesore. It’s a cultural Chernobyl. The farmer’s son-in-law is one of those developer creatures and in the end he got planning permission. I’ve had to buy the whole farm to stop any more hideous desecration of the countryside.”
Shannon noted his intense anger. The speeder was in the black Chrysler 300. The driver looked like a female of about fifty with large earrings, brassy expensive hair, and a salon perma-tan. Just maybe there had been a dark haired girl in the back, half hidden by the smoked windows.
“It’s from that house called “Bluegrass,”” she said.
“How do you know that?” he asked.
“Cos I’m a right old pro, Spencer. Like you with your welder.”
He grinned and returned to his theme.
“Ben told me what had happened last night. Perhaps you should have told me there was alcohol and cannabis involved.”
“Maybe you’re right but it’s brilliant he told you himself. I assured Ben it was between him and me. He didn’t have anything himself. To be honest he seemed a bit of an outsider. My guess is he took the bike to show off, you know, to get accepted as a bit of a tearaway.”
“That’s a lot of guessing and what if he hadn’t told me?”
“Then you’d never have known from me because I told him I wouldn’t. You could’ve been some right stuffed shirt and completely overreacted. He’s trusted your wisdom by telling you. It