Kiss and Die

Chapter 55

‘Yes sir, I do understand but I am following up on the arrest of your son.’ Shrimp was standing his ground with PJ. He’d left Rizal to it and come in search of Nina. ‘I need to speak to the other members of your family.’

From the corner of his eye Shrimp saw Nina pass them on the way into the kitchen, head down. She had her sari pulled up over her head and had wrapped the fabric around to cover her face.

‘She knows nothing. She is busy. Let her go. Please, I assure you, Nina is a good girl. She works very hard. She doesn’t have time to talk…’ PJ looked ready to burst into tears as he wrung his hands and shook his head.

‘I just need a few words. I won’t keep her long. I am only trying to help Mahmud.’

Nina had just returned from her encounter with Rizal. She was upset. She hadn’t seen Shrimp. She was hurrying through the restaurant laden with groceries.

‘Excuse me, miss?’ Shrimp said. Nina hesitated but did not turn to look at him. ‘Can I have a word?’ Shrimp stepped around PJ.

PJ flushed with panic and exasperation. ‘Okay, okay. Nina, come!’

Nina walked over and, recognizing him, smiled at Shrimp. PJ signalled to Hafiz to fetch Ali. ‘Sit at the table over there. We will get busy soon but it will be all right for a few moments.’ The place had just a few stragglers in.

‘Sorry miss, I just need a quick word.’ Shrimp wished he didn’t feel so nervous.

‘You don’t have to answer anything,’ PJ snapped at his daughter but he smiled at Shrimp, obviously flustered but still remembering to be polite.

Nina’s eyes flicked back and forth across Shrimp’s face. ‘The detective won’t keep me long. I am happy to speak.’ She set down her packs of shopping and gestured to Shrimp to follow her as they went to sit where PJ had said.

Shrimp could see the sorrow in her pretty face. Her eyes searched his, she looked away, shy. Shrimp’s heart was beating fast. He knew he was blushing. He had an overwhelming desire to kiss her. He shook it off and his voice came out a little cracked. ‘Thank you,’ he coughed to clear it. ‘Thank you for talking to me. I just wanted to ask some general questions about the circumstances leading up to the stabbing of the officer in Mong Kok. Did you know your brother was involved with the Outcasts?’

Nina shook her head. ‘There is no way Mahmud is guilty of hurting the police officer. Mahmud wouldn’t hurt another human being. He is the most gentle of boys. He hated the gangs. He did not belong to the Outcasts or any of them. He didn’t need to – he was set to become someone all on his own.’

‘What do you think he was doing there?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe he was tricked. Maybe he was lured there. Maybe he thought he was going to do some good. I just don’t know. But you can’t keep him in prison if he didn’t do it, can you?’

‘I caught him with the knife in his hand, Nina. I made the arrest myself. What can I say to you? He is denying it but won’t tell us who did it. His silence will be seen as guilt. I can see him going to prison for it if he doesn’t tell us who was responsible.’

Nina turned away from Shrimp and her eyes filled with tears.

‘I’m truly sorry.’ Shrimp wanted so much to reach over and touch her hands. They were rough from work but they were still beautiful hands. ‘If Mahmud didn’t do it then we have to find out who did and why he is shielding them. Are you a friend of Lilly’s?’

She looked back at him, her eyes panicking. They flicked up as her father passed. She willed Shrimp to wait before he spoke more. PJ had passed when she nodded.

‘I wondered why you were in the flat just now. It looked like there was a problem with Rizal. Is everything okay?’

‘Oh, thank you. Yes. I was cooking the curry for Michelle for her stall. She will lose business otherwise. The Filipinos in the Mansions rely on her to feed them. We don’t eat pork you see but she cooks it for them. But Rizal isn’t nice. I won’t go in there again unless Michelle is there. He isn’t a good man.’ She looked away, embarrassed.

‘And Lilly? She’s a friend?’

‘She’s younger than me. We don’t have so much to talk about. She is more a friend to Mahmud and Hafiz. She’s their age.’

‘Do you think she is the cause of a lot of trouble here at the Mansions?’ Shrimp asked.

Nina shook her head. ‘I think she has been led astray by the older ones. The Outcasts have taken a hold here. Nothing is the same as it was.’

‘A young girl was murdered. She was from here. She was an Indian girl.’

Nina nodded, she looked to see if her father was listening. He was pretending to be busy as he marched past them carrying things that didn’t need to be carried, wiping down already clean surfaces. Nina waited until he had passed. She whispered, ‘We all know about the troubles. We see it every day here. My father hardly leaves this restaurant so he doesn’t see it but we do. I knew Rajini. I liked her. She was quiet. She just wanted to go to school. She wanted to succeed.’ Nina shook her head sadly. ‘Maybe she wanted too much. I feel very sad. I hear she had a horrible death.’

‘They cut off her hands.’

‘So I heard. They brag about it – their new weapon, they call it, but it’s not new it’s very old.’

Shrimp looked at her. She realized he didn’t know. She stood and reached one of the Indian artefacts down from the wall. She handed him a coiled whip. ‘Be very careful. It is very sharp. It is called a urumi. It’s an ancient Indian martial arts weapon. This is the weapon talked about by the Outcasts. I see them practising on the roof here.’

Shrimp took it from her and allowed it to unravel towards the floor: three razor-sharp strips of metal, a flexible whip.