“What’s my favourite girl doing?” I run my fingers through Poppy’s hair. She’s the spitting image of my twin sisters when they were kids. Long glossy brown hair and dark brown eyes.
Sometimes I think my heart will burst when I look at Poppy. She’s the first of the grandkids as Mum constantly reminds me. According to her, I should have knocked out at least three Knight babies by now.
I thought I was moving in the right direction.
Poppy’s feet dangle on the edge of the chair and her brow is set in deep concentration as she leans over a large piece of paper with a marker in hand.
“Uncle Jack, you know you’re not allowed to touch my hair,” she says crossly. “Mummy rang when you were upstairs. I told her you were in the toilet. For ages and ages.”
I chuckle, leaning over her small frame at the table. “Thanks, Poppy. What’s that?”
“It’s a letter to Santa to say sorry. Mummy says if I don’t, I won’t get all my presents.” She pouts. “And Mummy says I won’t even get any presents from you.”
“Is that so?” I quirk my lips. “What am I getting you?”
“A pony,” she says firmly, with a confident smile.
“A toy pony?”
“No, a pony,” she repeats indignantly, like I’m a moron. Who the hell taught her to roll her eyes like that?
Shit.
“I’m not sure you’re ready for livestock yet,” I negotiate. “Maybe we could start you off with a, uh, goldfish?”
“Fine.” She rolls her eyes again. “I’ll put it on the list for Santa.”
I smile. “He might not be able to deliver a pony either. Logistics of the sleigh. What’s this letter about? Why do you need to say sorry?”
She bites her lip tentatively. “Okay, I’ll tell you. I told a lie and Mummy is really mad at me and Mrs. Magee says that liars go to the place for the naughty people.”
Her little face turns grim.
“Uh-huh.” I nod, seriously. “And where is this place? The naughty corner?”
“No, silly.” She tuts. “Hell.”
“I think you’re probably safe, Poppy.” I chuckle. “Why did you lie?”
Her lips quiver. “Because I tried on Mummy’s dress and ripped it and I was scared that Mummy wouldn’t love me anymore if I told the truth. So, I said Minnie did it.”
I try not to grin. “The cat? You didn’t stand a chance with that lie, love.” I pick her up and prop her on my knee. “Your mummy will always love you unconditionally. No matter what you do. Your Uncle Jack too.”
She shakes her head and pouts again. “But your bunny lied, and you don’t love her anymore.”
I stiffen. “What are you talking about?”
She shrugs as she writes large wonky letters with the marker. “Mr. Danny said so. I think I’ll marry Mr. Danny instead of you.”
I grimace. Poppy heard us talking from the garden. How much did she hear? Jesus, how much did we say about Dad’s murder?
I can’t remember if any of us cursed. My sister is paying a small fortune to send Poppy to some bullshit ‘etiquette after-school class’ and will kill me if I teach her bad language.
My phone buzzes on the table.
“Is it Mummy?” she asks.
I glance at the name flashing. “No.”
“Hi,” I say, answering the phone.
“Jack,” McKenzie, the copper on my dad’s case replies. “I have news.”
I change the phone to my other ear, away from Poppy. “Go on.”
“We’ve got a pretty safe tip on the second guy.”
Fuck.
He pauses. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
No point denying it. “Yeah, I found out a few days ago.”
He clears his throat. “Bit of a tricky situation for you.”
“Did Frank Casey contact the station?
“No. Your girlfriend and her mum came in.”
I swallow thickly. “Thanks. I’ll call you later.”
I hang up and stare in silence as Poppy adds invisible dog under pony.
“That’s not true, love,” I whisper into her hair. “What you said about Bunny. I still love her, no matter what she’s done.”
