Kiss and Die

Chapter 66

‘Get off!’ Shrimp lost the phone briefly.

‘What is it, Shrimp?’ Ng was eating and talking at the same time. ‘I’m just about to leave for work.’

‘Stay where you are. I need to see you.’

‘What’s wrong and what’s that noise? You have a party going on in the car? Jesus. Who’s that? She’s drunk, whoever she is. You shouldn’t pick up drunk women, believe me, I have done it. It’s a big mistake.’

‘It’s a monkey, it needs drying out, Ng. Can it stay with you for a bit? Just for a few hours till it sobers up. You’ll like it, it’s cute. Please, Ng, it will be like a pet. I promise to get it tomorrow.’

‘Okay. Okay. I don’t know why but yes…bring it round.’

Shrimp pushed the monkey back in the seat. ‘Now behave and don’t be sick.’

Shrimp left the monkey at Ng’s. He would take it to the New Territories and release it in a day or so, when it got over its hangover.

Mia was waiting for Shrimp when he arrived back at Headquarters. ‘You’re undercover from tomorrow. It’s all ready to go. Chief Inspector Sheng wants to see you in his office to go through the brief. Any final business you have, tie it up today. Mann’s not going to be around. He’s spending the day with Victoria Chan. Did you see Mann this morning?’

‘Yes, I saw him.’

‘How did he seem?’

Shrimp hesitated. ‘He seemed okay.’

Mia waited until his eyes had stopped darting around the room and come back to hers.

‘I’ll repeat it for you. How did he seem?’

‘He seemed tired, Boss. He seemed like he’d had enough. He seemed like he didn’t know who he was any more. He seemed so sad.’

‘Okay. I get the picture.’ Mia sat at her desk, and buried her face in her hands for a few seconds before looking up. Shrimp was standing waiting. ‘He’s not the easiest person in the world to give help to but we can do it anyway. He needs us now more than ever even if he doesn’t realize it. We can help him in lots of ways. Take the pressure off him. We catch this killer as fast as we can and that leaves him to sort out the rest of the mess.’

‘Should he be spending time with Victoria Chan, Boss? There’s so much talk around this building. It’s a lot for him to deal with at the moment.’

Mia didn’t answer straight away. She held her head in her hands whilst she thought and then she looked up.

‘Yes, Shrimp. Don’t underestimate him. It’s when his back is against the wall he works the best. I suggest you make this the last day of being seen around the Mansions. Do what you have to today.’

When Shrimp arrived at the Mansions, Nina was waiting for him on the landing. She was in the shadows of the stairwell. She was back in her sari today. She shimmered with sequins around her face.

‘You look very handsome.’ She smiled coyly, her eyes shone in the darkness. She came towards him. They sat together in the usual place on the stairwell, from far above them was the echo of a door, from below, the sound of music. ‘Did you see Mahmud for me? Is he all right?’

‘I won’t lie, Nina. He’s not doing too well. He has a broken arm. He said he can’t write to you, he’s sorry. He will phone when they let him.’

Nina’s eyes fixed in a panic onto Shrimp’s.

‘He is still not telling us what happened. He will be put on trial and convicted if he doesn’t tell us soon. All the evidence points to him. I’m sorry, Nina. I will keep trying to help him but he’s not helping himself.’

Nina bowed her head and started to cry. She buried her face in her hands and turned away from Shrimp so that he wouldn’t see. He couldn’t help reaching out for her. He put his arm around her shoulder and she shifted closer and rested her head on his shoulder. He felt the soft fabric of her sari fold in his hands. He felt the nearness of her body beneath. He kissed her forehead. He hadn’t meant to. He hadn’t even known he was going to do it. He drew back instantly.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.’

‘Don’t be sorry, Shrimp. I have felt it since the first time I saw you. You and I have met before in some other life. We are soul mates. We are meant to be together.’

Shrimp was startled for a moment and then he looked into her eyes, still wet from tears, and saw that she was right. In some wonderful weird way she was right. He kissed her softly on the lips for so long that he lost track of time. By the time he left her he knew he couldn’t live without her.