Downstairs, Ewan was looking fretful, Mulligan furious. As Caelan slid back into the chair beside his, he turned on her.
‘Well that was the longest piss in the history of the world.’ He was jittery, eyes flitting around the room, his knee bouncing again.
She reached for the fresh bottle of beer on the table in front of her. ‘What’s happened?’
‘Stefan Harris is here,’ Ewan told her.
‘He asked where you were,’ Mulligan said. ‘And we didn’t know what to say. Harris doesn’t like not getting an answer.’
‘Poor thing.’ She glanced around. ‘Where is he?’
As she spoke, the crowd around the bar shifted and parted, and she saw Harris. He wore a white T-shirt and jeans and was looking at his drink as though there was something unpleasant floating in it. The same two men were with him, each with a pint in his hand. Harris said something and both started laughing.
‘Fucking sycophants,’ Mulligan said.
Harris spotted them and raised his glass in a mock toast. Mulligan groaned.
‘He’s coming over.’
‘So?’ Caelan sat back.
‘We don’t have his money.’
‘He gave us forty-eight hours, remember?’
Mulligan squirmed. ‘You think he plays fair?’
Caelan sighed. ‘Fine. I’ll talk to him.’
‘Vic—’ Ewan began to say. Caelan smiled at him.
‘It’s fine. What can he do?’
‘Tear you to fucking shreds,’ Mulligan muttered.
Caelan was already on her feet, Harris smirking as she approached.
‘Here she is, the woman who’s going to bring me my fifteen grand. In less than…’ he made a show of checking his watch, ‘one day.’
His companions chortled, and Caelan nodded at them.
‘Evening, all. Not brought your walking punchbag with you tonight, Stefan?’
Instantly his face changed. ‘What?’
Caelan continued as though he hadn’t spoken. ‘Would you like the cash delivered to your home, or somewhere else?’
Harris shifted position, aware that people around them were listening. ‘Wherever you like, sweetheart. As long as I get the money, who cares.’ He leered at her. ‘And dress yourself up a little, yeah? We could go out. I’ll treat you to dinner.’
She smiled. ‘If every other person in the world dies between now and then, and I’ve no other option, maybe.’
Furious, Harris opened his mouth to scream at her, then seemed to reconsider. He forced a smile, though his eyes burned. ‘You’re funny. I’m sure you’ll still be laughing when you can’t pay and my boys here come to take whatever they like as compensation.’
‘You’re terrifying, you know that? Not quite as terrifying as your boys, but scary all the same.’ Caelan made to turn away, but Harris grabbed her arm, as she had intended. Before she could react, she felt him being dragged away from her. Two of the bouncers had him by the arms, holding him still as he struggled. His friends hovered nearby, confusion clear on their faces, unsure whether to wade in and help their boss or to stay out of it and hope for the best. Three more bouncers arrived, faces set. They stopped nearby and waited. Reuben Nash stood watching, arms folded, his face impassive.
‘You’re not welcome here, Stefan,’ he said.
The music was still playing, but everyone in the place had fallen silent, moving closer to see what was happening.
Harris stopped struggling and sneered at Nash. ‘What are you going to do, bar me? That’d be a mistake.’
The bouncers holding him yanked his arms back as he tried to break free, their eyes on Nash, waiting for instructions. Nash chuckled.
‘I think that’s my decision, don’t you?’
‘And mine.’ Nathan Nash had pushed his way through the crowd and strode over to stand beside his brother.
Reuben didn’t look at him. ‘Let me deal with it.’
Harris gave a mocking laugh. ‘You going to let him talk to you like that, Nathan? He treats you like a kid.’
Nathan’s face was red, his shoulders tensing, but he said nothing. There was a crowd around them now, people jostling each other, muttering, a few laughs. Nathan turned to glare over his shoulder but kept his mouth closed, and Harris tried again.
‘He’s taking you for a mug, Nathan. How much does he pay you? Less than he does the barmaid he’s shagging, I bet. Call yourself a partner? You’re a fucking joke.’
Nathan pressed his lips together, and Caelan saw fury in his eyes. Snarling, he threw himself at Harris. A gasp went up from the crowd as his fist connected with the other man’s jaw, the bouncers staggering, only just managing to keep Harris on his feet. The music had stopped now, and the main lights were coming on, while Reuben stood as though frozen.
