Dead Dog in the Still of the Night by Archimede Fusillo

Author:Archimede Fusillo [Fusillo, Archimede]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Children's Books, Growing Up & Facts of Life, Family Life, Friendship; Social Skills & School Life, Emotions & Feelings, Children's eBooks
ISBN: 9781925000726
Google: WTadAwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00KHHJRVE
Publisher: Ford Street Publishing
Published: 2014-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

The envelope hit Primo in the back of the head and bounced onto the desk.

‘Don’t spend it all at once,’ his brother said from the doorway.

Primo looked round and frowned. He’d been trying unsuccessfully for the past hour to concentrate on his prac notes for biology. The thought of Crystal telling Ari about where the dead dog might have come from made study impossible.

‘What’s this?’ he asked, picking up the crumpled yellow envelope.

‘Well, it’s not a dead dog, if that’s what you’re thinking.’ Adrian walked into the room. ‘And five hundred bucks is about what you deserve for this farce, Prim. Count it if you want.’

Primo opened the envelope gingerly. There were five crisp new hundred-dollar notes there. They even smelt fresh.

‘Think of it as me being generous, or as a consolation gift,’ Adrian continued. ‘Just don’t think me stupid, mate. It doesn’t work the way you seem to have figured it,’ he snarled. ‘Lucky for you I give you anything at all. A dead dog, really?’

Primo stared at his brother. Standing in the doorway, dressed neatly in a tailored grey suit, cut through by a stark dark blue tie over a crisp white shirt, Adrian looked like a man in control of his life. The image startled Primo.

‘You really think that for one minute I believed the bullshit about Tone’s dad asking for a grand, maybe two?’ Adrian went on, stepping into the room purposefully. ‘The man probably would get that for simply giving you the time of day and hearing you out.’

Adrian made himself comfortable on the end of the bed and carefully tugged on the knees of his pants, revealing black socks in polished black leather shoes. He sat forward, his hands between his knees.

They were both silent for what seemed to Primo a long time. Adrian tapped the tips of his fingers together and shook his head back and forth slowly.

When he finally did speak, Adrian’s voice was soft.

‘She found the dog, Primo,’ he said. ‘And surprise, surprise if she doesn’t connect the dots.’ Adrian paused to pull at the cuffs of his shirt. ‘It’s like she has this mental image of that scene from The Godfather. You know the one, little brother, where Don Corleone’s men lob a severed horse head in that movie mogul’s bed and he wakes up covered in the horse’s blood, and the Corleones get exactly what they’d asked for all along. That’s how I’m working it anyway. Remember the scene, Prim?’ Adrian asked, and touched Primo on the elbow. Primo squirmed. Adrian smiled. ‘A bit too obvious for my tastes. It’s the sort of thing kids do, when they think they’re ready to play with the adults. Not what people Tone’s father knows would do, Primo,’ Adrian added slowly, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstanding. ‘It’s a cliché.’

Undecided, Primo was tempted to tell Adrian that he was lucky Ari didn’t know about him, that if Ari made the connection between the dog and Adrian, Adrian would be dead. They would both be dead.

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