“You godda be joe-ging,” he managed.
“Oh, you know me, Jason, I don’t joke. Now shut up, this is going to sting.” She sat on him. “If you give me any hassle, I’ll ask Jimmy to use your own gun to shoot you in the knee.”
Jason groaned. He knew her well enough to realise she meant it, he was beaten, found out. She stabbed the needle into his lip and had to push hard to get it through, pausing for him to let out another scream, the cords in his neck sticking out from the force of it. Then she continued—push, pause, scream; push, pause, scream—until eventually she’d sewn his bottom lip together. Tight.
She leant back and admired her skill. “It’ll do.”
Blood poured from the needle holes, and his lip swelled. She took his gun from the holster, got off him, and cut the thread. Sewing kit back in the briefcase, she turned to smile at Jimmy.
“All right?”
He shook his head. “I feel a bit sick to be honest.”
“That’ll pass once you’ve given this prat a few kickings. You might even get to like it. I need him watched for a couple of days, okay?” She checked the gun for bullets. “There’s six rounds, so make sure you save the last one for his head if he gets super lairy.” She handed it to Jimmy. “I’d like to kill him myself but understand if you have to do it. Or Shirl.”
“He could get up and still hurt her.” Jimmy nodded over at Jason.
“Not when I’ve finished with him, he won’t. Give me your car keys so I can move it around the back. I won’t be long, and he isn’t going anywhere for the minute.”
She rushed upstairs to switch off the light in the front bedroom, then went round drawing all the blinds, sticking them to the wall with Velcro. Why had he even opened them? So he could watch for her car coming?
Outside, she shifted Jimmy’s vehicle then went to her boot, removing a tool that was set up ready, plus the bag with the clothes and boots inside. She returned to the squat, dumped the bag in the furnace, then went into the living room and plugged the tool in the wall socket closest to Jason.
Jimmy paled. “Oh my God.”
Cassie smiled at him and whipped around to stare at Jason. “You know I said your lip was going to sting? Well, this is going to be agony. I’m not a liar, unlike you, so you can’t say I wasn’t honest and didn’t warn you.”
She positioned the tool’s end over his shin, and he shouted words that had no meaning and attempted to get away, kicking out.
“Would you prefer this in your head?” she asked.
Jason snorted, teeth clenched, and would have closed his eyes if he could. Damn those missing lids. Cassie positioned the tool again. Pulled the trigger.
An eight-inch nail with a head the size of a penny shot into Jason’s leg, pinning him to the floor. His scream, so loud at first, petered out to silence, his mouth open, his lip on the verge of breaking away from the cotton. Cassie stared at the blood coating his trousers, then glanced at Jimmy.
“See? He’s not going anywhere.” She faced Jason.
He sobbed, wailed, drummed the heel of his other foot against the floor. It seemed he wasn’t going to calm down just yet, so she talked over his noise, wanting him to hear what she had to say before he passed out. She was surprised he hadn’t already.
“You’ll get visits from me every now and then, and in the end, you might actually talk, although I got the gist of what your plans were from Jimmy and Brenda.”
His eyes bugged.
“Aww, did you think she wouldn’t tell me owt? She knows exactly how to behave, and you should have, too. One golden rule, and you didn’t follow it: Always obey a Grafton.”
She grabbed the rag and stuffed it loosely in his mouth. He moved his tongue and spat the cloth out, ever needing some control. Briefcase in one hand, the nail gun in the other, she laughed and walked out, gesturing for Jimmy to go to the front door with her and open it.
“Take your keys from my pocket.” She cocked a hip.
Jimmy took them out, his hand shaking.
“Look, can you really handle this?” She watched for signs of lying.
He blew air out, his cheeks inflating. “I’ll give it a go.”
“It’s a bit of a shithole here, but I’ll get someone to drop a telly and some food round. They won’t ask questions, they’ll just do as I ask. The loo works, you’ve got running water and whatever. There’s a kettle and a few basics in the kitchen—sometimes we have a cuppa in between torturing people.” She smiled. “You didn’t realise how big this was, did you?”
“I’d heard stories but…nowt like this.”
“It’s in my blood, Jimmy, it’s what I do. Now, I’m going home to wash this shit off me.” She indicated the blood. “Gets a bit messy, my job.”
She left him to deal with Jason, posting the envelope with the money in it through the letterbox, then driving to Mam’s. She’d move back into her own flat soon, now Mam seemed to have rekindled her old calling, and there was some restructuring to do, but things would work out for the best. She’d ask Doreen to run The Life along with Sharon.
She turned into the drive, startled. Lou stood at the front door, about to knock. Why was she here at this ungodly hour? Had something happened to Joe? Lou turned and rushed towards her. Cassie stopped and got out, Lou looking sinister in the darkness.
“What’s happened?” Cassie
