“But you didn’t have an ounce of weed stuffed anywhere...did you?”
“No.”
“Then there’s no problem here. They’re harassing you because Keane’s a middle-class white man who can cause them more grief than you. That’s all. Remember when Luke left the handbrake off the van and it rolled into that Mercedes—no, of course you don’t. You weren’t here. But it was the same thing. Three police cars for a fender bender, all because some rich idiot was jumping up and down.”
Billy shot me a strange look. “Why are you rambling?”
“I’m not rambling.”
“You’re totally rambling. Are you drunk?”
“Drunk? Why would you think that?”
“I just told you. Because you’re rambling about shit I don’t care about.”
“Charming.”
“I try.” A ghost of a grin warmed Billy’s face before he fell serious again. “I’m worried about Jessie, though. What if they dumped her? Or she really did escape and she’s out there somewhere?”
“They’d have found her if she was running loose. There were enough coppers out looking for her.”
“I’m gonna go out and look.”
“And get yourself caught lurking around Keane’s house? Billy, no. That’s ridiculous. Let the police deal with it.”
“They’re not dealing with it. They rocked up here because they thought they’d find something more exciting than a cocker spaniel. Why do you think they looked in the loft?”
“Um...for the dog?”
Billy rolled his eyes. “No, because they once found a giant cheese plant at my mum’s place. I got away with it because she said it was hers and she had no idea what it was, but they were after me for years after that.”
“And even more years have passed since. Jesus, how many of them even remember you?”
“At least one. David Keane. Surname sound familiar? You probably know his brother.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh. I’m sorry I let them into your house, though. I just figured if they went away and got a warrant, they’d come back and mess it up even worse.”
“I don’t mind that you let them in.”
“Seriously?”
I turned to face Billy. “Seriously. You’ve done nothing wrong. They can search the place every day, for all I care. Where’s Grey?”
“In the bathroom sink.”
“Again?”
“Yep.”
“Your cat is weird.”
“So are you.”
“How so?”
Billy shrugged. “I don’t know.”