by Liz Mistry
Alice gave an expressive humph that told Gus she wasn’t going to be put off so easily, so he continued. ‘She’s at mine.’ Anticipating Alice’s next question, he added ‘…and she’s fine.’
‘And?’ said Alice, her impatient tone telling him to get a move on.
Shaking his head at her persistence, he said, ‘okay then Al. You win but this is strictly confidential.’
‘God yes, I wouldn’t gossip about you two.’ Alice looked shocked at the mere suggestion of her betraying him, making Gus feel like an arse for spelling it out to her.
‘The thing is, Al, the bastard hit her… well, slapped her really. Her cheek’s bruised. It happened last night after she got home after all the Imti trauma. She ran out and came to me.’
Alice stopped dead in the street, one hand raised to her mouth. ‘Oh, my God! Poor Sadia, she must be gutted. Why would he hit her? He dotes on her. Don’t tell me he’s done it before?’
Gus sighed, ‘No, no he’s never hit her in the past. Some bastard’s been stalking us and he took incriminating photos of me and her together. As expected, Hannibal Hussain wasn’t happy about it. He snapped and hit her.’
‘Fucking hell!’
‘She wants it kept quiet. She’s not going to do anything about it. Not going to report it. But me? Well, that’s a different matter. I’ll be paying him a visit later on today.’ He started walking again, ‘If we ever bloody get there, that is.’
Alice grabbed his arm and pulled him to a standstill again. ‘Gus, you can’t do that. You can’t hit a senior officer. Not even a bastard that hits his daughter.’
Gus smiled. ‘Who said anything about hitting him. I don’t need to use my fists on an old man. I’ll just verbally pulverise him… and I’ll make damn sure he never touches her again.’
‘Oh, well,’ said Alice with a shrug. ‘That’s okay then.’
Gus frowned. ‘It is?’
‘Yes, because you’ll take me with you as your witness that you did nothing but talk,’ she said and folded her arms across her chest as if that settled the matter. Then, she added, ‘but, if I were you, Gus I’d be more worried about who’s been following you two, and why.’
‘You’ve got a point there, Al. I’ve been wracking my brains to think of someone who’d be malicious enough to do that, but short of Brighton, I can’t think of anyone.’
‘Brighton? Don’t think he’d have the brains to do that… unless of course Hussain asked him to. He’s Hussain’s lapdog isn’t he? Maybe he put him on the team to keep an eye on Sadia.’
Gus, hands in his pocket, shoulders slumped, frowned. ‘Nah, surely not?’
Now that Alice had planted the thought in his mind, Gus began to wonder if she was right. Brighton was an unwelcome addition to the team and was there purely on Hussain’s insistence. There was no doubt it was all a bit coincidental.
Nearing the greengrocer’s underneath Jessica’s flat Gus became aware that a crowd had gathered. At first he thought they were looking at the boxes of tomatoes, chillies and fresh coriander that were displayed on upturned crates on the pavement, but then he heard the raised voices. He turned to Alice, ‘What the hell’s going on?’
From the alleyway leading to Jessica’s flat he could hear banging and a man’s voice shouting, ‘Come on, Jessica. Let me in. We’ve got to talk. Please.’
‘Fuck off! I’ve nowt to say to you.’
‘Jessica, we both loved her. You’ve got to let me in. Come on, Trixie wouldn’t want me to leave you here with Bazza. I need to speak to you about Imti, too. He’s been hurt.’
Gus heard a door opening and, as Alice made to go down the alley, he grabbed her arm shaking his head. This wasn’t the time to rush in guns blazing. He turned to the crowd and told them to disperse, before edging forward to get a view of what was happening at the end of the ally.
Jessica stood at the top of the steps, her face pale and grimy, her hair tangled and dank. She was wearing the same clothes she’d worn at their first interview on Thursday and Gus suspected she hadn’t left the flat since then. She appeared oblivious to Gus and Alice standing behind Shahid. Her furious gaze was focussed only on Shahid Khan who, hands stretched out before him, pleaded for her to hear him out. Jessica was having none of it though. ‘You’ve got a fuckin’ cheek. You’ve no right to say her name, you’re not good enough to say it. She’d never have gone with you, Shahid, never. She loved me!’ and, before Gus could react, Jessica darted down the stairs and began pummelling Shahid with her fists.
