Read Online Bucket Nut by Liza Cody - Free Book Online Page B

saw him. Isn’t he gorgeous?’
    And then her face fell. ‘Oh God,’ she said, ‘Calvin. You’ll never guess what I did for him last night.’
    â€˜What?’
    That was when we heard the dogs start up again.
    â€˜What now?’ I said, narked. Talking to Goldie was an education. I didn’t want to go out. But the dogs kept on and on, so I put on my coat and went.
    There was an Astra parked under a street lamp, and when I got closer I saw it was Mr Cheng’s Astra. I shushed the dogs and waited by the wire. A man got out. It wasn’t Mr Cheng. Well, I knew it wouldn’t be because Mr Cheng never went anywhere. It was one of the guys who worked at the Beijing Garden. I couldn’t remember his name.
    â€˜Eva?’ he called.
    â€˜Yeah?’
    â€˜Got to ask you a question.’
    â€˜Yeah?’
    â€˜Come out.’
    â€˜Nah,’ I said. ‘I don’t want to mess around with all the locks again. Come over here.’
    But he wouldn’t. Scared of the dogs, I suppose.
    â€˜Mr Cheng wants to know if you went back to Bermuda Smith’s club last night,’ he called from his side of the street.
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜Someone said they saw you.’
    â€˜So?’ I yelled. I was a bit choked. People at Bermuda Smith’s had been dobbing on me right, left and centre.
    â€˜Were you there?’
    â€˜What if I was?’
    â€˜Mr Cheng says come and see him.’
    â€˜When?’
    â€˜Tomorrow.’
    â€˜Okay.’
    He got into the Astra and drove away. I went back to the Static. I was not pleased.
    â€˜Farkin’ Bermuda Smith,’ I said, shaking the rain off my coat. ‘If I never do him a favour again it’ll be too soon. Last night was nothing but trouble.’
    Goldie looked up. She was sitting on the floor by the fire combing her hair.
    She said, ‘Do you work for him?’
    â€˜Was helping out.’ I told her about how I got involved, and about how Harry Richards used to be a wrestler.
    She looked astounded all over again. ‘I never knew.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜About you working for Mr Smith … about women doing that sort of thing.’
    â€˜If you’re big enough, and strong enough, and ugly enough.’
    â€˜You aren’t ugly,’ she said. ‘You’re just … unusual.’
    â€˜That’s me,’ I said. ‘Unusual.’
    I was so pleased I had to get up and make us both a cup of tea. She sat there combing her hair, looking very thoughtful and I guessed she was thinking about Calvin.
    But she said, ‘That intruder – the one on the motorbike. Do you think he was looking for me?’
    I hadn’t thought of that. I should have, because people thieving for motor parts don’t usually come on bikes. They come with vans. And, I had to admit, I’d never had so many visitors before Goldie came along. And that made me think of the lady copper again.
    So I said, ‘You’d better tell me what you did last night.’
    And she said, ‘Can I trust you?’
    Now you may or may not know it, but this is a very big question. People ask it and answer it without much thought. But they shouldn’t. Also, have you noticed, hardly anyone ever says, ‘No, you can’t trust me.’ But really that’s what just about everyone
should
say.
    So I said, ‘I dunno. Depends on what you want to trust me with.’
    She stared at me.
    I tried to explain. ‘Maybe I could dob on you and get you into bother if I know your secrets. But you could land me in the shit if I don’t. See what I mean?’
    She looked confused.
    I said, ‘It’s a responsibility, knowing other people’s secrets. But, like, what about the polizei coming here? I’m not exactly Snow White myself and I can’t take the heat. You’ve got to make up your own mind.’
    â€˜All right,’ she said. ‘I’ll tell you.’
    I