ot in this day and ag” Plo rep “Dar the Seip ile? And that meas youl ner gow ‘that place.” = a ha place” The Yatering fied or he pci word it hal ead Beeb se “Heaven” si ramphane An uy rn ad omc on seca she deers minemerit hd yer ates gg tly here. Jack nodded slowly, nibbling at his bottom lip, ‘ne = “Te rsa was poly ling the ul aociaon with cor its ke wou eked pon Big by the Hw of Sins an Angel He probably forbidden aco to te ins of praise “Ml esi "yoo now wha ate oy ho tha, don yon The Yaering stared at him, fring. No cdo know The he rin cf isin it had been wating ied ato jot what Polo was ring “What do 2" Polo asked i Deft she ating murmured the pase Polo smile "There. chance for you ye” he ad, nde the way over the threshold, closing the door with something very like serenity on his face. PIG BLOOD BLUES You could smell the kids before you could see them, their young sweat turned stale in corridors with barred windows, their bolted breath sour, their heads most, Then thei oes sabdued by the rules of confinement ont run. Dont shout. Dt whistle. Don’ fig. "They elle ita Remand Center for Adolescent Offenders, but eas near ss damm ica prison. There were locks and keys and warder. The gestures “tliberalsn were ew and far between and they dda’ disguise the truth 00 Well, Teherdowne wa priton by sweeter name, and the inmates knew it "Nor tat Redman hat any isons aboo hs pupi-to-be. They were hard an they were locked anay fora reaon. Mos of them would rob you blind a soon s lok tye; poe you if it suited them, no sweat. He had ton many years in the force to believe the socntgial i, He knew the ‘ets, and he knew the kis, They werent misunderstood morons, they fvere uick and sharp and amoral, like the razors they hid under their tongues They had no use for sentient, hey jst wanted out “Welcome to Tethendowne” ‘Was the woman’ name Leverton, of Leverfill or — Vim Dacor Leventhal” Vevertha, Yes Har-biten bitch he met at — Het a the nerve”a "Were gal wo see you, Me. Reian, "Nei please all me Nel” "We ty not to goon st name has in ont ofthe buys, we Bad hey think theyve gota finger inno your private Hie. So prefer yox to keep (Christian names purely fr ofa hours” ‘She didn offer hes. Probably something fing, Yon. Lydia. He'd Jnvene something appropriate She looked fifty, and was probable ten years younger. No make-up, hair ded back so severely he wondered her yes Aidt pop. “Youll be hegining clases the dey after tomorrow. The Governor asked ‘me wwelome you tothe Center of his behalf, and apologise to you tha he can be here himsel"There are funding problems.” “Arent tere ay Regrenably yes, Fon aiid were awinmingagsinst che tide here; the general mood ofthe county is very Law and Order orientate.” ‘What was that ance way of saying? Bea the shit out of any kid exughe so much as jay-walling? Yes, he'd been hat way himself in his time, andi was a nasty litle euldesa, evry bit as bad as being sentinenal “The ft i, we may lone Tetherdowne altogether” ahe sd, “which ‘would be a shame, Llnow it sn ook ike mich » =” "bu it home,” he laughed. The joke fll among thieves. She die ven sem to ear it "ou," her tone hardened, “you have a solid (did she say soled?) background inthe Plice Force. Our hope i that your appointment here sl he welcomed bythe finding athorties”™ ‘So thar wast. Token e-paliceman brought int appease the powers chat ‘be, wo show wiling in the diciplne department. They didnt really want him here. They waned some sociologist who'd write up reports on the effect ofthe claseaytem on bratality amongst tenagern. She was quietly telling hm that he ws dhe od man ot Told you why I left the fore.” "ou mentioned i. Ivaded ont.” “wouldnt take ces job twas as simple a haar hoy wok let sme do what 1d test. Danger to myself acsonling co we thom ‘She seemed lil embarrased by his explanation, Her sh ton ahe sho hve ce dering thi stl twa isa rt ewan ‘making ple hers. He was coming lean, for hrs ake Pig Bled Bluer So I was out on my backside, afer twenty-four years” He hesitated, hen sid his piece. i