Nathan went for Harris again, and Reuben came to life, yelling his brother’s name, trying to grab his arm. Shaking him off, Nathan reached inside his jacket. Caelan recognised the glint of a blade before she registered the knife in Nathan’s hand. Instinctively she shouted a warning. The bouncers had allowed Harris to slump to the floor and were moving away as quickly as they could. Caelan didn’t blame them. People were scrambling clear of the scene, the bar staff huddled together in a corner, the DJ making a run for it.
Nathan’s eyes were wild, his teeth bared. He grabbed the front of Harris’s T-shirt, jammed the blade under his chin.
‘You never did know when to keep your mouth shut, did you, Stefan?’ He spoke calmly, as though he and Harris were chatting over a pint. Harris’s eyes were wide, his face glistening under the lights. Caelan saw him swallow, the blade pressing against his Adam’s apple.
‘Let’s calm down, shall we?’ he managed to say. His jaw was swelling, bruising from the punch he’d received already visible.
‘Funny how you can be polite now there’s a knife at your throat.’ Casually Nathan moved the blade, giggling as Harris squirmed. Caelan wondered whether he’d been sampling some of the wares on offer in the club.
‘Come on, I was joking,’ Harris choked out. ‘Your brother’s the one you want to be having words with.’ He lifted his hands as though in surrender. ‘Let me go, mate, and we’ll say no more about it.’
‘You’ve no respect, Harris, not for me, not for my brother. You’d be nothing if we hadn’t helped you out.’
Caelan could see from Harris’s face that he didn’t agree, but he was trying to nod. ‘Like I said, put the knife away. Let’s have a drink.’
‘A drink?’ Nathan shook his head. He removed the knife, let go of Harris’s T-shirt and stepped back, blinking as though he’d just woken up. Harris got to his feet, taking his time, trying hard to look as though nothing had happened.
Reuben turned to his brother. ‘Finished?’
‘Fucking right he has,’ Harris said. He nodded to his men and, shamefaced, they moved towards him. Harris met Reuben’s eyes, hawked, and spat on the floor. ‘Not welcome here? I wouldn’t piss on the place if it was on fire.’
He walked away, his men scurrying after him.
The place was close to empty, just a few people still gawping. Beside Caelan, Mulligan shifted.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ he whispered. ‘The police will be here next.’
Reuben turned away from his brother without a word and marched towards the stairs. Mulligan raised his voice.
‘Might want to make yourself scarce, Nathan,’ he said, cupping a hand around his ear. ‘Reckon I can hear sirens.’
Nathan started. ‘Shit,’ he said. ‘Shit.’ He gazed around as though lost, making no move to leave. Mulligan walked over, gave him a gentle push.
‘Go on, clear off. You’re found with a knife, you’ll be doing time. You’d better hope no one filmed what just happened.’
Nathan’s eyes strayed up to the next floor. ‘But I need to talk to—’
‘You need to leave. Don’t worry about Reuben. I’ll talk to him.’ Still Nathan lingered. ‘I mean it, pal.’ Mulligan jerked his head towards the exit. ‘Get lost. You want to go inside again?’
Nathan shook his head, finally seeming to register what Mulligan was saying. He took off at a run, pushing past the last remaining punters, skittering over the dance floor, disappearing from view. Mulligan turned back to Caelan and Ewan.
‘Daft bastard,’ he said. He yawned, rolled his shoulders. ‘Bedtime, I think.’
‘What about Reuben?’ Caelan said.
Mulligan glanced in the direction of the upstairs office. ‘None of my business. They’re always arguing about something; they’ll sort it between them. Come on, I’m fancying a kebab.’
‘Do you think anyone’s really called the police?’ Ewan asked as they made their way towards the door.
Mulligan sniffed. ‘Not if they know what’s good for them. Or they’ve no idea what sort of place this is. Most people would just forget they were here tonight.’
‘The people you know might,’ said Ewan.
Mulligan pulled a face. ‘That hurts, it really does.’
As they reached the bar, the staff filed out from behind it and stood in a huddle. There were four of them, two male, two female, early twenties at the most. One of the men had cropped hair and a thick beard, the other sported carefully cultivated stubble and glasses with thick lenses. The women had both pulled their hair back into ponytails for work, one dark, one strawberry blonde. They looked uncomfortable.
‘Has Reuben… Is he still here?’ one of the men said. He glanced at his colleagues. ‘It’s just…’
‘We haven’t been paid,’ the woman nearest Caelan told them. ‘It’s not closing time, but everyone’s cleared out, so we don’t know whether to leave or tidy up, or…’ She shrugged. ‘And yeah. We need our money.’
Mulligan nudged her. ‘Don’t expect many tips tonight, princess.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Here’s one for you. Don’t call people that, you patronising prick.’
