by Liz Mistry
Her father wanted her to visit his home country with him again, but Sadia’s memories of heat, mosquitoes and basic toilets put her off and she’d refused. Maybe she should go with him, she thought now. What’s a couple of weeks of hardship if it makes him happy? Of course, she’d have to be clear that looking for a groom was not on the agenda. Maybe it’d deflect him from questioning her too much if she were to suggest a visit after this case closes.
With a heavy heart, she got out of the car and trudged up the path. Opening the porch door, she bent down to take her shoes off and as soon as she opened the inner door her father called out, ‘I’m in here, Sadia, come in, please.’
She grimaced. He was in his office and that meant that he wasn’t going to give up easily. She knew to expect the third degree. Walking through the hallway with its lush green carpet, she pushed open the office door. Her father sat with his hands clasped together on the desk in front of him. He wore his prayer hat and a plain white shalwar kameez. His beard was freshly trimmed and his eyes looked stern as he gestured her to sit down in the opposite chair.
‘I’ve been praying tonight that Allah will give me the strength to know the right path to take with you, Sadia beti’
Sadia frowned. ‘What do you mean, Apo?’
‘Ah, Sadia, I wonder if perhaps I have been too lenient with you. If I’ve allowed some of the rules of Islam to go unheeded. If I’ve neglected to teach you the ways of our religion. Perhaps, that is why you lie and are deceitful to me?’ He rose to his feet and shouted the last sentence at her. His tone hit her like a slap and she flinched. This was so much worse than she’d expected. What had gotten into him?
‘I don’t understand. What have I done?’
He paced around her, making her feel like prey to a trapped tiger in a zoo. She swallowed, scared because she’d never seen him in this mood before.
‘When is the last time you prayed, Sadia?’ he asked, his voice quiet.
Sadia hung her head, completely forgetting her ardent prayers for Imti earlier. ‘I’m not sure, Father. You know I’m not as devout as you.’ To her own ears her voice sounded weak and pleading and she resented feeling like a naughty child when she was a grown woman.
‘Well, you must change your ways, Sadia. From now on, I expect you to follow all of Allah’s rules. Maybe that will teach you right from wrong and prevent further sinning.’
‘Sinning?’ asked Sadia, standing up to face her father now. ‘I haven’t sinned.’
Her father slammed both hands on the desk and glared at her. His voice when he spoke was razor sharp and accusing. ‘So, you haven’t been sleeping with a man out of wedlock, then?’
Sadia took a step back and shook her head, less in denial of the situation than of his accusation. What was going on? Did he know something about Gus? But how could he? Other than herself and Gus, Alice was the only other person who knew and Alice wouldn’t betray her, would she? She rested a hand on the desk and stared at him. All tiredness had left her body, replaced by the adrenalin surge brought on by the charged atmosphere. He closed his eyes and, when he spoke, it was in a whisper. Sadia had to strain to hear his words. ‘I see from your expression that your accuser is not wrong.’
He sat down in his chair and threw a brown envelope towards her. A bundle of photos fell out landing in a heap on the polished surface. Sadia glanced down at them. The envelope had no address on it which puzzled Sadia, but what drew her attention was the topmost photograph. She could clearly see that it was of her and Gus at his bedroom window. Sadia picked it up and looked at the next photo before sifting through the remaining photos. The realisation that someone had been stalking and spying on made her heart skip a beat. Then, a bubble of anger started in her chest. Who the hell would do this? What would anyone have to gain by giving these photos to her father?
Sadia grabbed a handful of photos and ripped them in half, her face flushed, her chest heaving as she looked at her father. As he ran one hand through his hair she became aware of how much he seemed to have aged. Guilt that she’d caused this flooded through her. He looked old and frail and her heart went out to him. With tears in her eyes, Sadia went over to where he sat and kneeled beside him. Gently, she took his hand in hers. It was frozen cold. She lifted it to her cheek and whispered, ‘I’m so sorry, Bapa. I’m so sorry that I can’t be what you want me to be. I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you, but I still love you and I am your daughter, always.’
