Chapter 12

“Let’s see to your face first,” Percy said. He gently put his hand under Les’ chin and tipped it up toward the light. It was pretty bad. Whoever had roughed him up had taken the job seriously. He took his time, gently dabbing at the crusted blood with the flannel. The cuts over his eye and on his lip opened again and started seeping gently, but his nose had stopped bleeding.

The Dettol in the bowl was stained pink by the time he’d finished.

“Anywhere else?” he asked, quietly.

Les turned his face away and didn’t answer.

“We should take you to the hospital,” Percy said.

That brought a response. “No!” Les said, sharply. “No hospital.”

“I think you need stitches over your eye,” Percy said. He paused but Les didn’t stay anything. Tentatively, Percy asked “Is it your ribs?”

“And the rest,” Les said, finally, very quietly, staring out of the window. “There were three of them. They said they’d teach me a lesson.”

Percy silently took his hand again.