‘Hey, Integrity. Bit of a speed merchant today, ain’t ya?’
‘I only sell to friends,’ I threw over my shoulder as I opened the door opposite and continued. I ran into a nearby pawnshop to check on my pursuers. Running around on the streets like a crazy person would ensure they caught up with me again; hiding was far smarter.
‘You wanna buy something or not?’
I twisted round, spotting the shop owner behind the cage that protected him from his less savoury customers. He eyed me with a hard look that warned of trouble. His hand hovered somewhere beneath the counter. Either there was a gun or a panic button under there. Right now, I’d prefer the gun; I didn’t want to attract any undue attention. I weighed up my choices and made a decision.
‘Here,’ I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a five-pound note. ‘I’ll be out of your hair in less than two minutes.’
His frown deepened. I cursed under my breath and took out another one. ‘Will that do you?’
The owner didn’t answer; he merely turned and hobbled away. That was an expensive sodding two minutes. Rather than dwell on it, I turned round to get a decent line of sight on Del’s. It was just as well – I’d barely manoeuvred myself into position when Dimples burst out of the cafe, his head frantically turning from right to left. No prizes for guessing who he was looking for.
When the second tail didn’t appear, I grinned. They must have split up to better their chances of finding me.
I crouched down, still keeping an eye on Byron’s second-in-command. He couldn’t seem to make up his mind which way to go. There was a chance that he’d try the pawnshop but he had plenty of other avenues to consider. My luck was in. He went right, jogging away from both the pawnshop and me. Now all I had to was to get out.
I stretched up to the bell hanging from the door, yanked it off and tossed it away. I didn’t need it jangling; if Dimples heard it, he’d definitely turn around. Besides, ten quid for a dirty piece of junk like that? The shopkeeper was still getting a bargain.
If he heard what I’d done, he didn’t come back out to investigate. Smart move on his part, I decided. I didn’t fight but he didn’t know that.
I sneaked back out into the street, shivering as a gust of wind whipped my hat straight off my head. I lunged for it but it was too late. It flew away, tumbling down the quiet back street like a ball of tumbleweed in one of those old Western films. The ones where there was about to be a terrible shoot out.
That hat was an important part of my history and I didn’t want to lose it. I gave a quick look to see if Dimples was still in play. His shoulders were slumped and he was trudging away, not turning round. I smiled smugly. He knew he’d lost me.
Staying light on my feet, I ran after him ? or rather I ran after my hat. I just managed to snag it before there was another gust of wind. Giving the cap an affectionate pat, I put it back on and double-checked Dimples. He was oblivious to what was going on behind him. I did a little jig, causing a scurrying rat to pause and blink at me. I shrugged at it. ‘You’re right,’ I whispered. ‘It’s time to go.’
I was just about to head off in the opposite direction when I noticed Dimples’ backpack. There wasn’t much of a bulge to it, which was probably why it hadn’t registered before. I gnawed my bottom lip. The bag didn’t fit with his tailored suit. It was a strange thing to carry unless… My smile grew wider. He still had the Lia Saifire with him.
In theory, snatching the jewel was now a waste of time. No matter what I did, Byron was going to hold me to my promise to open the Foinse. But it was a matter of professional pride; I wanted the arrogant playboy to know that he still wasn’t completely in control.
I licked my lips. This was not the clever thing to do but it would be fun.
I jogged forward on the balls of my feet. If I could get close enough, I could probably swipe it. There was one seriously nervy moment when Dimples looked round. I was saved by a collection of mouldy cardboard boxes outside a door; I threw myself behind them, my heart hammering. When there was no shout or sound of feet thundering in my direction, I peered up. Dimples was blithely continuing on his way. Excellent.