Rush of Blood by Mark Billingham Read Free Book Online Page B

girl watches him, her mouth opening and closing slowly. When he looks at her, she goes back to her colouring. Her mother
     picks up her cigarettes again, waves the pack at Dave, and then at Ed. ‘You guys want one?’
    ‘Not for me,’ Dave says.
    Ed hesitates for a second or two then says, ‘I will.’
    The woman shakes one out and hands it to him then leans forward with her lighter. Her smile suggests that she can see it is
     not something he does very often. Not something he does when his wife is around. As if to confirm her suspicions, Barry nods
     and says, ‘Naughty …’
    Ed shrugs. ‘So? I’m on holiday … and these are the ones without any additives, right?’
    The woman nods. ‘Right.’
    He pulls out one of the tatty wicker chairs around the table and drops into it. ‘These fags are actually
good
for you. It’s like one of your five-a-day!’
    Behind them, the boy surfaces and holds the coin aloft. His father’s enthusiasm shows no sign of abating.
    ‘So, you guys on your own today then?’ the woman says.
    Ed nods towards Barry. ‘His wife’s at the mall.’ He takes a drag and exhales through a grin. ‘Giving the old credit card a
     hammering.’
    ‘She wants to pick up a few bits and pieces for the kids,’ Barry says. ‘T-shirts and what have you.’
    ‘Is that stuff cheaper here?’ the woman asks.
    ‘Yeah, loads cheaper.’
    ‘And our two are at the beach,’ Ed says, with a nod in Dave’s direction.
    ‘They’ll be back in half an hour or so,’ Dave says. Dry enough now, he drapes the towel around his shoulders and looks back
     at Ed. ‘Are we all going out to get some lunch?’
    ‘That’s the plan,’ Ed says.
    The woman puts her cigarette out and reaches for a bottle of suntan lotion. She squeezes some into her palm and starts rubbing
     it on to her arms. ‘So, you guys all work together, something like that?’
    Dave says, ‘No,’ and the others shake their heads.
    ‘He’s a builder,’ Ed says, pointing. ‘
He’s
a computer nerd, and I’m a professional racing driver and part-time male model.’
    Dave laughs.
    ‘You’re a full-time wanker,’ Barry says.
    ‘You’re yanking my chain,’ the woman says.
    Ed says, ‘Only a bit,’ and tells her he’s not really a racing driver.
    The short, hairy man walks to the edge of the pool and tells his son that it’s time to go get something to eat. The boy asks
     if he can dive down one more time and the man says, ‘OK.’ A few feet away, the middle-aged woman is climbing slowly up the
     steps out of the water.
    ‘You do all know each another from home though, right?’
    Barry shakes his head and Dave says, ‘We met out here.’
    ‘Wow.’ The woman starts rubbing the lotion into her legs. ‘So it’s just Brits sticking together.’
    ‘I suppose so,’ Dave says.
    The girl looks up from her colouring book.
    ‘Ganging up on us, huh?’
    ‘What about now?’ the girl asks, pointing at the pool.
    The woman looks across and sees that the boy is climbing out, that nobody else is swimming. ‘Yeah, OK.’ The girl puts down
     her pencil and stands up, excited. She is wearing a striped blue and white one-piece swimsuit that is stretched across her
     large breasts and the soft roll of fat around her belly. ‘You got plenty of sun cream on?’
    ‘Got cream,’ the girl says.
    Dave, Ed and Barry watch as the girl reaches into a plastic bag for a pair of goggles and pulls them over her face. Once her
     mother has adjusted them, the girl walks quickly away from the table, smacking her hands against her legs, fingers outstretched.
     As soon as she reaches the edge of the pool, she bends her legs and presses her palms together. She pushes her arms out in
     front of her, mouths something to herself, then fearlessly belly-flops into the water.
    Dave sucks in a fast breath and Ed says, ‘Ouch.’
    The girl instantly begins flailing her arms in a frenzied attempt at front crawl, which sends water flying in all directions.
     She