Free Arrival by Chris Morphew Page B

right?’ I said, after a minute.
    â€˜Saw what?’
    â€˜That security guard last night. The one who, you know, crashed into the ground next to us. He was – I mean, it looked like…’ ‘It looked like Crazy Bill chucked him through the air,’ Jordan supplied.
    â€˜But that can’t be what actually happened, right?’ I said, trying to stay rational. ‘No-one has that kind of –’
    â€˜Look!’ said Jordan suddenly, pointing across the street.
    It took me a minute to figure out who she was looking at. Officer Reeve was walking up the steps to the security centre, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans instead of his normal security gear. He looked pretty messed up, but at least he was still standing.
    â€˜Do you reckon we should go over?’ I asked.
    But Jordan was already running to catch up with Reeve before he got inside. ‘Officer Reeve!’ she called, ditching her bike on the grass outside the building.
    Reeve stopped and turned around. One of his arms was bound up in plaster and the other one was covered in some nasty-looking grazes. He had bruising all across his face and about twenty stitches holding his cheek together. Seeing him in daylight, I realised he wasn’t all that much older than we were – he only looked about twenty-five.
    â€˜Oh, g’day,’ he said to us, coming back down the stairs. ‘You kids get home all right last night?’
    â€˜Yeah,’ said Jordan. ‘Thanks.’
    Reeve smiled, and then winced at the pain in his face.
    â€˜You okay?’ I asked, trying not to cringe.
    â€˜Seem to be,’ said Reeve. ‘Looks worse than it feels. Doc Montag’s given me a few days off, though, to be on the safe side. Just coming in to deliver a statement and then I’m heading home.’
    â€˜And the others?’ Jordan pressed. ‘Are they…?’
    Officer Reeve’s smile disappeared. ‘They copped it worse than I did,’ he said grimly. ‘From what I’ve heard, they reckon the chief should be back on his feet before long, but the others…’ Reeve gazed back over the road at the medical centre and let out a sigh. ‘Officer Weary didn’t make it.’
    I gaped at him, horrified. Obviously it hadn’t looked good for the security guard, but realising that I’d just seen someone die right in front of me… I shuddered.
    Reeve nodded sadly. Then, like he was forcing himself to stay positive, he straightened up and said, ‘They’re still working on Lazzaro, though. If anyone can sort him out, Doc Montag can.’
    I glanced sideways at Jordan and she raised an eyebrow.
    â€˜What about Crazy Bill?’ I asked carefully. ‘Did you catch him?’
    â€˜Oh,’ said Reeve, not quite making eye contact. ‘We’re, uh, not really at liberty to discuss that at the moment. We’re still in the middle of our investigation and…’ he trailed off again, looking down at his watch. Then, suddenly cheerful, he added, ‘Anyway, I’d better let you two get going. Wouldn’t want you to be late for school. You kids stay out of trouble, all right?’
    â€˜Uh, right,’ I said. ‘See you.’
    Officer Reeve gave us another wincing smile and made his way back up the stairs.
    â€˜Crazy Bill got away,’ said Peter knowingly, when we told him about running into Reeve. ‘He definitely got away.’
    We were sitting in our science class threading beads onto bits of string. In theory, we were supposed to be modelling polypeptide synthesis. But in reality, most people were just making necklaces or chucking the beads at each other when Ms Benson wasn’t looking.
    With all of that going on, we figured it was safe enough to continue our conversation, as long as we sat up the back and kept our voices down.
    â€˜How do you know?’ Jordan whispered.
    â€˜Because,’ said Peter impatiently, ‘if