The meanest Flood

state of you.’
    He said something in reply but she couldn’t make out what it was. Marilyn didn’t think where she was going, she wanted to put as much distance as possible between them and the two men who were trying to kill Danny. Gillygate was congested so she turned into Lord Mayor’s Walk and sailed through another red light at the end and over into oncoming traffic on the one-way section of Foss Islands Road, the heel of her hand on the horn. The oncoming traffic peeled off to let her through, irate drivers hitting their own horns in reply, mouthing obscenities through their windscreens.
    When she glanced over at him, Danny had his eyes closed and appeared to be smiling. He felt her gaze and opened his eyes. ‘Thank you,’ he said. He spoke each syllable slowly, with difficulty.
    She reached over and laid the palm of her hand on his thigh. ‘It was nothing,’ she said. ‘I’d do anything for you, Danny.’
    They left the one-way system behind and hit the comparative calm of Paragon Street.
    She eased up on her speed. Danny moaned softly and shook his head. He was covering his penis with his free hand, an attempt at modesty. He spoke again, ‘I thought they were going to kill me.’
    ‘So did I,’ Marilyn said. ‘Does it hurt?’
    ‘Only when I speak.’ He creased up briefly, wincing hard. ‘And when I laugh.’
    She turned into Fishergate and then impulsively into Blue Bridge Lane, intending to park there and think what to do next. But the river had claimed most of the lane and was gradually climbing up to occupy the rest. Marilyn pressed the brake pedal and the car came to a stop with its front wheels in the water.
    ‘We should do something about your jaw,’ she said. ‘Shall I drive to the hospital?’
    ‘You could take me home,’ he said. ‘I’ll ask the doctor to come round.’
    She looked at him, shaking her head from side to side. ‘Where are your clothes?’
    ‘I didn’t have time to get them,’ he said. ‘I had to leave fast.’
    Marilyn pursed her lips. ‘You’re going to have to explain this. I’m not a mind reader. What’s going on, Danny?’
    ‘It was an illusion,’ he told her. ‘My masterpiece.’
    She turned to him. ‘Who were those men? And whose house was it? I don’t understand what you were doing there. Who was that woman?’
    Danny pointed at his broken jaw and made an incoherent sound. He appealed to her with his eyes. The sound he made could have been the word ‘home’, and Marilyn was quite happy to take him there if he would put her mind at rest.
    ‘Were you having an affair?’ she said. And then, as an afterthought, ‘Who was the boy in the boot?’
    ‘Not an affair,’ Danny said. ‘I told you, it was an illusion. The boy was necessary.’
    ‘There was a woman in that house, Danny. I saw her go in. And you came out naked. That wasn’t an illusion.’ Marilyn waited but Danny didn’t reply.
    ‘When she came to the door you were dressed and a few minutes later you were naked. That can only mean one thing.’
    ‘You don’t understand,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t what you think.’
    ‘So enlighten me.’ Marilyn hit the steering wheel with the flat of her hand, then she hit it again. When Danny didn’t reply she settled into a rhythmic thumping, her eyes fixed on the naked man next to her.
    ‘Stop it,’ Danny said. ‘Will you take me home now? I need to see a doctor.’
    Marilyn continued her thumping of the steering wheel. Her lips and eyes were set and she wasn’t going anywhere until Danny came up with a suitable answer.
    ‘Stop that,’ the magician said, reaching over and grabbing her wrist.
    She shook herself free and struck out at him, her hand glancing off his shoulder. Danny struck back, trying to keep his jaw out of the struggle. ‘All right,’ he shouted, ‘I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything. But not here. I’ll tell you at home.’
    ‘It better be good,’ Marilyn told him.
    ‘It’s not what you think.’
    Marilyn composed herself and released the hand brake. She turned the key in the ignition and the starter motor turned over and died. She turned the key again.
    Danny groaned and pointed out of the windscreen. Marilyn followed his gaze and saw that the car was slipping forward into the water. She had her foot on the brake pedal and she pulled back on the hand brake but it didn’t stop the vehicle from sliding down the greasy slope into the overflowing river. She tried the ignition again but it didn’t