Shahid lowered his hands to his side and took it, until, without warning, Jessica fell at his feet crying as if she’d never stop. Shahid bent down and put his arms round Jessica. With tears pouring down his cheeks too, he pulled her to him, smoothing her wild hair and patting her back as she cried, holding onto him as if for dear life.
‘Sssh, sis. It’s okay. I’ve got you now. Sssh.’ He rocked her back and forth like a baby until eventually her tears subsided to the occasional hiccup.
Gus watched in silence as Shahid pulled her to her feet and, still holding her, led her to the stairs. Turning, Shahid looked at the small group that still loitered at the end of the alley and said, ‘Show’s over folks.’ Turning to Gus, he said, ‘I’ll leave the door open, but give us five minutes, huh?’
Gus nodded and walked back round the front to wait, with Alice following him.
Alice rubbed her hands together, ‘Great! I’ve got time to grab one of Mo’s samosas.’ And she darted across the road, leaving Gus to wonder where the hell she put it all.
Ten minutes later, samosa taste still in their mouths, they climbed the stairs to Jessica’s flat. Shahid, true to his word, had left the door open and, with a cursory knock, Gus and Alice walked in.
Jessica sat, legs curled under her in her usual seat. Shahid, looking dishevelled but cleaner than he’d looked at the hospital the previous night, popped his head out from the kitchen. ‘Tea?’
His tone was grudging and Gus nearly laughed out loud when Alice smiled and spoke in a too-sweet tone. ‘How lovely. Yes, please, Shahid.’
She got a grunt for her efforts, which amused Gus even more. There would never be any love lost between the police and the likes of Shahid Khan, but Alice’s sassiness at least took the sting out of it. Sitting down, Gus watched as Alice wandered around the room. It was her first visit here and he knew she wanted to get a feel for the place. It was a technique he also employed. He’d done his snooping last time but he’d be interested to hear what her thoughts were. He grinned as she threw a glance at Jessica, making sure she wasn’t watching, before poking her head through the open bedroom door. Leaving her to her exploration, Gus turned his attention to Jessica. Staring at the carpet in front of her, cigarette between her fingers, the faint whiff of stale sweat hanging heavy in the air, Gus thought she looked worse than she had on Friday. Poor thing was taking Trixie’s death very hard. Maybe she’d have thought of something for them. It still worried Gus that Trixie’s death varied, even if only slightly from Camilla and Starlight’s. He’d put his money on Professor Carlton being right about it being a copycat. He just hoped Jess would give them something to work on… a punter who’d taken too much of a liking to Trixie or a dealer she owed money to.
Shahid walked through carrying a plate of toast for Jessica and mugs of tea for everyone else. Gus was surprised that Jessica had capitulated so much in the space of ten minutes that she was allowing Shahid to look after her. Maybe the news of Imti’s stabbing had been too much for her so soon after Trixie’s murder. He found it hard to believe that all the animosity she’d felt towards Shahid had vanished so completely.
‘Surprised to see you here, Shahid,’ said Gus, smiling.
‘Why? Jess is my sister in’t she? She needed to know about Imti … and Trixie was her best mate.’
‘Half-sister,’ said Alice, taking a sip of tea
Shahid snorted, ‘What’s the difference? Sister, half-sister? What’s it matter?’
Gus shrugge
d, ‘Last time Jessica took great pains to make sure we knew you were only her half-brother. She really didn’t want to acknowledge you as her brother, did you, Jessica? So, what’s changed?’
The look of hatred Jessica threw at Shahid was unmistakeable, but so was the leaden way she moved and the dullness in her eyes. Jessica was very near to breaking point. Speaking quietly with no inflection in her tone, she said, ‘Nothing’s changed. I still hate him. Just make him go.’ She raised her hand, fingernails bitten to the quick, and clumped her hair in it, her palm resting on her forehead as she spoke. ‘I’m just so tired. Please make him go.’ Letting go of her hair she wrapped her arms diagonally round her shoulders and began to rock back and forth. Gus felt his heart contract at the pitiful picture she made. He wondered if she’d eaten anything since the MacDonald’s that Sadia had brought her. Lowering his voice, deliberately making his tone gentle, Gus pushed the toast towards her and said, ‘Eat this, Jess. You need to eat.’
