‘How can you live in this place?’ Lenny said, staring out the window of Ruby’s flat. It offered a view of a high-rise building, and a graffiti-stained playground that parents were too scared to allow their children to visit. Her tower block had seen its fair share of police raids, drug busts and gangs but none were as dangerous as the man taking in the view.
She had not expected a response to her text so soon, much less one asking to meet at her flat.
‘Isn’t it about time you sorted yourself out, got yourself a decent gaff?’
Ruby cocked her head to one side, gazing at him with a level of mistrust. Something had changed. Lenny was talking to her like he did in the old days, back when they were teenagers. Growing up next door to each other, he was always bossing her around. Something had shifted when he got out of prison, but now Ruby felt movement again. Was this his way of making an effort? Was he so scared of losing Nathan that he’d decided to work with her rather than against her? Whatever the reason, she did not trust him one iota.
‘Why did you ask to come here?’ Ruby said, ignoring his question as she tried to pre-empt his next move. ‘It doesn’t look good for you to be seen at my address. Not when Nathan’s mixed up in this investigation.’
Lenny offered a thin-lipped smile. ‘Don’t worry yourself, love. I’ve been avoiding the filth half my life. You think I can’t get into this shitty flat without being seen?’
‘Yeah, well we don’t all live in the lap of luxury.’ Ruby tightened her jacket around her. Heating was an extravagance, and she only had it on for a couple of hours at night. ‘We’re coming very close to nicking a suspect for the murders. That should take Nathan out of the frame. But I need a clear connection between the girls. I’ve been told Ellie and April were fired from your escort agency in the last year. Can you give me a list of your girls and their clients? In particular, any who knew Doctor Tanner.’
‘They were all under his care,’ Lenny said. ‘In more ways than one from what I’ve heard.’
‘This is crucial evidence,’ Ruby said, trying to keep the topic away from sex. ‘Tanner’s our prime suspect. I’ll see to it that you won’t be implicated in any wrongdoing.’
Lenny raised his eyebrows. ‘Too right you will. You’ll get what you need. One of my staff will come to the nick, he’ll give you what’s relevant. Will that do you?’
‘Yes, it will.’ She wanted to question him about the acid attack, but her desire for him to leave was stronger. Had Nathan carried it out himself or arranged for someone else to do it? It shouldn’t have made any difference, but the question kept her awake at night just the same.
He closed her flimsy curtains, an act of intimidation that Ruby instantly recognised. ‘So tell me, how far along are you in this investigation of yours? You’re taking your time, ain’t you?’
‘And you’re my boss now, are you?’ Ruby said in a droll voice. Lenny spoke to everyone as if he owned them, and she resented him viewing her as another part of his property.
‘I don’t care for your tone.’
Ruby sighed. All they did was bicker, and it was getting her nowhere. She glanced at her watch. Turning her police radio anticlockwise, she unclipped it from her shoulder harness. After their last meeting, she had not come unarmed. Her cuffs and gas nestled against her ribcage under her jacket. It was a message to Lenny that he would not lay hands on her again. She pressed her finger on the power button, tapping in her collar number until it came to life. She checked her channel and turned it down until it emanated a low buzzing noise: she was back on the radar, which meant control could track her location by GPS.
‘Thanks for helping out but I’ve got to get back to work now, see how the investigation’s progressing.’
Lenny, who had been scrutinising her every movement, folded his arms. ‘You’d better progress it, because if my brother ends up behind bars. . .’
Ruby fished the car keys from her pocket, trying to remind herself that, despite his hard man act, Lenny was as worried about Nathan as she was. She thought of ten-year-old Lenny, and how he had absorbed his father’s blows to protect Nathan from his wrath. Lenny, who had broken a broom over his father’s back as he throttled his mother on the floor of their kitchen. The consequence of that act was a broken nose that would alter his features for ever.
But a lifetime of being shielded by his brother had left Nathan with an obligation he could never satisfy. She turned to face Lenny as she waited by the door for him to leave. ‘I know you’re worried, but I’m working as hard as I can. There’s also a matter of these young girls getting slaughtered on my patch. Lisa, Ellie, April. . . Something tells me he won’t stop there.’
‘Those slags are of no interest to me,’ Lenny said, straightening his tie as he walked towards the door. ‘Just remember, time is ticking. I expect results soon.’
‘Yeah, you and my DCI,’ Ruby said, her final parting shot as he let himself out.
Taking a deep breath, she chastised herself for answering back but it was too hard to stop the spark of defiance slipping out as she spoke. Besides, if she didn’t stand up to Lenny she would be for ever under his thumb. Why had he met her here at her flat? Was it to check up on her or was he just worried about Nathan? She gave up trying to second-guess the man she had grown up with, with his fractured background and unstable mental ability. She could torture herself for hours trying to understand his motives.
She crept around the flat as she freshened up to return to work. The ghost of his presence still lingered, making her uneasy. She would forgo the sandwich she was going to make, and eat on the hoof. She needed to get into the sanctuary of her office. At least there would be no unexpected surprises there. Pulling back her curtains, she threw one last glance onto the streets below. In another couple of hours twilight would be closing in; the twinkling lights filling the skyline and drawing in the predators that prowled the streets. She frowned, her fingers resting on the cracked windowpane. The killer was out there right now, his breath heavy as he planned his next move – but where? There were over eight and a half million people living in London, and over two hundred thousand of them in Hackney alone. But she wouldn’t let the figures put her off. He was walking her pavements, and she would not rest until he was behind bars.