Black Daffodil by Katherine John

Author:Katherine John
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 2011-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

The casino was busier than it had been the night before. Peter made a beeline for the same blackjack table he had patronised the previous evening. Trevor went to the roulette table and watched the state of play. He ordered a double vodka on the rocks from one of the waitresses and shook off the hostesses who tried to pick him up.

Alfred was standing opposite him on the other side of the table. He was with half a dozen of his ‘new friends’ all tall, black and handsome in well-cut suits and silk shirts. Trevor found it strange that dedicated teachers, nurses, and other essential workers could never aspire to dress or live as well as criminals who flouted the law.

Trevor watched Alfred place ten one-hundred-pound chips on red. He lost, shrugged in keeping with his undercover character and took another thousand pounds from the stack in front of him.

A group of expressionless Chinese entered the casino and walked to the back of the room just as they had done the night before, Lee among them. They disappeared through the same door. Trevor looked for but saw no sign of Maria Sanchez or Michael Sullivan, then recalled Dan telling him that they were having dinner with the Columbians.

He watched the roulette wheel for twenty minutes before using his American Express card to buy a thousand pounds worth of chips. He returned to the table and placed fifty pounds on red. It wasn’t a bet that required much attention.

One of Alfred’s companions whispered in Alfred’s ear. A few minutes later they left the table and walked through the door that led to the private rooms and toilets. Peter was sitting at the blackjack table apparently engrossed in his game but Trevor noticed he had also clocked Alfred’s disappearance. Unlike the previous evening, the Russian, Alexander Markov and the Albanian, Justin Lebov, were with different groups, both were playing dice. He checked his watch. Eleven forty-five. An hour and a quarter to go before the 1 a.m. deadline for the Yardies to make their offer on Black Daffodil. The ball landed on red. He scooped up his winning chips. Time to make another bet.

Lee picked up the cards he had been dealt and fanned out his hand cautiously so no one could see what he was holding. He played with the chips on the piles in front of him. He took six and pushed them forward.

A cord lassoed around his neck.

He choked when it tightened. His head jerked and slammed into the high back of the chair behind him.

‘Mr Policeman?’ Hostile eyes glared upside down into his. ‘Your body has Chinese blood. But your loyalties are not with your race.’

Lee would have protested if he’d been able to make a sound.

‘Perhaps you had a forefather whose soul wasn’t tainted. They would have told you about the old country. The old ways. What warriors do to traitors? Which part of your body can you do without, traitor policeman?’

Lee’s eyes widened in panic. He could barely breathe.

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