aot a token policeman; Tm not any kind of soliceman. The force and I parted company. Understand what Tn saying?” “Good, good.” She didnt understand 4 blondy wor. He eed another snproach Tike to know what the boys have been toi “cen tl "About me "Well, something of your background” "1 see Thy en aed. Here come the pgs le seemed inporane™ He granted, "You see 50 many ofthese boys have rea aggresin problems. That a source of dificult for w very many of them. They ean contol them ‘eles and consequently they safer” Te da’ argue, but she looked at hin severely, as though he hd Oh yes they sulle. Thate why were a such pains to show some appreciation of thera; teach ther tat there ate alernatives” ‘Se walked acros tothe widow: From the second story’ there was an slequat view ofthe grounds. Teenowne had been some hind of ese, dnd there was 4 good deal of land stached co the main howe. A ayn il, gras sere the midsummer drought: Beyond ita cluster DF outchouse, sme exaoste tees, shrubbery, and then rough wasteland tito the wal He'd sean the wal from the ore side. Alara would have Ton oud of SW try to give them a litle freedom, 2 Fede edacaton and 2 ile sympathy. Theresa popular non, n't ther, that dlinguents enjoy their “siminal acivies? This nt my experience a all They come to me guy tenken ‘ne braken vit fcked ave at Leverthals ack as be saunteret slong ‘ne coridor ai sliced dwn and pared i dhrce places, A couple of Ingrown tattoo on his forearm, unfinished. They have committed criminal acs, however” Redman pointed ou. es but ul st, presimabhy be reminded ofthe fact.” in thi they ed any reminng, Me Redan ehink dey burn Is guile ‘vcr to gis whic lr suprise hi. hey akon over thePulpit, chse analyses. They were up where the Biblethumpers sed to ston with the threadbare sermons on the fires below; bt wth slighty less colorfal vorabuary. Ie was fundamentally the same story though, complete with dhe promises of heslng, f the ital were observed. And lchol the righteous shall inherit dhe Kingdom of Heaven There was pret onthe plying Bel, he noticed. Puri, and now a capture, One vit was aig into another salle vic with his bor it was firly merle display. Levertal caught the scene a che sme time a Renan, “Excuse me, I mus She wart down the stirs. "Your workshop third door on she lef you want otk a look,” she called ver her shoulder, TH be ight back.” Like fell she would. Judging by the way the scene on the field wax progressing, it would be's three crowbar jb to prize thm apt. Redinan wandered along w his workshop. The door was locke, but ‘throug the wired glass he could se the benches, the vices, the tok. Not tnd a all. He might even teach them some woodwork, if he was ee alone long enovgh ro doit Abit fustrated not to be able to ge in, he doubled buck along the corridor, and followed Lever downstairs, finding his way out ely on to the sunlit playing fille kn of spectators ha grown around che igh, or the massire, which ha now cessed. Leventhal was standing, staring down atthe boy om the ground. One ofthe wardts was kneeling at {he hoy head the injuries lok bad A numberof the spectators looked yp and stared a the new face as Resinan approached, There were whispers amongst them, some sis, Redman looked at the boy. Perhaps sikten, he lay with his check to the round, a iflistening for something in the earch “Lace” Levertal named the boy for Redman see badly hut The man kneling beside Lacey shook his head “Not too bad. Bi of fll. Nothing broken” There was blood onthe boys ice frm his ashe ne Heyes were les Peaceful He cl have been dead “Where the bly stretcher? al the wane was carly Socio the dog ae pron “Theyee coming, Sin ssid someone. Redan thought it was the aggressor thin lad: about nineteen, The sort of ees that could sour mile re wenty paces. Teed sina posse of boys was emerging from the main building, carrying a stetcher an aed lake. They were al grinning fom e210 "The band of spectators had begun oper, now tha thebestof i was ‘once. Not mich fam picking up the pecs SW, wait std Redman, “dont