The Widow Ginger by Pip Granger

Author:Pip Granger [Granger, Pip]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Corgi

20

It was my first trip downstairs in what felt like months, but was not much more than a week. I was sitting at the corner table with Madame Zelda and Luigi and munching my breakfast, when one of Luigi’s brothers-in-law walked in.

He saw Luigi immediately and hurried over to our table. ‘Luigi, we’ve clocked him. Last night, coming out of Ruby’s place.’ The urgency in his voice made everyone pay attention, even though only Luigi seemed to know what he was talking about.

Madame Zelda soon put that right. ‘You two may know who you’re muttering about, but the rest of us are looking for enlightenment, so cough it up, Luigi.’

Before opening his mouth, Luigi took a careful look around the cafe, to see who was earwigging, then he leaned forward and hissed just two words: ‘The Widow.’ Immediately, an army of penguins with frozen feet seemed to be marching down my back. I shivered and I swear my teeth began to rattle.

‘Did you follow him? Did you find his gaff?’ Now Luigi’s voice was sharp.

‘Yes, we followed him, but no, we didn’t find his place. He lost us when he grabbed the only cab in bleeding Streatham. We didn’t even hear where he told it to go. Sod gave us a little wave as he drove past. We did find out one thing, though. We went back to Ruby’s and one of the lads there said he was a regular. In at least once a week. A fiver bought us the whole story. They’re scared shitless of him but he pays well for what they call “special services”, which seem to be more than a little light bum-slapping. I’ll leave it for you to work out. Makes me feel uncle just thinking about all that sort of stuff. I mean, I don’t mind giving a geezer a bit of a slap if he’s earned it, like, but to do it for the jollies, well, as I said, makes me wanna heave. If you ask me, there’s not much wrong with your old woman, your basic missionary and a nice Woodbine after. Still, it does mean that he’ll have to go back there or somewhere similar, and, let’s face it, there ain’t too many houses that cater for the pervs. And being foreign, he most likely doesn’t know about the others, so Ruby’s it’ll be, I reckon.’

I could not for the life of me work out what they were talking about, except that the Widow had been spotted. Neither Madame Zelda nor Luigi would explain, either, and then Auntie Maggie came over to the table and decided I was getting over-excited, and maybe a little lie down was in order. In desperation I asked her what ‘special services’ meant, but when she heard why I wanted to know she went all vague on me.

‘It could mean anything, lovey. They say special services in church for people who are very poorly or something. In a caff, special services would mean something like

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