Her father let out a keening sound and then, with unexpected force he whipped his hand from Sadia’s and smashed it backhanded across her face, causing her to fall backwards and bang her head on the wall. He jumped to his feet, towering over her. ‘Enough! You. Are. A. Muslim. And. You. Will. Behave. Like. One.’
Sadia, hand held at her cheek, eyes wide, looked at him in disbelief. He had never hit her as a child! How dare he do it now? Without stopping to think of the consequences, Sadia scrambled to her feet and pushed past him.
He let her go assuming she was headed upstairs. It wasn’t until he heard the front door rattle on its hinges as she slammed it shut behind her that he realised she’d left the house. He leapt after her, rushed through the house and pulled open the porch door, noting that she hadn’t even waited to collect her coat or put her shoes on. As he ran into the drive, all he saw were her brake lights as she turned the corner at the end of the street.
He threw his hands in the air and yowled like a werewolf at the moon. Then, falling to his knees, heedless of the dirt on his white clothes, he wrapped his arms round his body. Tears stormed down his face, landing among the puddles already gathering on the crazy paving. Where had he gone wrong? He looked up to the sky and asked Allah where he had failed.
Chapter 66
23:55 Marriner’s Drive
The hammering on the door jolted Gus awake. After Sadia had left, he’d fallen asleep on the sofa with Bingo sprawled over his chest. Disorientated he pushed a reluctant Bingo onto the floor and rubbing his eyes, walked through the hallway. He could hear thrashing rain against the window and, as he approached the door, he saw Sadia’s silhouette through the glass. Wondering what the emergency was, he pushed Bingo out of the way and stepped closer, hoping that Imti’s condition hadn’t worsened.
As he pulled the door open, Sadia stumbled in, giving Gus barely enough time to see that she had no coat on, was barefoot and drenched. Her hair hung in dripping lengths to her shoulders and mascara blackened her cheeks. Even Bingo, appearing to pick up on her distress, whimpered and nudged her legs with his nose, his eyes looking up at her until, with a half-hearted motion, she patted his head.
Gus’ heart contracted as he closed the door behind her and guided her through to the living room. Her vacant expression told him she was in shock so, after settling her onto the sofa and bunging a couple of extra logs on the fire, he headed into the kitchen, flicked on the kettle and rushed upstairs reappearing moments later with his skimpy robe. As he sat beside her gently chaffing her frozen hands between his own hands, he saw the bruise blossoming on her cheek and the trail of blood where her lip had cracked. Had she been in a car accident? He glanced down at her feet, wondering where her shoes were. Bingo jumped up beside her, resting his chin on her leg. A faint smile appeared on Sadia’s lips and Gus released a grateful sigh. He hadn’t realised until that point that he’d been holding his breath.
Leaving her with Bingo, Gus disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing minutes later with buttered toast and a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Sadia smiled when she accepted the mug and, nursing it in her hands, she allowed Gus to minister to her injuries.
First, he applied a cold compress to her swollen cheeks before gently wiping away her blotched mascara and the trail of blood from her lip. Then he soaked and washed her scraped feet and administered a few arnica pills to help with the swelling. As he worked, his brain was in overdrive, wondering what had happened to her in such a short space of time. He felt sick and was struggling to control his own panic. It was only the knowledge th
at she needed him to be calm right now that prevented him from losing it. It was clear that, although she was distressed, her injuries were superficial and he understood that any questions could wait until she was calmer.
When he’d finished, he was relieved to see that some colour had returned to her face and she’d stopped shivering. Time to find out what was wrong. He pulled her into his lap and as he smoothed her hair back off her forehead, she told him what had happened. When she got to the part where her dad hit her, Gus felt an almost overpowering urge to rush over to Idle and deal with him there and then. How dare he lay a hand on Sadia? It was only her beseeching look and the way she gripped his hand so tightly that kept him there. Sadia needed him right now but, as soon as he was able, he would have it out with her father. No way was he going to get away with this.