we need some witnesses ere? Who id ise” There were a few casual shrugs, but most of them played deaf They sounteredavay a f nothing had been said Resin si “We ssi. From the window Leertal was offering no suppor. "Did wo?” he demanded of ee “was too fr olay ay ble tink, Bu T den wane ro see any more ofthis kindof bling, do you all understand me?" She'd ten Lacey and recognized hin easly fom tha distance. Why not the stacker 00? Redman Kicked himself for aot concentrating, without umes and personalities to go with the Hes, ic ws fal odsingush ‘between them, The rik of making a misplaced accusstion was high, even though he was aloe sare ofthe cringed boy. This was no time to make mistakes, be decided this time he'd have to et heise drop. ‘Leverthal seemed unmoved by the whole thing Lace,” she said quit, lays Lacey” ess for it” said one ofthe boys ith the stretcher, bashing a sheaf uF blondovhite hair from his eye, he doesn't kxow no beter: Ignoring the tuerition, Leverhal supervised Lacey’ transfer wo the suretcher, and started to walk: back tothe min building, with Redan in tow wae al 0 ema “Nor ently wholesome, Lace,” she sid eryptclly almost by way of planation and that was al So much for compasion. Weman glance bck as they cack the red blanket around Lacey's Jon things happened, amos simulancously. The frst Somebonyin the group std, “That the pig.” nese Lacey eye pti an lnk straight ino Redan, wide,Redman spent a good deal of the nextday peting his workshop in onde, Many of the tols had been broken or rendered weless by untrained handling: saws without teth,chsels that were chipped and edgeless, broken vices. He need money to eesuply the shop with the asics 0 the tua, but now wasn the time to start asking, Wise ow ad be ech 00 ‘doa decent job He was quite sed tothe pls of nein; he force vs fil of About Fourth a bell started to ring, a goed way from the workshop. He ignored i but after ime his instints ot the better of him. Bells were alarms nd alarms were sounded to alert people. He let his tidying, locked the workshop door Behind him, ad flowed! his ears “The bell was ringing in what wa aging called the Hospital Unit wo ‘or thre rooms closed ff fom the main block ad rested yp with afew ictures and curtains atthe windows. There wat no sign of sok in the ai, sole clearly wasn'ta fre. There was shouting though. More than shouting. Abo He quickened his pace along the interminable corsdors and ase rane a eomer towards the Uni small gre an straight nt him, The impact winded both of them, bat Redman rabbed the lad by the arm before he ‘ould make off agsin. The epive was quick to respond lashing outwith is shoes fet agnnst Redman’ shin Bur he had hin His pursuers were almost there, “Hal bi ache! Pucker! Fucker! Fker™ “Hold hi" Tewas like wresing sero: the kid had al the strength of feat. But ‘he best of is fury was spent. Tears were springing into his bruised eyes he spt in Reiman’ face Iwas Lacey in his ams, unwholesome Lacey “OK, We got him Redinan stepped back as the warder took ove, putting Lacey in ahold ‘that looked ito break the boy ar. Ta thre others were apeing, ‘nal the corer To Ings ata nase, 4 sery alone ereture "Vet me gos Let me go =" Lacey wi eng, at any senmach Pig Bled Blner forthe fight had gone out of him. A post came whi fc in defen, and stil the cowlike eyes tuned up accusingly at Redman, big and brown, He looked younger than his sateen yar, lost prepabescnt. There was whisper of uml on his cheek and few spots amongst the bruises and 1 badly-appied dressing across his nose. Bur quite a giish face, virgin’ face, fron an age when there were sil weg. And sll che ees Teverthal had appeared 00 Tte tobe of se "What going! rhe warder piped wp. The chase had een his breath, and his temper fe locked mst in the lavatories. Ted to get ut through the window" “Why” Te question was addressed to the wader, not tthe eld. A elling confision, The warder, confounded, shrugged Why?" Redman repested the question to Lacey. “The hay just tre 5 though e'd ever been asked a question