Two Faced by A. R. Ashworth

Author:A. R. Ashworth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: 2018-07-10T07:00:00+00:00

Saturday afternoon, Camberwell

“I serve food part-time at the taverna, and my shift starts at four, so I need to get back, or Cristo will ask where I’ve been.” Joanna glanced nervously through the window at the street. “I don’t want to have to lie to him.”

Elaine didn’t grow up in a rigid extended family. “It’s hard for me to fathom personally. The way I see it, you’re an adult, you support yourself. You deserve more respect.”

Joanna scoffed. “People give respect in different ways, don’t they? I’m a widow, so he thinks I’m weak. Like it’s my fault. But it’s not just me: it’s all us women who work outside the family businesses—the taverna and the construction company. I deal with it.” She looked at the clock over the bar. “Anyway, meeting you the other day was a wake-up call. I told Cristo it was you who upset me so much, but it’s not that. Things at work have changed. Strange people have been showing up. Hard, crass men from America and Europe. Holding meetings. Talking in whispers. I’m … uncomfortable.”

Elaine took a sip of her cider. Let her come to you, Lainie. “I can imagine. How do I fit in?”

“What you said, about the police coming to me for evidence. Then at the taverna you mentioned the murder you’re looking into. If there’s something illegal going on, if it’s tied to that murder, I don’t want to be suspected.”

“Have you talked to anyone else about this? Cristo?”

Joanna took a deep breath and shook her head. “Never him. He’d just use it to make me feel small, like I couldn’t cope. I talked to the priest, though. He said I should talk to you.” She looked up at Elaine. “You said you wanted me to look at something. A list.”

Elaine took a sheet of paper and a biro from her bag and placed them in front of Joanna. She didn’t want to scare Joanna off by asking for too much too soon. “I know you’re short on time,” she said. “For now, could you look at this list of companies and people’s names, and just put a tick by those ones IRG does business with, maybe two ticks by the ones who you suspect are shady? Or who meet most often with Anton? It would help get me started.”

Joanna pulled the paper closer and pursed her lips. “This is quite a few names.” Her hand moved down the page, occasionally flicking the biro. When she reached the bottom of the second column, she slid the paper back to Elaine. “There. I suppose you’ll have questions.”

Elaine glanced at the page, which contained numerous tick marks, then at the time display on her mobile. “Thank you. I don’t want to make you late. But yes, I’m sure I’ll have some questions.” She smiled at Joanna. “Perhaps we shouldn’t leave together, just in case someone you know is passing by. Why don’t you go first?”

After Joanna had gone, Elaine examined the list. Only about half of the sixty-plus entries were actual names from her research—she’d invented the rest.

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