Nymphomation(82)
Oh, the sacred bones! The city couldn’t stop laughing. Game on!
Play to lose
Jazir really should be heading home by now, to face his father’s wrath for staying out all night, instead… he was catching a bus to Whalley Range, with Daisy pulled along behind him.
Dopejack’s house looked OK, no broken door, no sign of trouble. Very quiet, no music being played. Nothing like that. Jazir knocked on the door. It took an age, and Daisy was saying let’s go, when the door was opened by a cop, full burger-mode. Holding his hand up, shaking his head, no entry and a sluggish, ‘What want?’
‘Oh, I am sorry,’ said Jazir. ‘Is there a problem?’
‘Problem?’
‘Is Dopejack all right?’ asked Daisy. ‘Dopejack?’
‘We don’t know his real name.’
‘Real name?’
‘BFZ,’ said Jaz.
‘BFZ? What that?’
‘Brain-free zone. Let’s go, Daze.’
Along the street they went, round a corner, doubling back. Jazir was shaking his head, looking worried. ‘I told you, didn’t I?’ he said. ‘Didn’t I say something was up.’
‘You don’t know, not yet.’
‘Let’s find out then, shall we?’
Daisy nodded. They found a place where they could watch the house without being seen, crouched behind a garden wall. After ten minutes another two cops came out of the house, one in full burger-mode, the other in plain clothes (but chewing on a burger, natch).
‘It’s Crawl!’ whispered Daisy. ‘You know, the cop that arrested me.’
‘Interesting. Let’s ask him—’
‘Jaz!’
‘Inspector?’ Jazir had started to walk across the street…
Crawl turned at the voice, took the burger out of his mouth for a second. ‘Who’s this?’ Then shoved it back.
The cop on duty shrugged his brain.
‘I’m wondering what’s up here?’ said Jazir.
‘Why?’
‘My friend lives here. DJ Dopejack. Is he…’
‘Everything’s under control. Just a minor incident…Oh, it’s you, is it? Might have bloody known.’
Daisy had followed Jazir, and Crawl had spotted her.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Our friend, Inspector…’
‘You’ve sure got some unlucky ones, haven’t you, Ms Love? And I’m not an inspector any more, thank you. Been promoted, haven’t I? Public Relations. Very cushy.’
‘If there’s anything wrong…’ started Daisy.
Crawl laughed, just long enough for his two cops to join in. ‘Now don’t you go worrying yourself, Ms Love. A disturbance was reported on these premises last night. Obviously high spirits at not winning the Joker Bone, don’t you think?’
‘At what time?’ asked Jazir.
‘That’s my business. Rest assured, we are investigating.’
‘I want to see Dopejack,’ said Daisy.
‘That’s not possible. Not at this moment.’
‘Why not?’ said Jazir. ‘He’s not dead is he?’
Crawl spat out a chunk of meat. ‘Should he be?’
‘Why can’t we see him?’
‘You want to? Really?’ Crawl nodded at the duty cop, who pushed the door open for them. ‘Go on then. Be quick.’
Daisy looked at Jazir, who shook his head. ‘Thanks, no thanks. We don’t want to disturb your investigations, Inspector.’
‘Most kind. But please… you must now call me Chief Executive. Public Relations. I’m working for AnnoDomino now. Nice, huh?’
Crawl threw down the remains of his burger, crunched it underfoot, and then started to laugh; a continuous ruckus that Daisy swore she could still hear on the bus all the way back to Rusholme.
‘OK, here’s the scheme,’ said Jazir, as they tried to part at Withington and Moss Lane East. ‘Tonight, we meet up again, late on, mind.’
‘What if your father…’
‘Never mind that. The important thing is—’
‘He’ll kill you.’
‘Tell that to Dopey.’
‘We don’t know he’s been killed.’
‘So, we find out. Now just listen to me. Tonight, after the Samosa’s shut. We set out together. OK?’
A kiss sealed it. But left Daisy alone and frightened and not knowing what to do next. How not to think about the way things were going, downhill with Vaz on the slope. Thinking like Jazir already. What was he leading her into? Why couldn’t she just run away, leave it all? The university, Hackle, Celia, her father, Jazir, the numbers? Maybe because she loved at least three of the items, not saying which, because she didn’t know, not really and not yet.