Nicola came back, bag in hand, her pink shop logo on the front, and placed it on the counter. She smiled, a tad warily, and picked up a knife to cut the coffee cake.
“Sorry to mess you about, but I’ll take the whole thing.” Cassie was testing her, seeing if she snapped under the pressure. Cruel but necessary to work out whether Nicola had something to hide.
Thankfully, she just went back through the doorway, returning with another box. “Having a tea party?”
“No, they’re celebration cakes.”
“Oh.” Nicola added the box to the bag and rang the purchase up.
Cassie passed over her debit card, watching for signs of deception—shaking hands, shifty eye movements, the shine of sweat on her cheeks.
There was nowt.
Card back in her purse, Cassie was finished with playing games. “Last night. Did you notice owt odd in the street?”
“Odd? Can’t say I did, no. It was quiet, so I made the flowers for that cake there.” She pointed to the one with the lily. “I had the usual pre-dinnertime crowd, then no one for ages. Graham Knowles came in—know him?—and bought a birthday cake and some desserts, and half an hour or so must have gone by before anyone else turned up.”
“Didn’t you even glance outside?”
“I did when Graham came in, but there were only a couple of lads out there—Cheryl’s kid and Ronnie Stevens, piss-arsing about by the lamppost.”
“What about a man up the road, opposite the Jade, standing by a hedge?”
Nicola frowned yet again. “I’d have to go to the window to see that far up, and I didn’t. Has something happened?”
“Nowt for you to worry about.” Cassie slid her fingers beneath the bag handles and strode to the door. “Thanks for your time.”
She left, putting the cakes in the back of the car, then moved on to the Jade. Several people sat inside on the built-in seating, and Li Jun stood behind the counter passing over a cardboard box with loads of food inside. He spotted her and paused, his grin for the customer waning, then he painted it back on and gave her a nod.
She entered, the customers seeming to shrink, looking at her cautiously. Li Jun raised the hatch, allowing her to go through. In the office, she waited while he asked Yenay to cover the front, leaving his sons and Nuwa, who must have come to help in Jiang’s place, to cook the food.
He entered and closed the door. “I am so sorry about Zhang Wei’s behaviour.”
Cassie sighed. “Me, too. He shouldn’t have done that.”
“No.”
She cocked her head and stared at him. “Why did you allow him to go to Helen’s?”
“I could not stop him. He was so angry, and I thought it better I go with him rather than let him go by himself. I had to stop him, and I was glad you were there. I think she would be dead if you weren’t.”
“I agree, and thank you for trying. How is everything?”
“He will not give you any trouble now. I explained things, reminded him how they work.” Li Jun smiled, although it was a sad one. “He seems to think now he is not on the estate that the rules do not apply to him, but you told him if he was on your patch it was your business, and I think that jogged his memory.”
“Good. I understand how he must feel, but I don’t believe Helen or Geoff should be punished for something Brett did—something they weren’t even aware he was doing.” And Brett was only following orders. The real man behind the robbery is the one to kill.
“I am of the same mind.”
“How are you bearing up, about Jiang?”
“We have happy faces out there and sad ones at home.”
His forlornness tugged at her heart, so she shut the emotion away. “I’m doing exactly the same but with Dad.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, Mam made a suggestion—maybe it’s time for you to choose someone to sit in here and protect the goods. I can supply the gun. I’d find someone, but I don’t want them asking questions as to why we need them. I’ll give you an extra grand a week to pay whoever you trust—it has to be someone who won’t raise an eyebrow over what’s in the fridge, and also won’t pass that info on.”
“I trust no one but my family; I do not want a stranger here. I have a gun, Lenny gave it to me. I will use it next time if something happens.”
“Fine. Why didn’t you use it before?”
He flushed. “I forgot to take it out of the safe and put in beneath the counter.”
“Oh dear. You won’t be making that mistake again, will you.” Harsh but true. “If you need owt, ask.”
She walked out, lifted the hatch, and once again, the customers eyed her with caution. So they should. She had the ability to end them, and it was in their best interests never to forget that.
Cassie drove home to let Mam know the latest. Doreen had gone home ages ago, and Cassie smiled at what the woman had said on the doorstep.
“This is going to ruin my hair, isn’t it?”
“Probably, Dor, but don’t worry about it. I’ll pay for another blow-dry tomorrow.”
Cassie had no such worries about hers. Blood wouldn’t show up on her red curls.
Chapter Twenty
By ten o’clock, Doreen had sat in the armchair at Karen’s for two hours. They’d agreed their alibi was getting the edition of
