Part 22 (2/2)

Ewart left James at the Moore house, then drove on a few hundred metres to drop Kerry at Dinesh's.

James thought there might be a bad atmosphere, but when Keith opened the door he was in swimming shorts with a big grin on his face. The house was huge and even though they had a cleaner, you could tell four kids lived there the second you walked through the door. There were trainers and cus.h.i.+ons chucked everywhere, dirty cups and plates. James thought it was cool. He hated it when you go round some kid's house and the mother goes hysterical when you put your cup down in the wrong place.

'Come in,' Keith said, dripping over the floor tiles. 'April and Junior are swimming.'

'I never realised you'd be in the pool.'

'Don't worry. Go up to Junior's room. He's got about ten pairs of swimming shorts in his middle drawer.'

'Cheers,' James said.

Junior had a ma.s.sive room with a big screen TV and video, a wardrobe full of decent clothes and a gumball machine. It wasn't a bad spread for a kid who claimed to be hard done by.

James stripped off and came down in a pair of orange shorts with seahorses on. The indoor pool was about fifteen metres long, with palms and flowerbeds along one side. Ringo and Keith were swimming laps. April and Junior were at the far end in a whirlpool tub. James stepped into the steaming water, gave April a kiss and sat beside her. She looked fit in her swimming costume.

Once he was in the tub, James was glad Ewart had made him get out of the house. The warm jets of water made him feel relaxed and having April cuddled up close was a bonus. He took his hand off her back when Keith wandered up.

'I'm ordering takeaway,' Keith said, raising his voice above the bubbling water. 'What do you guys want?'

'Indian,' April said.

'Pizza,' Junior said.

Keith looked at James. 'Deadlock. The guest gets the casting vote.'

James didn't like Indian much, but April had a cute grin on her face and she started sliding her toes up his leg.

'Indian,' he said.

'Traitor,' Junior said, slicing his hand through the water and giving James a soaking.

James, Junior and April had a splas.h.i.+ng battle, then towelled off and put on robes before the food arrived. Ringo and Keith sat on the sofa while James, April and Junior arranged themselves on cus.h.i.+ons around the coffee table with all the boxes of food on it.

Keith found the remote between two sofa cus.h.i.+ons and switched the TV hanging on the wall to News 24. They all concentrated on stuffing their faces until the TV cut to a policeman. The t.i.tle up on screen said: Superintendent Carlisle, Operation Snort. He started speaking to the camera.

'We've made over one hundred and fifty arrests in the last three days and believe we have taken a major step against illegal drugs in this country...'

A lump of prawn vindaloo smacked Superintendent Carlisle in the forehead and began sliding down the screen.

'... This represents a giant stride forward in our war against illegal drugs in the UK ...'

'Try and catch me, Superintendent,' Keith shouted, chucking another prawn.

Keith's kids joined in, hurling lumps of curry and handfuls of rice until the screen was a blurry mess. Everyone laughed, but it had a hollow ring, like they were really scared by the arrests.

Junior turned around and looked at his dad. 'Did you ask James about Miami?'

'No,' Keith said.

'Miami?' James asked.

'I usually take the boys to my place in Miami for half-term,' Keith explained. 'But Ringo says he's got a lot of homework and doesn't want to go this year.'

'He's having a party,' April explained. 'I expect we'll come home and find this house razed to the ground.'

'Who says I'm having a party?' Ringo said defensively.

'It'll be boring without Ringo,' Junior said. 'And the plane ticket's paid for, so Dad suggested I take a mate.'

'Cool,' James said, bursting into a grin. 'I'll have to check with my parents, but it should be OK. Are you going, April?'

'No,' April said. 'Me and Erin are skiing with our mum.'

'It's a family tradition,' Keith explained. 'We all used to go on holiday together, but I'd always be strangling my wife, Junior and April usually end up rolling around the floor if they're together for more than a few hours, and Erin ...'

'We think the real Erin was abducted at birth and replaced by an alien from Neptune,' Junior explained.

'I've been here about ten times and I've still never met Erin,' James said.

Keith shook his head and smiled. 'That girl may be my daughter, but I haven't got a clue what goes on inside that little head of hers.'

'You'll love Miami,' Junior said. 'It's boiling hot and our house is right on the beach. You can crawl out of bed, run down the beach and be in the sea within thirty seconds.'

'I'll ring Zara up now,' James said.

'Is Kyle home?' Ringo asked.

'Probably,' James said. 'Did you want a word with him?'

Ringo gave his dad a mischievous grin as he spoke. 'Just tell Kyle there's a big party going down here, Friday after next.'

Keith burst out laughing. James thought Keith was a really cool dad, especially considering the stress he was under.

'You can have your party,' Keith said. 'But Kelvin and a couple of other guys from the boxing club are gonna chaperone it, in case any of your pals decide to start peeing on the carpets or stubbing out ciggies on my Egyptian rug.'

'What?' Ringo gasped. 'I don't want some crew of muscle-heads bossing my mates around. I'll be totally embarra.s.sed.'

'Don't worry,' Keith said. 'I'll tell them to keep a low profile.'

James gave Zara a call. She was surprised, but she said it was OK to travel.

It was already turning dark when James got home. He recognised John Jones' Toyota on the driveway. He was in the living-room, with Zara, Ewart, Kerry and Kyle.

'What's this in aid of?' James asked.

<script>