He laughed, delighted. ‘Aye, fair enough.’
‘So, is he still here?’ the man demanded.
‘Upstairs,’ Caelan told them.
‘You go, Megan,’ the blonde woman said. ‘He likes you.’
Megan screwed up her face. ‘Doesn’t mean I like him.’
‘Still. He’ll listen to you.’
With a glance towards Nash’s office, Megan shook her head. ‘I’m not going up there. He’ll be in a terrible mood.’
‘Doesn’t it bother you?’ Mulligan asked.
She looked down her nose at him. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Working in a place where there’s just been a knife fight?’
‘It was hardly a fight,’ the man with the glasses said. ‘Just Nathan losing it for a second. It happens.’
‘I can think of safer ways to earn minimum wage,’ Mulligan told them.
The four members of staff smirked at each other.
‘Minimum wage. Right,’ the bearded man said.
Mulligan looked at him. ‘You mean Reuben’s a little more generous? Pays you to keep your mouths shut, does he?’
More smirking.
‘No comment,’ said Megan.
Caelan exchanged a glance with Ewan.
‘We’re going home,’ she told Mulligan. ‘Are you staying?’
‘Home? You mean the house you’re staying in, which actually belongs to me?’ Mulligan looked at the bartenders, waiting for a reaction. None came. ‘I might as well. Looks like there’ll be no more action in here tonight.’
Megan stepped forward.
‘Do you know Reuben?’ she asked, her eyes on Caelan.
Caelan remembered what Harris had said about Reuben’s relationship with one of the bar staff. She scanned Megan’s face, but saw no sign of anger or jealousy. ‘I only met him tonight,’ she said. ‘Why?’
‘I saw you talking to him and Nathan when I was collecting glasses. Just thought you might be able to go and have a word if you were mates, see what he wants us to do.’
‘Sorry.’
Ewan nodded towards the stairs. ‘You can ask him yourself.’
There was an immediate rush to be back behind the bar when their boss arrived. The blonde woman opened the glasswasher and began to load it, while the two men collected empties and handed them to her. Megan disappeared through a door at the back of the bar, reappearing with a crate of bottles. She began to restock one of the fridges.
‘Are you scared of him, or trying to impress him?’ Mulligan asked in an undertone. Megan scowled.
‘Fuck off.’
Reuben looked relaxed, Caelan noted. He had removed his tie, untucked his shirt.
‘How’s it going, guys?’ he called as he strolled up to the bar. The bearded man nodded.
‘Yeah, fine.’
Reuben stood with his hands in his trouser pockets, watching them work. ‘Listen, do a basic clear-down and then go home, yeah? I’ll pay you until the end of your shift, but you don’t need to stay.’ He smiled. ‘I think we’ve all had enough tonight.’
‘We were just going ourselves, Reuben.’ Mulligan smoothed his hair. ‘See you around, pal.’
‘Where did Nathan go?’ Nash glanced around. ‘Not after Harris, I hope?’
‘Nah, I told him to make himself scarce,’ Mulligan said. ‘Thought the law might show up.’
Nash scowled. ‘Let them come. We’ve nothing to hide.’
‘Not now the building’s empty, anyway.’ Caelan flashed him a smile, and Nash frowned at her.
‘Like I said, let them come.’ He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stabbed at the screen. Holding it to his ear, he began to pace. ‘Nathan? Call me back when you get this. Immediately, you understand? We need to talk.’ He ended the call. ‘Where the fuck is he?’
He sounded more irritated than concerned. Mulligan checked his watch.
‘He’s been gone ten minutes. Could be a few miles away by now.’
Nash’s face darkened. ‘Why did you tell him to go? He needed to stay and calm down, not run away.’
‘You wanted him to wait around until the police got here? They’d send him down, you know that, with a knife involved.’
‘Police? They wouldn’t bother.’ Nash spoke with confidence, and Caelan wondered why. It wasn’t as though there were no witnesses to what had happened – there had been a couple of hundred people inside the club at least. Surely one of them would talk if questioned? They couldn’t all have been up to something dodgy.
‘No one will have seen anything, and Harris would hate police involvement as much as we would,’ Nash was saying. ‘Nathan knocked him on his arse. He won’t want people to know that.’
‘Loads of people saw Nathan go at him with the knife,’ Caelan said. ‘It only takes one of them to open their mouth.’
‘They won’t.’ Nash’s voice was cold, the threat clear. He meant no one would dare.
‘You don’t think it’ll be all over Facebook and Twitter by now?’