He turned to Shahid, who looked as if she’d slapped him. ‘Jessica wants you to go, Shahid. Why don’t you just go and stop upsetting her. I thought you’d have had enough to worry about, what with Imti and the arson attack on The Delius this morning.’
To Gus, it seemed that Shahid’s body caved in on itself. Instead of the confident young man, full of swagger, he looked like a bereft little boy. Despite himself, Gus felt a momentary pang of pity for Shahid as he ran a trembling hand through his short black hair and stood up. Then he remembered all the things Shahid did and his face hardened.
Shahid looked at Gus and shrugged. ‘Only bricks and mortar, innit? Imti’s safe and that’s all that matters right now.’ Hesitating, he looked at Jessica. ‘Jess?’
She refused to lift her head. Shahid stepped nearer and knelt in front of her, ‘Come on, Jess. Now Trixie’s gone it’s just you, me and Imti. Imti needs us now. Please.’
Feeling like a jerk, Gus deliberately made his voice dismissive, ‘Oh, that’ll be why she’s accusing you of setting fire to her mum then, Shahid? Because she needs you? Because you’re family? It didn’t stop you frying her mum, did it?’
Shahid jumped to his feet, ‘What? That’s fuckin crazy. I’ve told you before. I was with Jess that night. How could I have done it?’
‘She smelt the petrol on you?’ said Gus, watching for a reaction. ‘Says you weren’t with her all the time.’
Shahid shook his head, ‘We all smelt of fuckin petrol that night mate.’ Gus appreciated what Shahid was saying. After all The Fort smelt like a bonfire right now because he, Sampson and Alice had spent a couple of hours near a fire.
Shahid, his Adam’s apple visibly moving as he swallowed, glared, wide-eyed at Gus. ‘It was fucking awful.’ He wiped a tear from his eye and looked down at Jessica. ‘I didn’t do that to your mum. I’d never have done that to her. She was good to me. More of a parent than my dad was. I didn’t ever know my real mum, so yours was the next best thing. My dad didn’t like me visiting your house, but I still did. I didn’t kill her, Jess. I swear, I didn’t. I’ve told you again and again, it weren’t me.’
Jessica’s head whipped up. Her eyes flashed and her mouth curled, ‘Then who did Shahid? Who the fuck did?’
Shahid took a deep breath. ‘It weren’t my dad either, Jess. He was in Pakistan. God! I’d tell you if it were him, but it weren’t. Maybe you should ask them from next door. Maybe they’ll know.’
Jessica frowned. ‘Who from next door?’
Shahid jerked a thumb in Gus’ direction, ‘Their mate and her fucking dad,’ he said and marched to the door. ‘Maybe their lot did a big fucking cover-up for all I know. But I swear it weren’t fucking me, okay?’
Well that was interesting thought Gus when Shahid had gone, banging the door behind him. He’d felt Shahid was telling the truth about Millie Green’s death when he’d interviewed him, and he felt the same today. He really did believe Shahid about this… he wasn’t so sure about Trixie’s murder, but he was convinced that he was innocent of Millie Green’s. Which posed the question, who did murder Millie Green?
Jessica’s eyes narrowed. ‘He means, Sadia doesn’t he? He thinks Sadia knows something about my mum’s death. But how could she? She were only a kid herself. How could she know owt about it?’
‘I don’t think she does, Jess. Sadia got the file out to look into it again. She’s as much in the dark as the rest of us.’
Jessica picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. ‘Look, I’m done in. Ask whatever you need to ask and then just let me get some sleep, okay?’
Pleased that she was at least eating some toast, Gus smiled. ‘That’s fine Jess. We just wanted to see if you’d thought of anyone who might have had it in for Trixie.’
Jessica sighed and shook her head. ‘Just that tosser, Shahid. Trix was going to dump him. She told me so.’
Gus leaned forward. ‘Jess, last time we spoke you told me Trixie didn’t even have a boyfriend. Now you’re telling me you knew she was seeing Shahid Khan. Why wouldn’t you have told us that last time.’
Jessica’s eyes darted from him to Alice and she shrugged. ‘Must’ve forgot.’