Between them, they’d tried to work out who’d taken the photos. Gus remembered the red car he’d seen hanging around and made a mental note to check that out. They’d thought they were being discreet, but obviously they hadn’t been careful enough. Someone, though, had decided to stalk them and that someone had done so with malicious intent. Were they both targets, or was it just one of them?
‘Nobody knew about us, Sadia. We didn’t flaunt it, so maybe it was just by chance,’ Gus snorted. ‘Nah, strike that. There’s no way somebody could, just by chance, have been outside my house at the exact same time we were having an afternoon quickie. No, it seems like premeditated stalking to me. Which brings us back to the question of who knew about us?’’
‘Alice did,’ said Sadia. ‘She confronted me in the loo yesterday.’
‘Yeah, she got at me too.’ Gus grinned, remembering Alice’s serious face as she’d chided him for not confiding in her. ‘She warned me to be careful… but it wasn’t a threat Sad. She was just concerned because of your dad.’
Sadia nodded. ‘I agree. Alice hasn’t got a bitter, nasty bone in her body. It wasn’t her. Besides which, I don’t think she rates my dad much. Doubt she’d give him any ammunition.’
Cuddled up next to him, with the heat from the fire making her drowsy, Sadia continued, ‘Do you reckon Brighton or Sampson would do something like that?’
Gus didn’t even have to think about it. He shook his head, ‘Not Sampson, but Brighton… well, who knows? He’s a nasty piece of work.’
‘I gave him a rollicking that first night and yesterday I came down on him like a tonne of bricks,’ said Sadia. ‘He doesn’t like me and I’m afraid the feeling is very definitely mutual. My money’s on him.’
Gus grimaced. ‘I know what you mean. He’s an “eejit”, as my dad would say, and a nasty one at that. Worth keeping an eye on him.’
‘Yeah and he made those weird comments at the briefing, about me being flushed and my hair being damp. I thought he was just being an arse at the time but, what if he’d followed us?’ She pulled away from Gus and opened her mouth to expand on her thoughts but that was as far as she got before Gus had swooped her into his arms and stood up. ‘We’ll think about all this in the morning. Right now, I think we both need our bed.’ And with a lascivious grin that had Sadia laughing he took her upstairs.
Sadia lay on the bed, her eyes huge, her lashes skimming her cheek bones when she looked down. Gus lay beside her and undid the tie on the oversized terry bath robe. He opened it and looked down at her. Slender, soft and inviting, her skin the colour of a good whisky. ‘You’re beautiful,’ he whispered.
Her eyes filled with tears as she reached for him. He kissed her eyes, her nose, her swollen cheek and her lips. Then, breathing in the scent of her, he moved down to kiss every part of her. His tongue explored every contour of her perfect body as he enjoyed her whimpers. No rush this time… Sadia was staying the night.
Sunday
Chapter 67
03:45 The Delius
The air was heavy with smoke and, even from halfway up Leeds Road, near the Hindu Temple, Gus could hear the screeching of fire engines against the backdrop of flames that lit up the distant dark sky. When the call had come in, Sadia hadn’t even stirred beyond burrowing her head further into the pillow and when Gus had crept from the bed and got dressed in the dark she hadn’t moved a muscle. He’d made the decision not to wake her, reckoning that the events of the previous day warranted her having a lie in. He knew though, that when she found out, she’d be furious… but hell, he’d deal with that later.
Now, he parked on Leeds Road just beyond the cordon and, flicking the tape up and over his head, he marched through uniformed officers and fire fighters looking for Alice or Sampson, both of whom he’d called earlier. When he found them, Alice was standing beside Jai. For the first time since Gus had met him, the bouncer looked dishevelled. His normal taciturn expression was replaced by an angry curling lip and frown lines on his forehead. Alice had her notebook out and was scribbling furiously by the light from the blaze.
Gus let her get on with it and, instead of approaching them, he studied the fire. It seemed like it was concentrated at the back of the building and, although it looked and smelled bad, Gus thought that the Khan brothers had been lucky this time. It looked like the administrative part of the club had suffered most of the damage but the main area had escaped lightly. Gus knew that, bearing in mind everything that had gone on recently, the likelihood of this fire being an accident was miniscule. He suspected the fire officer’s official report would define the cause of the fire as arson. Taking out his phone, Gus shot an email to Compo who had headed into The Fort, asking him to access CCTV footage along Leeds Road and Lower Rushton Road, which backed onto The Delius.
