The Piggy Farmer (The Barrington Patch Book 3) Emmy Ellis (notion reading list TXT) đ
- Author: Emmy Ellis
Book online «The Piggy Farmer (The Barrington Patch Book 3) Emmy Ellis (notion reading list TXT) đ». Author Emmy Ellis
She strode out and down the street to The Pudding. The bell jangled with her push on the door, and the usual scents of baking wafted around her, as always, reminding her of childhood when Lenny had brought her here.
What she wouldnât give to go back in time and relive those days.
Nicola Faraday, her dyed-black hair stuffed inside a net today, spray-painted the edges of some white icing roses with soft-pink dye. She glanced over the counter, a big smile in place to greet her customer, but stiffened upon seeing Cassie, that smile dropping. âOh GodâŠâ
âDonât get your knickers in a twist, itâs nowt to get in a bother about. I only want a coffee cake.â Sheâd opted for Mamâs favourite, knowing Lou also liked it. Theyâd sit at the island later and eat it, drinking champagne in celebration, and Cassie would remind Lou that this was it, over, no more deaths for Jess unless the man in the back of the van was found.
But Lou thinks it was Gorley. Barmy cow.
âOh, okay.â Nicola took a flat box from under the counter and set it up, her hands shaking.
Cassie had thought this before on her last visit, but Nicola was overly nervy around her, like she was hiding something. Of course, she could just be shitting bricks because Cassie presented herself as a hard bitch whoâd barb your face if you looked at her wrong.
âEverything sorted from before?â Nicola asked.
Rude of her to ask, but Cassie wouldnât pick her up on it today. She was too tired. âYes.â
âGood. I didnât like the idea of there being trouble down here. Those kids havenât come back, the ones by the lamppost.â
No, they wouldnât have, because Jason had bloody sent them here to keep the street clear so Brett Davis could rob drugs from the Jade, and Cassie had warned them to stay away. The fact that the robbery hadnât happened, and Jiang had been sliced with a machete instead, wasnât owt Nicola needed to know. She was the same as everyone else on the estate, under the impression Jiang was in China.
This woman here was fishing, that much was clear. Had Helen Davis, the woman who ran the nearby laundrette, Brettâs aunt, been gossiping to Nicola while drunk? Sheâd better not have. Cassie had been sure the woman would keep her mouth shut about the Jiang murder business, seeing as her nephew was the one whoâd killed him, but alcohol loosened lips, didnât it, and Helen wasnât known for keeping secrets.
Maybe Cassie needed to pay her another visit at some point to further establish the rules.
âNo trouble,â Cassie said. âNowt for you to worry about anyroad. And the lads wonât be hanging around out there anymore.â
Nicola placed a coffee cake from the glass counter inside the box. âDoing owt nice tonight?â She indicated the cake.
âMe and Mam are having a night in with Lou. A few drinks, the cake.â
âOh. Nice.â
Cassie didnât want to indulge in chitchat any longer so remained quiet while the sale was rung up and she paid. She said goodbye and left, sensing Nicolaâs stare on her back, but she didnât fret about it. Nicola was an older woman, had worked in her little shop for years under Lennyâs reign, before that even. Sheâd be stupid to push it.
Cassie placed the cake box on the passenger seat then drove to the squat, parking around the back so if any pigs came along, despite DI Branding saying the area was clear, her car wouldnât be seen. Sheâd promised to message Jimmy and let him know if she was on her way, but sheâd forgotten.
She WhatsApped him: Iâm here.
Jimmy: Okay.
Watching all around her as she crept to the front of the house, and clutching the black bag, she let herself into the squat, the air tainted with something Jimmy must have cooked. Maybe instant noodles but definitely toast. She found him in the living room with Jason, who was awake, his face doing its best to heal, the blood and exposed flesh dried now. It appeared hard and uncomfortable, likely to crack if he tried to smile. His lip was worse, swollen and puffy. Sheâd sewn the slice in it tightly on purpose to give him maximum discomfort, extra pain to go along with that in his leg and face.
âVuck ovv,â he said, clearly having trouble speaking.
She laughed, couldnât stop it from roaring out, and Jimmy turned away to face the blind-covered window, grimacing. She dropped the bag and walked over to Jason, stared down at his ruined face, fascinated by the state of it, by the fact that sheâd done this to him. The missing eyebrow and eyelids gave him a sinister air, some freak in an old-fashioned circus. Going by his body language, he hadnât even bothered to tense in anger at her arrival, just remained slumped. Maybe his leg was so agonising he didnât dare move.
âAre you ready to admit what you were going to do to me and Mam yet?â
He would have closed his eyes if he could, she was sure of it, shutting her out. How much was it getting to him being beneath her, so far down the pecking order now? His pride would be wounded more than his body. Him wanting to take over the estate was bad enough, but the lengths he was prepared to go to bothered her more. Heâd planned to get them hooked on strong anti-depressants, drugging them so much theyâd be in no fit state to work, then heâd take over as a âkindnessâ, all the while putting it about that they were
Comments (0)