Free Outside by Shalini Boland

him on the shoulder. ‘ Mi casa es tu casa ’ he says cheerily, in bad Italian. ‘But I’ll come round with you, don’t want you rooting through me underwear drawer do I?’ He raises his eyes at me, as if to imply I’d enjoy doing such a gross thing.
    I shudder.
    ‘Just moved in last week. Bloody lovely place. Clean white walls, wood floors. Can ’ t believe my luck. Didn ’ t find anything out of the ordinary though. Can ’ t believe you ’ re telling me the bloke’s a murderer; that ’ s a bit creepy. I ’ m a sparky, new to the area. Ever need anything electrical doing, just talk to the committee and I’ll give you a good deal. ’
    We follow him around the flat. There’s a large lounge, two double bedrooms, an adequate kitchen and a shower room. It’s a lovely, airy apartment, simple and clean with high ceilings and, best of all, no horrible smell.
    ‘ This is hopeless, ’ I say. ‘ We ’ re not going to find anything. ’
    ‘ You done now? ’ asks the man, as we follow him back into the hallway. He looks as though he’s about to say something, but then he closes his mouth again and gives a tight-lipped smile. ‘ Well, cheers for the smokes. ’
    We leave his apartment and make our way back down the five flights of stairs. We’re about half way down when we hear an echoing voice.
    ‘ Oi, you two! ’
    I glance up to see the man ’ s round face peering down at us. We turn around and head back up the stairs. When we reach the top, he’s got a strange expression on his face and he’s chewing his lower lip.
    ‘ There was this one thing,’ he says.
    Luc and I glance at each other and then turn back to look at the man, waiting expectantly. I feel a surge of hope.

 
    Chapter Twelve
    Riley
    *
    I wonder what this man’s going to tell us. Could it be something that will lead us to Chambers?
    ‘I found something,’ he says.
    ‘What?’ Luc says.
    ‘I found it down the side of the sofa.’
    I look sideways at Luc. He raises his eyes at the man.
    ‘A lighter. I found a lighter, ’ the man says.
    Something stirs in my memory, but I can’t quite remember. ‘Can I see it?’ I ask.
    ‘Um.’ He seems reluctant, but finally concedes and pulls a silver lighter out of his pocket.
    I stare at it, puzzled. ‘ That ’ s Pa ’ s lighter. ’
    ‘ Your old man ’ s? Yeah right. ’
    ‘Check the bottom,’ I say confidently. ‘And you’ll see the initials JRC. My father’s initials.’ I wait.
    He looks at me and frowns. Then he peers at the underside of the lighter and his frown deepens. ‘ Shoulda kept my mouth shut shouldn’t I. That ’ s a nice lighter that is. ’
    ‘Thank you,’ I say, reaching out for it.
    ‘So.’ He smiles at me, showing yellow teeth. ‘What’s it worth?’ He makes no move to hand it over.
    ‘What?’ I splutter. Luc puts a warning hand on my arm and I turn to him in annoyed disbelief.
    ‘I’m sure you’ve got plenty of goodies in that bag of yours,’ the man says. ‘You can’t blame me. I’d be a prat to pass up an opportunity like this. Those smokes will sort me out big time. So come on, don’t be tight. A couple more packets and we’ll all be happy.’
    We do the deal and I finally have Pa’s lighter, feeling its warm weight in my hand.
    ‘Cheers,’ says the man, as he walks back into his apartment and closes the door without saying goodbye.
    What on earth was Pa ’ s lighter doing on Chambers’ sofa? It doesn’t make any sense. We leave the apartment block and step out onto the street.
    ‘Maybe Chambers was a thief,’ Luc muses, as we head back up Porchester Road towards the street market.
    ‘Must have been,’ I answer. ‘Otherwise, how else do you explain the lighter?’ It feels solid and reassuring in my hand, as if I have a piece of Pa. I imagine the lighter feeling pleased to have been returned to its family. Pa doesn’t smoke, but a lighter is a handy thing to have. I remember last month, Pa asking me if I’d seen it, but I