The Guilty Couple(28)

‘I thought we were being taken back to C&C Cleaning? Isn’t it the end of our shift? We just missed our turning.’

‘For you maybe.’ She laughs softly. ‘I’ve got another one to do.’

‘There?’ I gesture out of the window as we pull up outside The Radcliffe Building and Noreen stands up, clutching a clipboard.

‘Yes,’ Jo says as she gets to her feet.

‘Debbie, Temi, Dawn,’ Noreen reads from her list. ‘Jakub, Corrina, Jo, Nas.’

‘How do I get on the rota to clean it?’

‘I can’t help, sorry.’ Jo shrugs, keen to be on her way. Half the minibus are on their feet now, all making their way to the front. ‘Ask Noreen.’

I take one look at our supervisor, standing beside the driver with her pinched mouth and her cold eyes, and I sink back into my seat. That’s not a conversation either of us want to have right now. My colleagues file out of the bus, one by one, and make their way towards The Radcliffe Building, a navy blue stream snaking towards the revolving glass doors, with Noreen, the rattle at the end.

The driver starts up the engine, the minibus shudders and we pull away. I twist around, my eyes fixed on the fifth floor until the skyscraper disappears from view.





Chapter 20


DANI


It’s Dani’s day off and she’s wasted three hours of it sitting in her car outside Kelly Smith’s flat. On the upside she’s got the money she needs to get Casey into rehab in an envelope tucked under her seat. Dom’s text last night was brief – Borough Market, by Elsey and Bent, 7am tomorrow – and her reply – Ok – was even briefer. She fist-pumped the air after she sent the text. He was going to give her the cash. Why else would he want to meet up?

However, when she turned up at Borough Market Dominic didn’t give her the cash straight away. He wanted photos, he said, and daily updates: where Olivia was and what she was up to. Dani shook her head. There was no way she could agree to that. She wasn’t a bloody private detective. She had a job to do and there were only so many hours of the day. Dominic said he wouldn’t pay for sightings of Liv in the pub or out to dinner. He wanted to know what she was planning, not what she had to drink.

Dani was irritated. What he wanted was a mind-reader, or for her to become Olivia’s best friend. The thought made a muscle in her cheek twitch. There had been a time when she’d considered Liv a friend. She was good company, despite their age difference, and she was one of the few clients she looked forward to seeing because she made the session fun.

But Dani’s not one of Liv’s favourite people anymore and mind-reading isn’t in her job description so she’s going to have to do the next best thing: tap up someone who knows Liv well. Only Kelly Smith is taking her sweet time getting out of bed. There’s a possibility she might not leave the flat at all, but Dani knows her well enough to discount that. From the way Smith fidgeted throughout every interview Dani ever sat in, she’s pretty sure she’ll be up and out of the front door as soon as she’s awake. People like Smithy have to keep moving. She’ll be itching to find her next target or go on a shoplifting spree. Dani’s not the only one who gets her kicks from the thrill of the chase.

Growing bored, she reaches under her seat and pulls out the envelope Dom gave her. She counts out the wrapped piles of notes and indignation catches in her throat. A grand? A solitary grand? She can’t even buy a month in rehab with that. She taps at her phone, sending him a text:

One grand? Are you taking the piss?

A couple of seconds later a reply appears:

I told you. I can’t get hold of that kind of money right now. But if you keep watching her I’ll give you the rest in a week.

Dani grinds her teeth, her thumbs poised to tap out another message. What’s Dom playing at? He genuinely looked like he was shitting it when she showed him the photos of Olivia and Smith in his front garden, and he agreed to pay her to keep an eye on them, so why take the piss and only give her a grand? She doesn’t believe for one second that he can’t find another twenty-nine. Maybe he thinks if he gives her more she’ll take the money and then sit on her arse? Or is it about control? Is he getting a thrill out of making her work for it? She tosses the phone onto the passenger seat. The last time she lost her temper with Dom she stormed off empty-handed. She needs to keep it together. Four more grand and at least Casey will be safe for a month and—

She slips down in her seat, pulling the lip of her baseball cap low over her eyes as a slight figure in an oversized puffer jacket walks out of the door next to the antique shop.

‘Hello, Kelly,’ Dani breathes.

Dani has trailed Kelly Smith all the way from her flat to Elephant and Castle shopping centre and now she’s keeping a close eye on her as she casually drifts in and out of the various shops. Smith’s destination isn’t a huge surprise – where there are crowds and shops, there are rich pickings for a thief. She’ll probably be stealing to order – a packet of razors here, a designer handbag there, booze, clothing, jewellery, even baby formula – anything that can easily be sold on.

As Kelly walks out of Boots, Dani follows her at a distance. She’s not going to approach her in a shop where store detectives are milling around, and she’s going to leave her alone in the open spaces where CCTV is tracking their every move. What she wants is to get Kelly on her own, where they won’t be seen or overheard.