As Alice shut her notebook, clearly having completed her interview with Jai, Gus saw a man in a prayer hat, wearing a duffle coat over what looked like a pair of striped pyjamas, approach Jai. With interest, he noted how Jai bristled when the man touched him on the shoulder. When he turned to reply to whatever the man had said, Gus saw the anger on his face. Jai gesticulated with his hands and then strode off towards one of the firefighters.
‘Wonder what that was about,’ said Gus, as Alice joined him.
‘Well, my money’s on that man being Councillor Majid from the local mosque. Jai said he had a run-in with Shahid yesterday. Moaning about the rowdiness of some of The Delius’ patrons.’ She grinned. ‘Jai was pretty pissed off, said, and, I quote, “the old bastard’s an ungrateful git. Shahid paid the mosque thousands, so he should put up and shut up”.’
‘Not sure how strong that motive is if he was getting money from Shahid. Stands to reason that if The Delius stopped bringing money in, the mosque would lose out.’
‘Jai also went on about that Anastazy bloke. He’s convinced he’s behind it.’
Gus couldn’t really fault his logic, but so far they’d been unable to find anything concrete on the bloke or even establish an address. It was like he was a ghost.
‘Who discovered the fire, Al?
‘That would be our trusty bodyguard bouncer, Jai. Shahid’s still up at BRI with Imti so Jai was kipping on the couch in Shahid’s office. Said it was so uncomfortable he couldn’t sleep, lucky for him, because he smelt the smoke and phoned 999 straightaway. If he hadn’t acted so quickly the damage would have been much more extensive.’ She glanced over Gus’ shoulder. ‘Oh and here’s Sampson. He’s been chatting with the fire officer.’
Watching Sampson yawn widely as he approached made Gus smile. ‘We keeping you up, Sampson?’
With bleary eyes, Sampson peered at Gus. ‘Well, I’d no better offers, sir, so I might as well be here.’ He began to rub one eye with his knuckle, leaving a sooty mark on his face.
Gus thought it made him look as if he’d got lost on the way to a Halloween party. ‘What did you get from the fire officer?’
‘Not much really. He reckons from the flash points it was set by pouring petrol through the letterbox at the back. Clearly an arson attempt, but he’ll know more later when he can sift through the rubble.’
A flurry of activity near one of the fire
engines had Gus turning his head in that direction. A firefighting team was running to the engine nearest the cordon and almost before they’d all jumped in, it began to back out with its siren on. Another fire officer, recognising Gus shouted ‘There’s another fire over in Bradford Nine. Looks like we’ve got a spree on our hands.’
Bradford Nine? Shit, thought Gus, I bet I know where that fire is. Just then his phone began to vibrate, followed almost immediately by Alice’s and Sampson’s. Gus took off back towards his car, with Alice and Sampson following.
Chapter 68
08:00 The Fort
The incident room in The Fort was steeped in a strange combination of petrol fumes, smoke and coffee. The petrol and smoke were from Gus, Alice and Sampson’s clothes. Having attended two fires in the space of as many hours, they had lost any residue of fabric conditioner, perfume or deodorant that might have otherwise lingered. The coffee was down to Compo, who’d got the machine up and running in readiness for an all-nighter as soon as he’d arrived in the early hours of the morning.
Gus could’ve kissed him when he’d walked through the door and been greeted by a piping hot mug of coffee and the promise of a bacon butty, which was being delivered by Tony from the Chaat café. Nothing like two arson attacks to build up an appetite, thought Gus, relieved that there’d been no injuries from either fire except for Bazza Green who’d fallen flat on his face in his haste to jump off the young girl he was screwing and get out the door first. Stupid bastard had broken his nose and bruised his knee. Served him right, thought Gus, who’d felt like punching him when the seventeen-year-old had told him what had happened.