Nash rounded on her. ‘Harris had it coming. It was a fight, nothing that doesn’t happen in most clubs any night of the week. No, Nathan shouldn’t have pulled the knife, but Harris shouldn’t have provoked him. He knows what Nathan’s like.’
‘And what is he like?’ Caelan knew she was on dangerous ground, risking pushing Nash away for good, but she decided the woman she was pretending to be would want to know as much about the Nash brothers as she could if she was going to work with them.
‘As you’ve seen tonight, he’s got a temper. He won’t let anyone disrespect our family and he won’t be pushed around.’ Nash’s smile was cold, and Caelan could feel Mulligan shifting beside her.
‘Except by you?’ she couldn’t help saying. Nash surprised her by laughing.
‘Yeah, except by me. Like I told you upstairs he works for me, whatever he says.’
Mulligan cleared his throat. ‘Vic, if we’re going to find a taxi…’
Nash gave another chuckle. ‘I see you can’t wait to get out of here, Mulligan. What’s wrong, had enough of the coppers lately? I told you, they won’t come here.’
‘Can you blame me?’ Mulligan smiled weakly.
Heading for the door, Nash beckoned to them. ‘Let’s get you off the premises then.’
With a glance at each other, Caelan, Ewan and Mulligan trailed after him. Nash stood in front of the exit.
‘Could I have your phone number, Victoria?’ He glanced at Ewan. ‘Purely for business purposes, of course.’
Caelan gave Ewan a look of her own. He stared at his feet, scowling, not wanting to say no, but obviously not happy either. Caelan pulled out the phone she’d been issued with.
‘Give me yours and I’ll send you a text,’ she told Nash. ‘Then you’ll have mine.’ She didn’t want him to realise she didn’t know the number. He dictated his own and moved away from the door.
‘If you see Nathan out there sulking, send him in, will you?’ he said as he turned away.
‘Arsehole,’ Mulligan muttered as he followed Caelan out, Ewan bringing up the rear again.
As she stepped into the alleyway, Caelan froze. Mulligan crashed into her back, Ewan stumbling into him. Mulligan swore.
‘What the hell are you—’
‘Shut up and stand still,’ Caelan told him. Mulligan peered around her.
‘Oh fuck,’ he said softly.
Nathan Nash was dead.
He lay on his back, his eyes staring up at the sky, but the blood around his head told its own story. Caelan’s stomach back-flipped and she closed her eyes for a second. This was a disaster. Had their presence here triggered it? She didn’t see how, especially after Nathan’s run-in with Harris, but it had to be considered. Was the perpetrator waiting outside? She glanced over her shoulder at Mulligan, trying to calm her thoughts and figure out the best course of action. She needed to keep him safe, but they also needed to remember who they were supposed to be. She couldn’t be seen to be protecting him.
Ewan stared at the body, his face working. ‘We need to call the police.’
‘No, we don’t,’ Mulligan told him. ‘We need to get out of here.’
Ewan grabbed his arms and held him. ‘You’re going nowhere.’
Mulligan squirmed. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve got a knife as well, big man?’
Caelan moved back towards the club. ‘Someone needs to tell Reuben.’ And Penrith, she thought.
‘Shouldn’t we phone the police first?’ Ewan said again.
Caelan lowered her voice. ‘I want to see Reuben’s reaction,’ she whispered.
Ewan’s face was stern. ‘I understand, but—’
‘Okay, you know who to ring. You’ll be kept on the phone otherwise. I’ll go in and tell Reuben. Don’t move, Mulligan,’ she told him.
‘Couldn’t if I wanted to.’ He tried to wrench away, but Ewan held firm.
‘Give me three minutes, then come inside,’ Caelan told Ewan. He nodded.
She took a breath and pushed back through the door. Inside, the bar staff were still busy. Reuben was sitting on a stool with a bottle of beer in his hand, scrolling on his phone. He turned as she walked towards him and smiled at her.
‘Couldn’t stay away?’ Then, seeing her expression, he said, ‘What?’
He was already on his feet when she reached him. The bar staff were watching while pretending to still be working. Reuben rounded on them. ‘Get out, now, all of you. Go home. Finish this tomorrow.’
‘They need to stay here for the time being,’ Caelan said quickly. ‘I need to speak to you privately.’
He tipped his head to the side, watching her. ‘They need to stay? Why? What’s going on?’
‘Just… You need to know something.’
Nash shrugged. ‘All right.’ He looked at his staff. ‘You lot, wait in the cellar for now.’
