to go for curry instead of McDonald's and as it wasn't yet nine-o-clock the restaurant was quiet. They chose a corner table and as they waited for their order to be served, Jay told him almost everything. She couldn't tell him about the girl and the egg, and as the staff seemed responsible for her newly acquired strength and healing powers, she kept that to herself as well.
"Perhaps you ought to go the police,” David said. “Get them to search that place where your grandmother saw you."
"I can't. I'd get them into trouble and besides, what if that American, Russell found out about me? He'd come after me or my grandparents for sure."
"Hmmm, I suppose you're right, but what are you going to do?"
"Keep my head down, wait and see what happens when granddad removes his hypnotic block, tomorrow."
"You can spend the night at my place, if you like. My flat's a bit small but I can
always sleep on the settee."
"Thanks, but no. I'd better go home and tell them what happened, before they find out from someone else."
* * * *
Ben Nesbitt liked a drink, like most streetwise journalists, he'd booked hotel rooms for himself and his cameraman rather than driving straight back to town and risk being stopped. He was nowhere near pissed, but then you didn't have to be to fail a breathalyser test, as one or two of his colleagues had found out to their cost.
He raised his glass in a silent toast to his colleague and cameraman, who was in fact a woman, and she responded in kind. Only a fool or someone with a death wish would however, refer to Cassie Harper as a camerawoman. She'd fought her way up the ladder of national TV journalism and would be damned in hell before she let some politically correct non-entity rob her of her title. Cassie was a cameraman, full stop. She was also young, extremely attractive and way out of his league. It was perhaps because he'd been able to accept that he'd had no chance with her that they'd become friends, good friends. Ben was content to settle for that.
"Well, there doesn't seem much point in hanging around here any longer,” he said, gesturing around the bar with his glass. “We'll head back to the office in the morning,"
"Yes, you're right,” Cassie agreed. Her blonde hair was, as usual, tied back with a bandana. In her line of work she couldn't risk losing a shot just because her hair had flopped over the lens of her camera. “At least the story we submitted made the front page and we've got enough material to do a follow up,” she said. “I have two or three shots of Dr. Newman, he came across well."
Ben's mobile rang and he pulled it from his pocket. “Hello, Ben Nesbitt."
"It's PC Brown, Mr. Nesbitt. We've got a lad covered in that blue light in the hospital. It's happened again!"
"Thanks Pete, we're on our way. We'll be about fifteen minutes or so. If you meet us in the car park, I'll give you some cash for a drink."
"I think you should forget the hospital and meet me in the car park of the Green Man instead. What I've got for you is worth a couple of hundred at least."
Ben tensed expectantly and tried to keep his rising excitement out of his voice. An exclusive would be worth a bloody fortune. “That depends on what you've got, Pete."
"I know who the girl is."
"The girl?"
"Yes the girl who healed them,” Pete said, as though he thought Ben ought to know what girl he was talking about. “She put her hands on the boy who fell through the shop window and that blue light shot out of her hands and covered him. You can't tell from the security cameras who she is, but I know. She goes to the same school as my boy. I know her. And I also know where she lives. The DI knows the name of the boy the girl's with but he hasn't gone home yet, so you'd have a head start on everyone else."
"Ok, it's a deal. How do we get to the pub?"
* * * *
The Green Man was on the outskirts of the town and when Ben and Cassie entered the bar. Ben spotted the policeman who was wearing an anorak over his
"Perhaps you ought to go the police,” David said. “Get them to search that place where your grandmother saw you."
"I can't. I'd get them into trouble and besides, what if that American, Russell found out about me? He'd come after me or my grandparents for sure."
"Hmmm, I suppose you're right, but what are you going to do?"
"Keep my head down, wait and see what happens when granddad removes his hypnotic block, tomorrow."
"You can spend the night at my place, if you like. My flat's a bit small but I can
always sleep on the settee."
"Thanks, but no. I'd better go home and tell them what happened, before they find out from someone else."
* * * *
Ben Nesbitt liked a drink, like most streetwise journalists, he'd booked hotel rooms for himself and his cameraman rather than driving straight back to town and risk being stopped. He was nowhere near pissed, but then you didn't have to be to fail a breathalyser test, as one or two of his colleagues had found out to their cost.
He raised his glass in a silent toast to his colleague and cameraman, who was in fact a woman, and she responded in kind. Only a fool or someone with a death wish would however, refer to Cassie Harper as a camerawoman. She'd fought her way up the ladder of national TV journalism and would be damned in hell before she let some politically correct non-entity rob her of her title. Cassie was a cameraman, full stop. She was also young, extremely attractive and way out of his league. It was perhaps because he'd been able to accept that he'd had no chance with her that they'd become friends, good friends. Ben was content to settle for that.
"Well, there doesn't seem much point in hanging around here any longer,” he said, gesturing around the bar with his glass. “We'll head back to the office in the morning,"
"Yes, you're right,” Cassie agreed. Her blonde hair was, as usual, tied back with a bandana. In her line of work she couldn't risk losing a shot just because her hair had flopped over the lens of her camera. “At least the story we submitted made the front page and we've got enough material to do a follow up,” she said. “I have two or three shots of Dr. Newman, he came across well."
Ben's mobile rang and he pulled it from his pocket. “Hello, Ben Nesbitt."
"It's PC Brown, Mr. Nesbitt. We've got a lad covered in that blue light in the hospital. It's happened again!"
"Thanks Pete, we're on our way. We'll be about fifteen minutes or so. If you meet us in the car park, I'll give you some cash for a drink."
"I think you should forget the hospital and meet me in the car park of the Green Man instead. What I've got for you is worth a couple of hundred at least."
Ben tensed expectantly and tried to keep his rising excitement out of his voice. An exclusive would be worth a bloody fortune. “That depends on what you've got, Pete."
"I know who the girl is."
"The girl?"
"Yes the girl who healed them,” Pete said, as though he thought Ben ought to know what girl he was talking about. “She put her hands on the boy who fell through the shop window and that blue light shot out of her hands and covered him. You can't tell from the security cameras who she is, but I know. She goes to the same school as my boy. I know her. And I also know where she lives. The DI knows the name of the boy the girl's with but he hasn't gone home yet, so you'd have a head start on everyone else."
"Ok, it's a deal. How do we get to the pub?"
* * * *
The Green Man was on the outskirts of the town and when Ben and Cassie entered the bar. Ben spotted the policeman who was wearing an anorak over his
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