Chapters (67)
- Cover
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
‘Do you want to know? You sure about that? It won’t be nice easy jobs like carrying an envelope and dropping it in a letter box, you’ll be through with all that. You’ll be entertaining some of my mates, keeping them sweet, know what I mean? Two, three, maybe more of them. That’s what you’ll do.’
Bile rose into her mouth, bile and fear.
‘Know what I mean, darling?’
She stared down, forcing the tears and the bile not to come.
‘Yes? No?’
Eventually, she nodded.
‘Right.’ He stood up, nearly shoving the chair over. ‘Stop here as usual, five minutes on the clock.’
The door opened and closed. Three other men were in the cafe, and sat together. Olivia glanced over. They weren’t taking any notice of her but she picked up her jacket and bag, and though it had been barely a minute since he’d left, she risked it, and went, took the quick way back into town, to the bus stop, to people, shops, safety.
The envelope was in her inside pocket. She didn’t touch it.
She was still carrying it when she rounded the corner beside the jeweller’s and crashed straight into Amelie.
‘Hey, thought you were meeting your dad.’
Olivia took a step back.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Livi. What’s happened?’
‘I ought to get back, Am, I’ve got stuff I have to do.’
‘Do it later. Come on. Listen, I’ve got this big problem, Liv, it’s really bugging me, I need to talk to someone about it.’
‘Oh. OK then, you should have said. Let’s head to the park – I hate the town when it gets like this.’
It was busy in the park but they found a corner out of the way, sheltered from the wind by laurel bushes, and huddled into their coats. They had got hot chocolates at the stall and sat warming their hands on the paper beakers, Liv feeling better after the time in the cafe with Fats, simply because her friend needing her took her mind away from her own problem.
‘You know I’ll always help you if I can, Am, so what’s wrong?’
‘That’s what I’m asking you.’
‘I don’t get it.’
‘I’m fine, Livi, only you’re not – obviously you’re not, and you haven’t been for ages. I worry when you look like this.’
‘Like what? I look perfectly normal.’ Olivia stood up. ‘I thought this was you wanting me to help with something.’