Necessary as Blood

could smell the mingled odours of sweat and beer. They must have been waiting round the corner in Wilkes Street, to have come on her so fast. One man was bigger, heavier, with pouches under his hard blue eyes; the other was thinner, acne-scarred, jittery.
    And she knew them.

Chapter Twenty-One

The streets of the East End were awash with heroin, or smack, which was no longer the exclusive junk of emaciated squatters with puncture marks running the length of their arms. Although as addictive as ever, the new improved heroin came in an easy-to-smoke brown resin at a vastly reduced price... In the East End, smack was now easier to obtain than marijuana.

‘Tarquin Hall, Salaam Brick Lane

    Sandra Gilles‘s brothers. Kevin and Terry.
    ‘Get the hell away from me,‘ Gemma spat, but they were too close — her back was against the car. She clutched her keys tighter, thinking she could hit only one, and that she‘d have no time to react against the other.
    ‘We saw you,‘ said the bigger one. ‘Didn‘t we, Tfer?‘
    Acne-scar nodded.
    ‘Snooping at our mum‘s,‘ continued the big one. Kevin. ‘And now you‘re at our sister‘s ‘ouse. You some sort of spy for them social workers?‘ He jabbed a finger at her collarbone and Gemma smacked it away, her reaction automatic.
    ‘Keep your hands off me. Back off,‘ she said, cold with fury. ‘Who the hell are you?‘
    ‘Just told you,‘ said Kevin, but he moved back a few inches. ‘This ‘ouse‘ — this time he jabbed the sausagelike finger towards the house across the street — ‘belongs to our sister‘ — jab — ‘and our niece‘ — jab — ‘and you got no business ‘ere.‘
    ‘Neither‘ — Gemma jabbed a finger back at him — ‘do‘ — she jabbed again — ‘you. Now bugger off before I call the police.‘ It was pure bravado: her mobile was in her bag, on the floor of the car.
    Kevin ignored the threat. ‘Who gave you our mum‘s address?‘ Gemma glanced at Tferry, wondering if he could talk. Kevin pulled her attention back. ‘You after our sister‘s money or what?‘
    ‘I don‘t know what you‘re talking about.‘ She glared at him. ‘And I‘m leaving, now. Bugger off.‘ She tensed, wondering what she was going to do next.
    Then a voice, male, vaguely familiar, came from behind her. ‘You heard her. Move it.‘ She turned her head a fraction, saw a man in a T-shirt and jeans. Dark, spiky hair, olive skin, green eyes. Rashid Kaleem, the pathologist. He had his mobile in his hand. ‘I‘ve called the cops,‘ he said. ‘They‘ll be here any second.‘
    Kevin‘s eyes darted one way, then the other. A couple turned the corner from Brick Lane into Fournier Street, walking towards them. Somewhere in the distance a siren sounded. He stepped back, grabbing Terry by the shoulder. ‘Come on,‘ he said to his brother. Then he fixed Gemma with a hard stare. ‘You remember what we said.‘ He glanced at Rashid, and spat. ‘Paki scum.‘
    With his brother in tow, he turned and moved quickly away. The two men passed the shadow of Christ Church and disappeared into the bustle of Commercial Street.
    Gemma turned to Rashid. She realized her legs were shaking. ‘Did you really call the police? Where did you come from?‘
    ‘I was coming from the mosque, and I saw you. I live near here. What are you doing here? Who were those guys?‘
    ‘The police?‘ she said again, urgently. ‘Did you call the police?‘
    ‘No. No, I didn‘t take the time. I was afraid they were going to hurt you.‘ He lifted the phone. ‘I‘ll ring now. We‘ve got a good description—‘
    ‘No. Wait.‘ Gemma leaned against the car, pushing her hair back from her face. She was suddenly aware that she was drenched with sweat, and her head was pounding.
    With a look of concern, Rashid Kaleem reached out with gentle fingers and moved her hair just enough to examine the bump at her hairline. ‘You‘re going to have a goose-egg. Did they do that to you?‘ At her nod, he dropped his hand and began to key the phone.
    ‘No, wait,‘ said Gemma. ‘It‘s complicated.‘
    Rashid looked up, his fingers still, his face closing. ‘I‘m not protecting them,‘ Gemma hastened to explain. ‘It‘s something else. It has to do with Naz Malik, the man you examined in the park.‘
    ‘Malik?‘ Slowly, Rashid‘s distant expression relaxed into curiosity. He studied her more closely. ‘You need to sit down. Let me take you for a coffee.‘

    He led her round the