“I don’t have to justify myself to you,” he said.
“Same,” she said, arms crossed.
They stared at one another in silence for several long minutes. Danny sighed. He’d messed up. He’d come for information, and gotten nothing in return except hostility. And now Ro knew Albion was on the same trail. If she told the Kelleys, who knew what would happen? “You need to stay out of this, Ro,” he said, as he pushed himself to his feet. “Tell the Kelleys you didn’t find anything. Tell them whatever, just stay out of it.”
“Stay out of what, exactly, Danny?” She rose as well, fists tight. “What do you know that you’re not saying?”
“Nothing, except it’s probably way beyond either of us. So use your head and stay out of it. For mum’s sake, if nothing else.”
“Dirty fighter,” Ro said, frowning.
“Like brother, like sister.” He went to the door. “Don’t get up. I’ll show myself out.”
He managed not to slam the door – just. He stood in the corridor, still angry, but no way to release it. He glanced back, wanting to go back in, to shout some or maybe apologise, or both. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away.
Ro waited until she was sure Danny had left before she went out. She was sure he’d been telling the truth. Her brother only got that upset when he was being honest. And, too, he’d mentioned their father, something he didn’t often do.
She could tell he was scared, not just for his job. But if she screwed things up now, Bloody Mary would kill her, and maybe her mum too, and Danny as well. That was the way the Kelleys worked. They took you and everyone you knew, and made you all a lesson to everyone else. That fear was what was driving her now. Danny wanted to protect her – and Ro wanted to protect him. Even if she didn’t like him much, he was still her brother.
The address she’d found at Colin’s flat proved to be a council estate in Hackney. It didn’t take her long to get there. It was an unprepossessing sort of place, made of grey-brown residential squares surrounding a stretch of dirt and some benches.
There was a greasy spoon café across the street, and she went in. It was nearly empty, and air smelled of stale coffee grounds and steamed milk. She ordered a builder’s tea and took a seat near a window. She took out the burner phone and turned it on. A few taps later, and she spotted the number listed in the Optik. She hesitated. This wasn’t her sort of thing, really. She didn’t usually have to find the people she needed to hit, or if she did, they weren’t difficult to track down. But this was different. She didn’t even know who this guy was, or how he was involved. If he was involved.
“Only one way to find out,” she murmured. She tapped the call button. After a few moments, someone answered, but said nothing. She could hear them breathing, though. “You don’t know who this is, but I know who you are. And we need to talk. I’m in the café around the corner. You know which one. I’ll be here for an hour. After that, I’ll have to find you. And you won’t like that.” She ended the call and set the phone down. Waited.
It buzzed and she picked it up. “Yeah?”
“This is Holden. I’ll be there in twenty.” His voice sounded rusty, haggard. Like he was having a bad day. She smiled, pleased at the thought.
“I’ll be here.” She closed the phone and sat back to wait. It didn’t take twenty minutes. Whatever else, he was punctual. He sidled in, wearing a suit that looked like it had been slept in, and stinking of nervousness. He was tapping at his Optik even as he sat down.
“Did I interrupt you?” she said.
“Shh,” he muttered. “Too many cameras.” He made a final tap and set the Optik down. “There. They won’t see us now.”
“Who?”
“Whoever decides to come looking.” He stared at her for a moment. There were cuts on his chin and cheek – not shaving cuts, either. And stains on his trousers and jacket. Like he’d been running. “How did you get that phone?”
“I found it. In Colin’s flat.”
“You knew Colin?”
Ro nodded. “Did you?”
“He made a few deliveries for me.”
“Like what?”
Holden sat back. “Who do you work for?”
“The same people Colin did.” Ro leaned forward. “They ain’t happy.”
“Neither am I.”
“You’re going to feel a lot worse if you don’t tell me what I want to know.”
Holden flinched. He looked around, and sighed. “Finish your tea. I’ll show you.”
Ro knocked back her tea and stood. “Lead on.”
He led her out of the café, and across the street. She wondered if he lived here. Surely Albion paid better than that. “You work for the Kelleys, then?” he said, not looking at her.
“What about it?”
“Nothing, nothing. I knew Colin was one of theirs. I assumed you were too.” He glanced at her. “The Kelleys want to know who killed him, then? Surprised old Ma Kelley doesn’t know all about it already.”
Ro nodded. “Do you know?”
“I could give it a good guess.” He paused. “Is there a… reward, so to speak?”
“Maybe.” Ro wasn’t so sure about that, but saw no reason not to play along.
Holden nodded. “Well, discussion is the key to any negotiation.” He stopped in front of a lock-up garage, set off side and around the corner from the flats. “Here we are. My little home away from home.”
“You’re staying here?”
He gave a sickly smile as he swung the door up. “Everyone needs
