Chapter 7
Everett finished with Grim quickly then set off to see Gavin. There was nothing else he could do, so Grim started walking for home. He saw Clay waiting for him down at the corner, smoking a cigarette and watching the girls as they pretended to keep up their practice, lobbing the ball at each other and missing more often than not, running listlessly round the rough diamond. Some didn’t even pretend to be interested in practice, just stared down the street past him, with naked curiosity.
Clay saw him approaching and rushed to meet him.
“What happened, man?” The manic Clay of this morning was gone. His eyes were big, a little frightened. Smoke hung around his head like a low fog, blurring worry lines, making him look older. “Is it Keith?”
“Yeah,” Grim said, not feeling th
