Necessary as Blood

She had known he‘d be upset, but she hadn‘t expected him to be quite so angry. ‘They just pushed me into the car. And you absolutely cannot jeopardize the drugs investigation. You can‘t let Kevin and Tarry Gilles know that I‘m a police officer, or even that I have any connection with the police. Or with you. It will make any information I got from Gail Gilles suspect, and put both our jobs at risk. And it might seriously endanger Charlotte.‘
    Kincaid stared at her. ‘Damn it to hell and back. I sent you in there.‘ He jammed his hands in his pockets, as if he didn‘t trust himself not to hit something. ‘I put you at risk.‘
    ‘You couldn‘t have known. And I wanted to go. You just have to be prepared to throw everything you‘ve got at the lovely Kev and Ter, once the Narcotics investigation is over.‘
    ‘That could be months,‘ he protested. ‘Narcotics won‘t give me a timeline.‘
    ‘I don‘t think Narcotics would be so touchy if the operation wasn‘t coming to a head,‘ Gemma said thoughtfully.
    Kincaid continued his pacing. ‘Even if it‘s only days, every shred of evidence I have linking them to Naz Malik‘s murder is going to go cold. And there‘s something else. Azad told me that it was Kevin and Torry Gilles heading the mob that fire-bombed his restaurant. He didn‘t tell the police, maybe out of a desire not to make more trouble, or maybe from some sort of loyalty to Naz and Sandra. But if Naz knew...‘
    ‘Kevin and Terry might have thought that shutting Naz up would guarantee Azad‘s silence,‘ Gemma suggested. ‘Or maybe Naz threatened to turn them in.‘
    ‘Or it might be more complicated than that.‘ Kincaid stopped at the desk and turned the paper back in his direction. ‘This piece suggests that Azad owns businesses that are less above-board than his restaurant. Low-rent housing for illegals, sweatshops. Maybe he didn‘t give up the Gilles brothers because Naz, or Sandra, had something on him.‘
    ‘Tit for tat? You‘re assuming that Sandra would have protected her brothers?‘
    ‘No. I‘m thinking that Azad might have assumed that Sandra would protect them.‘
    Gemma shook her head. ‘I thought you‘d pretty much ruled Azad out.‘
    ‘Maybe I didn‘t look closely enough.‘ Kincaid leaned across the desk and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. ‘And in the meantime, I want you to promise me you won‘t go near Brick Lane, or Bethnal Green, or anywhere in the East End.‘ Although his touch had been gentle, his voice was grim. ‘Not until this drugs investigation is over and I have a chance to deal with Kevin and Tarry Gilles.‘
    No sooner had Kincaid walked out of Gemma‘s office than Melody walked in, carefully closing the door behind her. Her face was as white as chalk. ‘Boss...‘
    ‘Melody, are you okay?‘ said Gemma. ‘Whatever is the matter? Sit down, for heaven‘s sa—‘
    ‘Boss.‘ Melody stood at attention. Her crisp navy suit might have been a uniform, and she didn‘t meet Gemma‘s eyes. ‘Boss, I want to tender my resignation.‘

Chapter Twenty-Three

I am very proud of my cockney background and have many memories of my East End childhood. I wanted to record the stories about that way of life before they were forgotten... Many families have roots in East London or in similar close-knit communities, and I wanted to preserve their stories, too.

Gilda O‘Neil, East End Tales

    ‘Don‘t be daft, Melody,‘ Gemma said. ‘Sit down.‘
    As Melody walked stiffly to the chair, she looked as if her limbs belonged to someone else. She sat, and nodded towards the paper. ‘It‘s my fault. That story.‘
    ‘What are you talking about?‘
    ‘My father. My father owns the Chronicle ‘What?‘ Gemma wondered if her headache was making her hear things. ‘You‘re having me on. This isn‘t fun—‘
    ‘No. Oh, I‘m serious, all right. I wish I weren‘t,‘ said Melody. ‘My dad is Ivan Talbot. That Ivan Talbot. The newspaper baron.‘
    ‘But — but why did you never tell anyone?‘ asked Gemma, feeling thoroughly gobsmacked.
    ‘Because I thought no one would ever trust me if they knew who I was. And they would have been right. None of this‘ — she prodded the paper with a scowl of distaste — ‘would have happened if it hadn‘t been for me.‘
    ‘But, surely, you didn‘t deliberately—‘
    ‘Of course not. But when I saw Ahmed Azad in the club, I couldn‘t resist using the newspaper office to do the