INSPECTION DAY
JACK WAS BEYOND IRRITATED with his old colleagues. Sure he understood the necessity to get the details straight, but he had other things, more important things to deal with. He looked at Davina, sound asleep in the armchair. Strike that, he only had one important thing to deal with. He’d been thinking about his life all day long, but it had only truly fallen into place when she’d walked into the kitchen to save him from Ken Doll. Jack knew, with the utmost certainty, that he didn’t belong with the police anymore. He belonged with Crazy Davy.
It was past midnight when he’d cleared the last of the police out of the house. He closed the front door, from the inside – a novelty that made him smile – and went to find Davina. She was still asleep on the kitchen chair, looking breathtakingly beautiful even though her eye makeup had smudged and given her raccoon face. Mine, Jack thought. Mine. He knelt in front of her and placed his hands gently on her thighs. She blinked a few times before she focused on his face.
“Are they gone?” she said with a voice hoarse from sleep.
“It’s only us.”
She stretched before rubbing her eyes, making them even messier than before. Beautiful.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” she said. “Not inside the house until inspection day.”
He was about to point out that he’d been dragged into the house by a lunatic, but had come to realise that Davy didn’t use the same logic as other people.
“It is inspection day,” he told her, nodding towards the old broken pendulum clock on the wall.
She followed his direction.
“Oh,” she said with dismay.
Jack almost chuckled.
“Do you want to inspect now?” Davina asked glumly.
“Yes, I do, but first there are a few things I’d like to talk about.”
She sank back into the chair. She looked so resigned to her fate that Jack almost caved.
“Look, I know you want to get your own back for me reading you the whole film script, but can we do it in the morning? I’m tired.”
“Well, there is that,” Jack said. “That was the longest half hour of my life.”
She blew some hair out of her eye.
“I admit it, it’s bad, but not that bad.”
He’d argue that one later.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” he said patiently. In the two weeks he’d known her, he’d gotten used to the fact that it took a while to get her to actually follow the conversation he was having. “I want to talk about my plans for this house.”
She sat upright making the shawl fall from her shoulder. Jack lost track of his thoughts as her creamy shoulder leaned towards him.
“I know you want me out,” she said earnestly. “But I’m going to need some time to find another place to live. Somewhere I can afford.” She chewed her bottom lip. “After I find another job. Can you wait until then?”
Jack smiled at her.
“I don’t want you out,” he said.
It felt good not to be the one confused for a change.
“Okay.” She was regrouping. “Well, you should know that I don’t have a job and it may take some time to get another one. Rent might be late.”
“I don’t want rent either.”
That made her sit up straight. She swivelled her legs out from under her and folded her arms across her chest.
“If you think I’m going to pay you in sex, Jack Miller, then you have another think coming.”