LG05 - Booked for Murder by Val McDermid

Author:Val McDermid [McDermid, Val]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-04-13T04:58:23+00:00

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Thirteen

The memory banks of career waiters never ceased to amaze Lindsay. It must have been at least seven years since she’d eaten in the little family trattoria in Camden, but the waiter who had always flirted with her and Cordelia greeted her as if it had been only seven days. “Bella signorina, come sta?” he’d asked automatically, sweeping a deep bow in front of her that revealed his hair was starting to thin round the crown.

The exchange continued as it always had. She was fine, how was he? He was so-so, but what was the point of complaining, the government always got in. He ushered her to a familiar table at the back in a corner. The same bad paintings of Sorrento still hung in their identical positions. The walls had acquired some Italia ’90 memorabilia, but apart from that everything was the same. Without being asked, the waiter brought Lindsay a Peroni while she studied the menu. It was as if the door to the restaurant was a time slip. When the door opened next, Lindsay half expected to see Cordelia glide in. It was both a relief and a disappointment when Helen swept in instead.

She plonked herself down and mouthed, “Gin and tonic,” at the waiter. “God, what a day,” she sighed.

“It’s not going to get any better, trust me on that,” Lindsay said. The waiter placed a sweating glass in front of Helen. “I couldn’t believe it when you suggested meeting here. I’d no idea it was still going. I imagined it would have turned into some terrible pizza parlour. I felt really dislocated when you said the name—this was one of the places I always came with Cordelia. It was our private secret. Like we thought we were the only people who knew about it. We never had dinner with anybody else here. So I didn’t expect you to know about it. Illogical, I know, but…”

Helen snorted. “You think I could work five minutes’ walk away and not know about the best Italian restaurant in north London? Do me a favour! You ready to order? I need the prospect of something solid in me before I can bear to hear any more bad news.”

While they waited for their meal, Lindsay outlined her afternoon discoveries to Helen, who looked more and more glum with every passing sentence. Even the arrival of a lasagne that looked rich enough to have its own Swiss bank account couldn’t relieve her gloom. As Lindsay virtuously wolfed her tuna and bean salad, Helen said disconsolately, “It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, isn’t it? We’ve found the skeleton in Stella’s cupboard, but if I expose her I’m bound to bring Watergaw’s reputation down with her.” She banged the end of her fork angrily on the table, attracting glances from the handful of other diners. “I can’t bear it,” she raged. “We built this company up from nothing, we’ve started to get a really good name in the business for delivering what we promise, and now this bitch is using us to make scummy little porno films.

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