Hassan’s jaw fell slack. ‘But I need my stuff. It’s got my pictures, my files, everything.’ He turned to appeal to his father. ‘Aba, she’s got to be joking. Tell her I need my things.’ His voice was whiny to even his own ears.
‘Hassan, go up to your room. Let me talk to your mother.’
‘But—’
‘Go,’ he repeated.
Hassan’s face burned red but he knew better than to defy his father. Saying no more, he turned and walked upstairs.
‘Sameena, what did you do?’ Irfan’s voice was low.
She held up a hand to calm him. ‘Don’t worry. His things are safe but he’s not getting them until this is over.’
Irfan sighed. ‘The boy needs his things.’
‘Why does he need these things?’ she asked. ‘His exams are finished.’
‘Boys need ways to keep busy. Do you want him out on the streets?’
‘Do you want him in jail?’ she shot back. She watched a rift of anger crack open across his face. ‘I’m just protecting him,’ she insisted. ‘You look at your son and you see a nice religious boy and Hassan is a good boy, but a mother knows the nature of her son and she protects him no matter what.’
Irfan scowled. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’
Sameena smiled serenely. ‘Please – just trust that I did the right thing.’ She patted on the sofa. ‘Sit down. I’ll make you some tea.’
He began to protest but she had already turned towards the kitchen, using three quick steps to end the conversation.
At the top of the stairs, Hassan strained to hear but caught only murmurs. In silence, he crept to his parents’ room and dialled Amir’s home from the landline.
‘Jesus, what a fucked up day.’ Amir’s voice was weary.
Hassan took a shallow breath. ‘Have the feds been round?’
‘Yeah.’ Amir paused. ‘You?’
‘Mate, you won’t believe this. The feds at the station took the phone you lent me, but my mum threw away the one that got broken. She’s chucked all my stuff away. My laptop, my games. Even my stash has gone. The feds got none of it.’
Amir whistled. ‘Mate, your mum’s a gangster.’
‘She thinks she’s done me a favour.’
Amir laughed. ‘Well, she has, hasn’t she?’
‘How can you be so chilled about it?’ said Hassan. ‘We got arrested. She told them we raped her, for fuck’s sake.’
Amir was silent for a moment. ‘Mate, I have to be chill. Mum’s hit the roof as usual.’ He sighed. ‘She’s been going on about it for hours: all the tutoring she’s spent money on, all the school reports, all the parents’ evenings and meetings and on and on. I have to be chill or else I’ll go mad.’
Hassan tightened his grip on the phone. ‘But aren’t you worried?’
‘No,’ said Amir. ‘Jodie won’t go through with this. It’s a fucked up situation for sure, but once she calms down, she’ll take it back.’
Hassan slid onto his parents’ bed. ‘If you say so.’
‘I do. Just be cool. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.’
Hassan swallowed his weaving nerves. ‘Okay, man.’ He hung up the phone and sat motionless, unable or unwilling to return to his room.
Farid Khan let the ball fall from his grip and watched it roll away. Shoulders slumped, he sat on the wooden block by the path and felt his sweat cool, sending chills down his spine. Shivering, he sat still, not quite ready to leave.
He spotted the slim woman with cropped hair walking purposefully towards him. Instinctively, he lowered his gaze. It was only when she stopped directly in front of him that he looked up and met her eyes.
‘Hi.’ Her voice was husky but soft. It made him think of warm sand slipping through his fingers.
‘Hi,’ he echoed.
‘What’s your name?’ she asked.
He looked at her leather jacket, her skin-tight jeans and knee-high boots. ‘Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying.’
‘Ha!’ She sounded amused.
‘What do you want?’ he asked less certainly.
‘Can I sit?’
Farid looked over her shoulder, then back up at her. He shrugged.
Erin sat and curled her graceful legs beneath her. ‘I’m a friend of Amir’s. I know that he’s in some trouble.’
Farid smiled faintly. ‘Amir never gets in trouble.’
‘Not yet, but we both know it’s coming.’
Farid looked at her quizzically, his thick, dark brows furrowed in confusion. ‘Who are you? How do you know Amir?’
‘I’m working the Jodie Wolfe case.’ She watched him stiffen. ‘I know that Amir and some of his friends did something stupid and they’re about to get into some serious trouble. I’m trying to help him.’ She paused. ‘You do know Jodie, right?’
Farid’s gaze fell to the floor.
‘Is she a friend?’
He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t say that.’
Erin studied his face. ‘Did you see Amir with Jodie at Kuli’s party?’
‘Amir doesn’t talk to any of the ugly girls.’ Farid caught Erin’s expression. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to call her ugly – she just … well, she is, right?’
‘Farid, I’d like to talk to you about what happened that night.’
‘Nothing happened.’
‘Were you drinking?’
He scoffed. ‘I don’t drink.’
‘What time did you leave the party?’
He looked at her sideways. ‘Are you from the police?’
Erin smiled. ‘No, I’m a private investigator. When someone’s in trouble, I go out and find the truth about what happened. If it turns out that whatever they’re accused of is an exaggeration or misunderstanding, then I help them. I know you didn’t do anything wrong that night, but you’re going to go down for it unless you tell the truth.’
‘Nothing happened,’ Farid insisted.
‘Then why does Jodie say it did? She doesn’t seem like the kind of girl who would accuse you for kicks.’
‘She’s just trying to get his attention.’
‘Is that so?’
Farid sighed. ‘She’s not right in the head. She’s always sending him secret messages, even leaving notes in his locker. Amir is kind enough to ignore it. If she was anyone else, she’d be made a fool.’
Erin watched him carefully. There was no hint of a quiver in his voice, no nuance of doubt, nothing to suggest his guilt. She shifted to face him. ‘You’ve got to listen to me, Farid. What Jodie has said about Amir is serious. Really fucking serious, and you’re about to get sucked into it. If you tell me the truth about what happened, I can help you.’
Farid’s fingertips traced the grain of his beard. ‘Listen,