‘Safe with him?’ Kamran frowned. ‘Why wouldn’t she be?’
* * *
Once the others had all left, I sat down at the kitchen table, George opposite me. I felt utterly drained.
‘Right,’ George said, handing me the coffee he’d made for us both. ‘You first.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, you’ve clearly got it in for me for some reason.’
‘George, I saw your car down at Queen’s Gardens. And how do you know Joel? What were you doing with him?’
George sighed. ‘I was on the way out to your place. I wanted to see you.’
‘You wanted to see me?’
‘Kamran rang me – told me what had happened last night.’
‘Right.’ I felt a flicker of disappointment George hadn’t wanted to see me because he, you know,wanted to see me.
‘On the way here, I saw Joel. Not sure where he was heading, but he said he just had to get out for a while. You thought he was still dealing; he was pretty upset. He’d tried to cross a field and ended up in the barbed wire. I was helping him into the car when you arrived, all guns blazing.’ George pulled up his sleeve, rubbing at his arm.
‘George, your car was down at Queen’s Gardens last night.’
‘Doesn’t surprise me.’
‘Oh?’
‘I wasn’t driving it.’
‘Who was then?’
‘Mina.’
‘Mina?’
George nodded. ‘When the car came back from the body shop – you know, after Blane’s accident – Mina took the keys. She appears to have laid claim to it now.’
‘So, whose car is that you’re driving?’
‘A company car,’ George said, slightly impatiently.
‘OK, so why on earth was your girlfriend down there?’
‘She’s not my girlfriend. Any more.’
‘I’m sorry.’
George actually laughed at that. ‘Don’t be. I’m not.’
‘But why was she there?’
‘Long story. Long, long story and one I’ve only just been told.’
‘Oh, hang on, Mina is Singleton’s new girlfriend? Lola seemed to think he’d got a new one.’
‘Bit more than that.’