before “Yo che pie” e sd sadly, snot runing fom his nose, ee “Hee means poticenan,” sid ane ofthe bys. The noun was spoken with 4 mocking prevson, a though he was addressing an imbecile "T know what he means, la” sid Redan stil determined to out-stare Lacey "Tow very well what he means” Re quiet Lacey” std Levert youre in enough toa as itis” es, son. in the pig” ‘The war of looks went on, a private bale Berween boy and man, "You don' know nothing” sid Lacey, t wasn ase eemar, the boy ws smply ling his verson ofthe wuts his gaze didn cke. “All igh, Lacey, thats enough.” The warder was trying to hao him | aay; his tally tek ost between pyjama top and bottom, a smooth dome of si Tex him speak" sid Redan, “What don I know?” “Te cam giv hissde ofthe sory to the Governor” sid Leverthal before Lace could reply. "eb noe your concern ‘But it was very moch his concern. The stare made it his concern; 50 cating, so damned. The state demanded thei become his concer, "et hi speak ad Redan, the authority in his voie overriding Levert The wander loosened hs bod jos leWy ll oy a ‘Cae hee back ‘Whe came hack? A name, Lacey: Wha are yo tain abt or several seeds Redman sensed the buy ighing apt with iene the Lacey shook his head, Breaking the lectric exchange beeen thee seamed 1 lose his way somewbere; 2 Kind of puralenent gagged him “No harms ging to come to you" {Lacey seared at his fe, rowning“T want to go backto bed no: he sid A ving’ requ. No harm, Lace. I promis.” ‘The promise seemed wo have precious litle effec; Lacey was stack dumb. Bait was promise nevertheless, and he hoped Lacey eealiced tha ‘The kd looked exhausted by the effor af is failed escape, ofthe pursuit, fof staring. His face was ashen. He let the wader turn him and take him ‘nck, Bore he rounded the comer agai, he seme to change his mind, he struggle co lose hil filed, but manage to ews himsel round eo face his interrogator. “Heness”he sid meeting Redman’ eyes once more, Tha wasall. He ‘vas shunted out of sight before he coal sy anything more, said Redman, fling Hike 4 stranger stldenly. “Who's Leverhal was lighting a cigarette. Her hinds were shaking ever so. slightly as she didi, He hadae noticed that yesterday, but he wast sorprised He'd yet to meet «head shrnker who did ave problems of thei own, “The boy’ ying,” she sid "Henessey$ no longer with ws.” Ail pause. Redenan didn't prompt it would only make her jumpy: “Lacey clever,” she went oa, puting the cguete to her colores ips "He nas jus the spot" “eh "You're new herey and he wants give you the impression that hes got 2 mystery all of is own “Teisn a mystery th “Henesy2" she sorted. “Good God no. He escaped ent in eaty May. He and Lacey . -” She hesitated, without waning to. “He and Lacey had something berween them. Drgs perhaps, we never found oat Glue-siting, acl masturbation, God knows what Vox Mond Mw ‘She rely dl fl she whole suljoct anplesane Distant was writen omer he face doen ight places. "Hw dil Hlenesey exeape "Wel don know” she sai. “He jst did't cam up for rollall one ‘morning. The place was searched fom tp to bottom. Bot he'd gone.” “Is possible he'd come back?” A genuine laugh aed the place, Besides, how could he ge in?” Levertal concaed the point widh 2 murmur. “He wasnt especially bright, bur he was cunning, I was altogether surprised en he went ising The few weeks before his escape he'd really sunk into himself ould’ get anything oot of him, and up unl then he'd been quite thane” And Lacey? "Under his thumb. often happens. Younger boy idolize anor, more ceperienced indvidal, Lacey hada very sete fay background." ‘Neat, thought Redman, So neat he did't believe 2 word off. Minds werent pictures at an exibition, all nombered, and hung in order of inflence, one marked “Cunning” the next, “Inpresionable.” They were seravis they were spravling splashes of graft, unpredictable, uncanfin- the ‘Andie boy Lacey? He was writen om wate. ‘Cases hen the next dy, neat so oppressive it rume che workshop Joan oven by eleven ut the bos esponde quickly to Rednasstaight