The Jade Garden (The Barrington Patch Book 2) by Emmy Ellis (reading diary txt) 📗

be the one to impart that news, rather than how she’d felt hearing her flawed plan coming from between Brenda’s sensible lips.

Doreen shrugged. “Then we’ll kill her as well then. After Cassie’s funeral. It’ll be easy to follow her home and pretend we want to sit with her after the wake, be friendly, a support system, keep her company. We’ll kill her while she has a nap. Suffocate her or something.”

Karen warmed to the theme, then, as if Brenda whispered another flaw… “But what about that Marlene woman?”

“No one would suspect us two. And you saying you’ll take over the patch for a bit makes sense—you used to run it before Lenny got his manky mitts on it. People won’t bat an eyelid if you say you’ll step in; you know the ropes already. Marlene will then work for you and finally show herself. We’ll get to see who she is. That’s always bothered me, the not knowing whether she walks among us, so to speak.”

“Sounds good to me. So, two in the morning, you say.” Karen’s suspicions still hung around. “Why that specific time?”

“Think about it. People are in bed, on Old and New Barrington bordering Sculptor’s Field. They’re most likely to be in REM by then and won’t hear owt—I’ve thought about this properly, you know. Anyone on late-evening to early-hours shift work would leave their job at two, getting home about twenty past. That gives us fifteen or so minutes to stab her, wedge her on The Beast’s tail, then sod off before we’re spotted.”

“I underestimated you,” Karen said.

Doreen smiled. “Most people do.”

* * * *

Brenda paced for some time after Karen had left, thinking about what her pal wanted to do and where Brenda stood on the matter. At the moment, she was on Cassie’s side of the fence—after all, Brenda already planned to trap Jason so she could tell Cassie the lad was a danger to the business. His confession to take over the patch was just as ridiculous as Karen’s, except Jason had more strength and could undoubtedly use his gun on Cassie. Karen’s stabbing idea had flaws if Cassie met her with her barbed weapon in hand. A whip like that would incapacitate Karen before she’d even had a chance to raise her kitchen knife.

While there was an unwritten law about best friends, Brenda couldn’t remain loyal to her. She’d lived long enough to know Karen was a fair-weather type, only round Brenda’s when Sharon wasn’t available, a second-best pal who’d do in a pinch. Lenny had given Brenda a good life in trusting her with the old men, and Cassie had done the same, so her loyalty was to that family.

The blunt truth of it was, Brenda cared more about money than upsetting Karen, and if she worked for her, the wages would be drastically reduced. She couldn’t see Karen keeping up with the Barrington business, the drugs, the sex workers, the scamming of old dodgers, amongst many other things. Then there was the high-rise to think about. With no other family for Francis to pass it on to, who knew what would become of that building. And Grafton’s Meat Factory, who would own that with Cassie and Francis out of the picture? It wasn’t like Karen would inherit it, was it, along with the vast revenue.

Karen hadn’t thought this through properly at all, but Brenda had.

She sighed and accepted the knowledge she was going to be late visiting Sid Watson today. The Barrington came first, and she had to contact her boss. Usually, Brenda would have to go through her handler, Trevor Bayliss, but Cassie wouldn’t want him knowing this kind of information before she did.

Brenda considered tapping out the code for extreme issues: problem. But this was life-or-death crap, and Cassie had said to phone for that.

Brenda pressed Cassie’s icon to connect the call and held her breath.

“Hello, Brenda. What’s the matter?”

“Karen Scholes.”

“Ah, the murder plot by any chance?”

Brenda jolted, her chest seeming to hollow with the skip of her heartbeat. “How did you know?”

“Informants everywhere. It’s all in hand, but thank you for letting me know, seeing as she’s your best mate. That shows me where your true loyalty is.”

Brenda shook with relief, at how casual Cassie sounded. “I couldn’t let her go through with it.”

“She’ll receive the usual treatment, just so you’re aware. If she does a runner before our meeting, one she isn’t aware of yet, I’ll know where to come next. Your door. Warning her wouldn’t be a wise move.”

Brenda shivered, knowing exactly what that would entail. “I’m telling her nowt. She’s gone mad, she has. I want nowt to do with her.” She thought about Jason. Should she confess? With Karen destined to disappear, if Brenda kept her chat with him to herself now and Cassie found out later down the line, Brenda would disappear an’ all. Fuck it, she’d tell all. “And while we’re at it, something else has been bothering me.”

“What’s that then?”

“I kept quiet about it because I was going to catch the little fucker in the net myself, then bring you the evidence, a recording I was going to make, but I think you ought to know now. Jason has plans to take over from you an’ all.”

“So Mam told me.”

How did Francis know? Fucking hell, she must have a hand in the Barrington as well as Cassie, more than I realised. “I told him to stay in the background, do as he was told, that his idea was silly. Has he?”

“A bit, but you know Jason, always has to push it. Don’t worry about it. That’s also in hand.”

Thank God she didn’t bite my head off. “Good.”

“How’s it going with Sid?”

“He’s already on the verge of making the withdrawal.” Brenda imagined the lovely wedge of cash she’d receive once