‘Really, you forgot that your very best friend was in a relationship with your enemy, Shahid Khan. That seems a bit odd to me? What do you think, Al?’
Alice tilted her head to one side before responding, ‘Yep, seems odd to me too.’
Jessica flung the half-eaten slice of toast onto the plate, ‘Fuck off! I was upset, got confused, that’s all. It’s no big fucking deal, okay?’
Gus leaned back and crossed his legs, ‘So, it’s no big deal that Trixie was pregnant with Khan’s baby, either?’
Jessica jumped to her feet, ‘What? What the fuck did you say?’ Before Gus could repeat his words, she turned and ran from the living room into her bedroom.
Chapter 71
11:00 Thornbury
The combination of crisp fresh air and warm memories sat well on Anastazy’s shoulders; the one out-weighing the other, creating a temperate feeling. Being outside like this, the cold nipping his nose and ears, reminded him of being a child back in Poland. They’d never had very much and, especially in the colder months; the meagre food supplies they had never seemed enough to fill his belly. However, the thrill of doing something he shouldn’t have, whether it was stealing knickers off a clothes line, watching his neighbour give his dad a blow job or stealing from shops, had always kept him warm. When he’d gotten older, the pleasure of hurting his friends’ animals and knowing he’d caused their distress when they’d discovered their maimed pets had made him feel powerful… like a hunter. Even now he craved that feeling… there was no drug like it. The feeling of forced ownership and the fear that generated was an aphrodisiac. He thrived on it and, having found the latest subject of his desires, his addiction was intense... he needed his fix… his Serafina fix.
He’d positioned himself on the corner of Serafina’s road and was waiting for her to leave the house. Twice now the silver haired woman from the house behind him had knocked on the front room window, telling him to ‘sling his hook’. Anastazy had laughed and keeping eye contact with her had pulled himself up on her garden wall. If she knocked again, then he’d pay her a little visit and make sure the old cow didn’t bother him next time. But for now, his focus was on the house further down the street with its blue door, which remained stubbornly closed, giving him time to reminisce about Poland and his early morning activities.
The Old Man had been keen to increase the pressure on both Bazza Green and Shahid Khan and, as far as Anastazy was concerned, the arson attacks had been an inspired choice. An acceleration in pressure and a clear intention of malicious intent. Both men would now be aware that this was very personal. Any lingering doubt would have been replaced by the certainty that they were both under attack from an, as yet, unknown entity.
Anastazy laughed: the idiots would be running scared. As well as the arson attacks, Anastazy had flooded both the Thornbury and the Manningham markets with
Eastern European girls with orders to undercut the regulars. Anastazy prided himself on the fact that the girls he employed would provide even the most ‘unusual’ services. His army of men, funded by The Old Man, were more prepared than any of Green’s or Khan’s thugs. Lack of competition in the past had rendered those two idiots sluggish. Now, they were falling without a safety net. Under this amount of pressure, they would fold. Already Khan was grieving his dead girlfriend and attending his injured brother. He’d taken his eye off the ball, making it easy for Anastazy to slip in and set fire to The Delius.
His Manningham spies told him that, rather than sort out his affairs, Khan was hanging about Oak Lane trying to get that half-sister of his on side. As for Bazza, apparently he’d come squealing out of his flat, a little towel round his skinny waist, leaving the whore he’d been screwing inside, to make her own way out. By all accounts he’d been snivelling like an idiot whilst the fire brigade doused the fire. Ha, neither of those two were worth worrying about now.
So that left him free to concentrate on Serafina… she knew now what would happen if she didn’t comply. She was defenceless.
Chapter 72
11:00 Oak Lane
Alice followed Jessica into the bedroom. The girl was snuggled into the far side of the bed, the duvet pulled right up to her chin; her head was tilted towards the window. Through the dim light that shone through the thin, drawn curtains, Alice could see Jessica’s shoulders heaving as she cried. The room smelt stale. Alice presumed the girl had spent most of the last few days holed up in here with her grief. She knew Gus had offered her a FLO and that Jessica had refused. Having met her uncle, Bazza Green, Alice felt sure that he wouldn’t have paid his niece a welfare call. She screwed up her mouth. The obnoxious little toad was probably more concerned with getting himself a new pet than with Jessica’s mental health.