‘Is it fun?’ he asked.
‘Nah, nah, nah.’
‘I haven’t played since I was tiny.’
‘Nah, nah.’
‘Can’t be much fun, not on your own. I mean, don’t you always know what the opponent’s going to do?’
‘Nah.’
‘Maybe you could teach me a few moves.’
‘Nah, nah, nah.’
He sat himself down opposite her. ‘Go on. Humiliate me.’ Daisy sighed, turned all the bones face-down and shuffled them. ‘Choose five’, she said. ‘Play to win.’
‘I always do.’
‘Domino,’ said Daisy. The game was over in a minute.
‘Hmm. You knocked the spots off me, Daisy.’
Daisy didn’t laugh.
‘Is there some trick to it?’
‘Just play.’
Domino. The second game also over in a minute. ‘Can we go a bit slower, please?’
‘Play…’
‘I’m playing. You know, I had a very interesting call a few minutes ago.’
‘Oh yes.’
‘Professor Hackle, from the university. He thinks very highly of you. He tells me you’re one of his best students. Mathematics, is it?’
‘Your go…’
‘I was hopeless at maths. Still am. As long as my arrest quotas add up, I don’t really mind. Still, it must be nice to be talented.’
‘Play…’
‘It’s not something you’d want to waste, is it? A talent?’
‘Your go…’
‘Knock, knock.’
‘Draw another one.’
‘Professor Hackle has agreed to pay for any damages done to town hall property. Obviously, he’s a highly respected member of the community. The trouble is, I’ve had my men go over that door to the Room of Holes. It’s not been forced, has it? And there’s some strange substance been found in the lock. The science boys are looking at that. But there’s no damage to pay for. And you only took what was rightfully public property. So what am I keeping you here for?’
‘Domino,’ said Daisy. ‘Game over.’
‘You know what the game is, and I know what the game is. And you know that I know what the game is. And I know that you know that I know—’
This could go on forever,’ said Daisy.
‘It needn’t. It’s about the bones, isn’t it? The House of Chances. Mister Million. Cookie Luck and Tommy Tumbler and Play to win and bet your punies on a dream of lovelies. And aren’t we all going to benefit? Consider the number of people that have moved to Manchester in the last ten months, just to have a bit of fun. It’s for charity. It’s good for local business. Extra funding for the jolly coppers. Bigger burgers, more chances, a better class of person, and we all live happily ever after, isn’t that the ticket?’
‘What do you want, Crawl?’
‘It’s a nightmare, Daisy. The bones sponsor the burgers, and the burgers sponsor us. It’s not working out. This is off the record, you follow me. No tapes.’
‘How can I trust you.’
‘Come on.’ Crawl stood up.
‘Where are we going?’
‘Outside. Fresh air.’
Albert Square. A bench. A plague of blurbs, circling.
‘Your father sat here for over an hour this morning, waiting.’
‘For me?’
‘No. For my boys to leave him be. He took off eventually, shook us off in a taxi, somewhere in Altrincham. Good player, right?’
Daisy laughed. She was holding tight to the box of bones, like it was the last treasure of the world.
‘So then, what’s the score, eh? Who’s winning? The Anno-fucking-Dominoes, that’s who. Who’s losing? Everybody else. I know that things are going wrong.’
‘You know they’re killing people?’
‘My hands are tied, Daisy. It’s not me, and a group of us here are getting mighty pissed off. Two cases have been closed. The big boys up top are expecting compliance. It’s money. That’s all.’
‘Now there’ll be a third.’
‘Eddie Irwell? Nah, there’s nothing wrong with him. He’ll be let free.’
‘The bones have got him?’
‘Yeah, and that’s where I should’ve taken you already.’
‘Why haven’t you?’
Crawl looking around for a few seconds, kicked away a blurb. ‘The thing is, I’m not sure which side I’m on any more. If I’m on the bone side, I get a pay rise. If I’m on your side, I get sacked. Or even worse, I get put back on the street. I don’t think I could wear one of them big Ws, not with my figure.’
‘I’m not on any side,’ said Daisy.