Page 19 (1/2)

She didn’t gasp; she didn’t need to Her shock and distaste radiated from her

‘How long were you in foster care?’ she asked at last

In the distance the flash of a headlight rounded a hillside, a local vehicle crawling along the dirt road It provided him with a welcome distraction but no real relief

‘I was shuttled between care hoe of about seven’

He heard the steel edge in his voice, felt the way she flinched on his behalf, as though it had cut her personally He didn’t knohat to think To feel So he did what he did best and he shut down the side of himself which held the awful memories and just focused on the basic facts themselves

It was the only way to avoid losing control

‘What about the stab wound?’

‘That one was a wallboard saw’

‘A what? Your foster ain?’

‘No Foster father Different family Earlier time’

‘What happened?’

Ash shrugged before realising she probably couldn’t see him And still he kept his voice as neutral as possible

‘He was a gambler And a heavy boozer Probably lost at the forh money for the latter I was late in from my paper round—I used to do two but he didn’t know about the second—and he aiting for o to the pub’

‘How many foster families?’

Ash could hear the horror in her voice He steeled hi it harder and harder to stay detached He could hear the incredulity in her voice and so twisted inside hi he wanted was for her to look down on him As people had looked down on him when he was a kid