Page 48 of Maybe Tomorrow

‘You know full well I bloody haven’t.’

‘You must miss him.’

‘He’s better off where he is. What kind of a life can I give him, here? I can barely look after myself.’

‘How’s business?’ he asked, putting the photo down and continuing his journey around the room.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ She blew out a mouthful of smoke.

Bishop looked down into a bin and rolled his eyes at the used condoms. ‘Is this just today? You must be making money hand over fist.’

‘Look, what do you want, Bishop? I’ve got someone coming round in a minute. The last thing I need is a bloody copper answering the door.’

‘Not good for business, I’m guessing.’

‘Might be a tad embarrassing, if it’s one of your lot that’s coming round,’ she said, giving him a playful smile.

‘I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.’

‘I can say it louder if you like.’

Bishop sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Fancy earning yourself fifty quid?’

‘It wasn’t that long ago, detective, that you told me you wouldn’t be seen dead lying next to a filthy whore like me. What’s changed your mind?’ She purposely blew smoke in his face, and he didn’t even flinch.

‘No offence, Tania, but the day I have to start paying for it is the day I put a gun in my mouth and pull the trigger.’

‘Finally found yourself a good woman, have you?’

‘That’s none of your business, Tania. Now, do you want fifty quid or not?’

‘What do I have to do for it?’

From his inside pocket he took out her statement, opened it, and placed it on the bed for her to see. ‘You gave one of my DCs a helpful statement the other day.’

‘Always happy to help the local constabulary in any way I can,’ she said playfully, drawing on her cigarette.

‘It’s good to hear we have the public on our side. However, I was wondering if you could give us a bit more detail about this bloke who likes to watch you have sex.’

‘What do you want to know?’

‘Remember the night of the big storm? October the tenth. It was a Monday. Were you out that night?’

‘You serious? It doesn’t take much to put the punters off coming out. Driving rain and hurricane-force winds. I didn’t even bother getting out of bed.’

‘You see, that’s not what I want to hear, Tania,’ Bishop said, taking out his wallet.

‘You show me a few pictures of the Queen, throw in a packet of fags, and I’ll tell you what you want to know,’ she smiled.

ChapterTwenty

‘Iwant to see my son,’ Pauline said as she stormed into the police station and up to the reception desk. Leo followed and stood beside her.

‘And your son is?’ the uniformed officer behind the desk asked, reaching for a biro.

‘Anthony Winstanley. You dragged him from his place of work this morning.’

‘Right. If you’d like to take a seat, madam, I’ll see if I can get someone to come and talk to you.’