Chapter 81

Andrew heard the shrieks of sirens approaching in the distance and he knew that Tommy's body had been discovered in the toolshed. Either that or a major accident occurred somewhere close. It was followed by the school siren. Patrick looked at the time on his phone. It was too early for the school to come out. He knew then that the sirens were heading for the school grounds. The headmaster probably made the call to send all the scholars home to prevent any interference and contamination with Tommie's murder investigation. Andrew knew that soon the scholars would be scattered all over. It would be the best time to come out of his hiding place.

Andrew casually started walking to the bus stop making sure not to raise any suspicion. Most of the kids were already scattered everywhere. He hoped nobody noticed that he climbed from underneath a dense shrub in one of the nearby gardens. He felt a stab of anxiety when he thought about the state he had left Tommy in. Did he leave any evidence behind? He did not hit Tommy with his fist so there was no way that the forensics team would find any of his skin tissue for DNA analysis. He also wiped the fork clean with his jersey sleeve. He had done the same with the door handle. The only thing they might be able to find was a hair if he had dropped any, but even something as small as a hair would be hard to find in the dirty shed. Anyway, many kids probably went in there for a quick smoke which would make it near-impossible for the police to suspect him of the murder. It would be a different story if there were any eyewitnesses. He would not be able to explain why he was not in the last few classes of the day. He had to think of an excuse just in case he was questioned about bunking. That was the only way they could suspect him, but that alone was not hard evidence and he could still walk away. Andrew knew he could not tell anyone about what happened, at least not until the time was ripe. He had a feeling things would soon get out of control. He had to break the news to his family, eventually. It was for their own protection. Andrew joined the rest of the crowd waiting for the bus. Fortunately, no one seemed suspicious. They were too busy buzzing about what might have happened at school.

'What's the big fuss?' Andrew asked one of the younger schoolboys.

'Didn't you hear? One of the guys got killed in the toolshed today,' he said with big brown eyes.

'What? Really?' Andrew pretended.

'Yeah, apparently it's Tommy.'

'Who?' Andrew frowned.

'Tommy, one of those guys who hang out with Victor.'

'Oh, well, I'm new here so I don't know many people,' Andrew said.

'Aren't you the guy who sorted out Victor the other day?' the boy asked reluctantly.

'Sorted out? What do you mean?' Andrew asked.

'Are you Andrew?' he asked.

'Yes, I am.'

'They told me you lifted Victor off the ground with one hand because he was looking for trouble with your brother Patrick.'

'Ah that,' Andrew chuckled. 'People like to exaggerate. We just had a talk, that's all.'

'Well, you should have killed him, because he's a real jerk. Mean as hell and always bullying us,' the boy said looking down.

'That's not good at all,' Andrew said. 'You must learn to stand up for yourself, man.' He patted the young fellow on the shoulder. 'Fear has no name, only when you give it one.'

'I know, but he is so big and strong. We can't stand up to him and his friends.'

'He is, but don't let the size fool you. Heavy poison comes in small bottles sometimes,' Andrew smiled. 'By the sound of things this Tommy guy maybe got what he deserved, hey?'

'Definitely, he had it coming. He was also mean to us at times. Always spitting on us and sometimes hitting us while Victor and his friends laughed. By the way, I like your brother Patrick. He's always nice to us.'

Andrew smiled, 'yeah, he's a good man.'

Andrew noticed the familiar brown car crawling up the road, but today they were only three instead of four and Andrew knew the reason why. The convict was driving. Next to him, Victor looked pale and distressed. They were staring at Andrew as they drove by. He wondered if they knew something. Did they know that he had killed Tommy or were they just angry at him for kicking Victor's ass? Anyway, something was wrong. They knew something, and that was not good.