Cold Deal (Kina McKevie Private Detective Book 1) by Lisa Ambrose

Author:Lisa Ambrose [Ambrose, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Rain began to fall. The wipers whipped back and forth. Tyres spun and splashed through rapidly forming puddles.

“What are we doing here?” she said.

We could’ve been in Marseille or Belgrade. Estates like the Hoppings were the same the world over; crumbling, disfigured, a damning mistake. We parked on the outskirts. The blocks were mostly in darkness. The dealers and hookers had retreated off the green into the hallways. A swing twisted in the wind.

“I haven’t been back since the day they arrested me. The feds marched me along that landing up there, handcuffed and covered in blood.” I pointed. “I didn’t scream. I didn’t try to escape. It was finally over.”

“Coming back here is the worse thing you can do.”

Rain hammered the car roof.

“I couldn’t come here by myself,” I said. I gave her a sideways glance. “I needed you with me.”

A watery gloom hung over the towers and the walkways, the underpasses, landings, open squares and sprawling lawns. Memories rushed at me, so fierce I almost lost my breath. But not all of them were painful.

“Remember the summer parties?” I said, quietly. “All night on the rooftop, music and dancing until the feds came. We used to think it was the best place in the world during the summer.”

“Sometimes it was,” said Jade, softly. “Not now.”

“Does your Mum still live here?” I asked.

“No. She died four years ago.”

“I’m sorry. I really liked her.”

Jade gripped the wheel, nodded. “I’m glad I helped you but I had to face this place years ago. Why do you think I became a social worker? I wanted to make a difference to our community. I care about the Hoppings. I know it sounds crazy but this was my home for years. It wasn’t all bad living here.” I kept silent, kept listening. “There are families up there who work desperately hard just to provide the basics. They don’t have holidays or big TVs. They have unreliable zero hour contracts, multiple jobs, low wages. It’s never enough, no matter how hard they try. And then they have to fight the stigma that comes with living here. They’re demonised, relegated to second-class citizens. People watch all that shit on TV about benefit families and they lump everyone in the same boat.” She shook her head. “Not everyone is a hoodie or selling drugs. There are broken and damaged lives up there and innocent children who will experience a miserable Christmas with no presents whilst I’m tucking into a three-bird roast and a bottle of Prosecco.”

“That isn’t your fault.”

“Maybe it’s not all my fault but I played a part in this place becoming a hellhole for ordinary people. You as well.”

The dashboard clock rolled onto 3am. Jade was just getting started.

“It’s tough,” she said, holding back tears. “I try to help people at the bottom, give them hope and answers when often there really isn’t any. I’ve got kids skipping school to sell drugs and strangers raping children whilst the mother sits in the next room, shooting up, willing to sacrifice everything to feed that habit.

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