He watched them raise their eyebrows at each other, grab jackets and bags. ‘Now!’ he bellowed. They fled through the door at the back of the bar. Nash stepped closer to Caelan. ‘Tell me.’
She met his eyes. ‘It’s your brother.’
He grabbed her wrist. ‘Nathan? Where is he? Is he hurt?’
Caelan shook him off. ‘I’m so sorry, Reuben. We’ve just found his body. He’s dead.’
He stared at her, his eyes wild. ‘Dead? What are you talking about? He can’t be. You’re wrong, you must be.’
Ewan and Mulligan appeared, and Caelan shot Ewan a glance, hoping he would understand. He nodded, remained by the door, grabbed Mulligan’s shoulder to prevent him moving. Mulligan looked at Nash and didn’t protest.
‘I’m sorry,’ Caelan repeated. ‘Your brother’s dead, Reuben.’
‘But…’ Nash gave his head a violent shake. ‘I don’t believe you.’ He turned towards the door. ‘I want to see him.’ Caelan tried to grab him, but he broke away from her, charging towards the door. Ewan intercepted him, held him tight, Mulligan seizing his other side as Nash fought and kicked.
‘Let me go, you bastards,’ he screamed.
Caelan raised her voice. ‘We need to call the police, Reuben.’
He stopped struggling, raised his head, his eyes burning, his cheeks white. ‘No. No police.’
‘We’ve no choice. This isn’t something you can deal with yourself.’
The look he gave her was a mixture of fury and resolve. ‘Watch me,’ he said. ‘I know where Stefan Harris lives. I can finish this tonight.’ He made another attempt to wrench himself free, screaming threats and abuse when Ewan and Mulligan held on.
Caelan took out her phone. ‘I understand why you don’t want them here, poking around your business, but we have to call them. Nathan’s dead, and you need them to find the person who killed him.’
‘I know who fucking killed him,’ Nash spat. ‘Let me go and I’ll show you.’
‘You don’t know Harris was involved,’ Caelan told him.
‘Are you kidding me?’ He gave a high-pitched laugh. ‘Of course Harris did it. He hates us, even more so after Nathan kicked his arse tonight.’ He made another attempt to tear himself free. ‘Let me fucking go!’
‘Have you anything on the premises you wouldn’t want the police to find?’ Caelan said. He didn’t reply, and she raised her voice. ‘Reuben. Listen to me. Is this place clean?’
‘Clean as a fucking whistle,’ he snarled. ‘You think I’m stupid?’
‘Then I’m making the call. The longer we leave it, the worse it’s going to look. You’ll be the first person they suspect anyway.’
Nash laughed again. ‘Me? He was my brother. Why would I—’ His voice broke. ‘Let me see him.’
‘You need to let the police deal with it,’ Caelan said. ‘You’ve no choice, Reuben.’
‘Why are you so keen to call those bastards in?’ he demanded. ‘I thought you were a businesswoman. Why would you want them sniffing around?’
She sighed, making sure he heard her. ‘I don’t. None of us do, but we’re talking about murder here, Reuben. This isn’t petty theft or someone dealing on your patch. Your brother’s dead.’
‘So you say. How do I know you’re not lying?’
Caelan didn’t bother to answer him, and Nash let out a sound of frustration.
‘Why won’t you let me go out there? I need to see him for myself.’
‘You can’t go out there, Reuben. The police will need—’
‘Fuck what the police need,’ Nash screamed. He raised his foot, stamped on Mulligan’s toes, then flung out a fist, catching Ewan between the legs. Both men crumpled, and Nash broke free, sprinting for the door again. Furious, Caelan ran after him, but he was already outside when she reached him, cradling his brother’s body in his arms.
The door opened without warning. Instantly Lucy was awake, scrambling away until her back hit the wall. A man stood there, filling the doorway. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around her body, making herself as small as possible as he stepped into the room and closed the door. Her heart hammered, her breathing fast and uncontrolled. Who the hell was he? Why was he here in the middle of the night? She could think of only one reason, and realised that lying down made her more vulnerable. As he turned to lock the door, moving quickly, she pushed herself to her feet.
‘Who are you?’ She heard hysteria in her voice and ran a hand across her mouth. ‘Leave me alone.’
He didn’t reply as he turned on the light. Lucy’s hands covered her eyes, temporarily blinded after the hours she’d spent in darkness. She forced them down, blinking, ready to fight, but he hadn’t moved. He was watching her, looking amused.
‘Why are you here? What do you want?’ Wildly she looked around for a weapon.
He smiled as he moved towards her.