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She says nothing, trying to collect herself, but instead thinks about how brazen she’s been. Searching belongings, following people, hiding and eavesdropping. But look where it’s brought her. Here, a prison, mixed up with criminals, police cars driving by, a missing baby. Her skin burns with fear, like a thousand tigers’ eyes are watching her: she’s prey.
‘How do you know him?’ Jen says, swallowing.
‘We go way back.’ Joseph says nothing more. He crosses his legs underneath the table, legs stretched out, his feet underneath her chair. The gesture is deliberately proprietary. Jen wants to move back, but doesn’t.
Outside, the light fades, the clouds Russian blue, like somebody has flicked a dimmer switch. Joseph catches her looking. ‘Storm Richard,’ he says, passing his thumb behind him. ‘Going to be a big one.’
‘Is it?’ Jen says faintly.
‘Oh yeah. The murderers here love a storm.’ He gestures expansively around him. ‘Hypes them up.’
How strange that he wishes to differentiate himself from the prisoners, Jen finds herself thinking. She can’t help but notice it. ‘Tell me how you go way back?’ she presses.
Joseph leans across the table towards her. ‘You know, you’ll find out when I get out of here. I’m hoping to start it up again,’ he says, the same thing he said in the law-firm foyer. He makes another gesture, rubbing his thumb across his fingers, a signal for money or maybe just a twitch. Jen can’t catch it, perhaps imagined the delicate movement. It lasted less than a second. The rest of his body is completely, eerily still.
‘When did you meet?’
‘I think Kelly’s your man for this one,’ Joseph says. ‘Don’t you?’
Joseph rubs one of his hand tattoos, his head not moving at all, just looking at her. The wind picks up outside. A plastic bag drifts by like a balloon.
‘Jen,’ Joseph says, repeating her name. Like somebody toying with her. ‘Jen.’
‘What?’
‘I have one question, before I leave.’
‘Okay?’
‘And that is – Jen … how could you not know?’ Joseph cocks his head to the side like a bird. He’s mad, Jen finds herself thinking. He’s totally mad, this man who knows who she is. ‘Even I thought you knew.’
Forked lightning illuminates the sky outside, a split-second flash. Blink and you’d miss it.
‘Know what?’
Jen stares and stares at Joseph as the visitors’ centre seems to narrow around them. As thunder flexes in the sky above, he leans closer to her, gesturing for her to do the same, left hand upturned on the desk like a beetle on its back, fingers making pulling motions towards his body. She leans in reluctantly.
‘Ask me what we did.’
‘What?’
‘Burglaries. Supply. Assaults. That’s what we did.’
Joseph’s list of charges.
Jen blinks, darting her head back. ‘But you’re in here, and he isn’t?’
‘Ah,’ Joseph croaks. ‘Welcome to the gang.’
Fear, realization and horror blow across Jen’s mind like the strong winds outside. Is this what she knows? Somewhere deep and dark inside her?
Kelly.
A family man.
Not many friends.
Keeps himself to himself.
