Afterward, I dressed quickly. Quinn watched me, smoking a joint.
“You look good, Cass. I kinda miss the blonde, though.”
“Well, now you get two for the price of one.”
“Yeah, and I’m the only guy on the planet who could handle that.”
He held the joint out to me. I shook my head. “I need fast drugs. You got a line on something?”
“I gotta do my best to stay clean. I thought you had some crank?”
“I used it up in Iceland.” I pulled on my boots. “Come on, you have to know someone.”
Quinn scowled. “You’re out of your fucking mind. Want me back in prison? Plus I keep telling you, that shit’ll give you a heart attack. You’re too old for this, Cassie.”
I turned and grabbed his leather jacket, dug into the pockets until my fingers closed around a pill bottle. Quinn wrenched it from me, but not before I saw the label.
“Cialis?” I said. “Seriously?”
“Man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Here.” He reached into the sleeping bag for a small object and tossed it to me. Another mobile.
I tossed it back. “How many of these do I need?”
He put the mobile in my hand, folded my fingers over it. “This is a TracFone, a burner. Use it to call me and anyone else you need to talk to. Do not use your little friend’s mobile to make any calls. Once he goes to the cops, you’ll be traced and it’ll be game over.”
“Can I go online with it?”
“Bad idea. Which guarantees you’ll do it.” He sighed. “Look, if anything happens, ditch the phones in the river.”
“Will I see you later?”
“Yeah, but not here. I don’t want Wink dragged into this.”
“Then where?”
He thought for a moment. “If you don’t hear from me, meet me at Victoria Embankment Park. Get off at Embankment or Waterloo or Charing Cross Underground. There’s a big statue of some guy in the park, I’ll meet you there around three.”
“What if something bad happens?”
“Like you said, something bad already did happen. Nothing we can do if it happens again.” He pulled up his shirt to display the brand of the Gripping Beast. “Hver er sinnar gæfu smiður.”
“Meaning?”
“‘We forge our own fate.’”
He pulled out his mobile and turned away. “Do what you can, baby. I gotta get to work.”
I picked up my bag and split. Not until I reached the Overground station did I realize I hadn’t mentioned the loose page I’d taken from Harold’s library.