‘I want to find happiness. I want to feel happy.’ She had a package of food for him. ‘I brought you something to eat. Here…’ She unfolded a napkin with two samosas inside; the smell of cumin burst out into the rank air. They sat with arms touching on the cramped stairwell. Shrimp ate the samosas.

‘Thanks for the food. You’re a fantastic cook.’

‘Thank you. I love cooking.’

‘Have you been back to cook curries for Rizal?’

Nina looked anxious at the mention of it. ‘No. Lilly will have to do it. Is Michelle coming home soon?’

‘I don’t know. She’s in a lot of trouble. She’s suspected of having murdered someone.’

‘I don’t know what’s happening to the Mansions. They’re falling apart. All the nice people are being put in prison, all the bad ones left out. It’s not right.’

Nina fiddled with her hair; Shrimp rested his elbows on his knees and struggled to think of what to say. He felt more nervous than he had felt for a long time.

They turned at the sound of a door banging on the next landing. Nina smiled at his concerned expression. ‘Don’t worry. No one will see me. I know the Mansions well. I was born here. I know the stairwells and the landings; I can get away if I need to.’

They looked at one another and exchanged an awkward smile.

‘Do you live with your brothers?’

‘No. I live with my grandmother in a flat on the fifth floor. Do you have a girlfriend, Li?’ She looked away as she asked.

‘Call me Shrimp, please, everyone does. No,’ he looked at her and looked away, ‘I don’t, right now; my work kind of takes over most of the time. I like going out though, like a boogie. What about you? Do you get out? Your brother said you were going to be married next month.’

Nina became agitated. ‘Anything could happen between now and then. The arrangements are being made. I have to go along with it but I don’t intend to go through with it.’

‘What are you going to do?’

She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. ‘Run away? I don’t know yet. It’s not fair. I am being given to an old friend of my father’s. He’s an old man.’

‘Don’t you have a say?’

‘No. I should be married by now but when my mother died everything changed. I took over the running of the restaurant. The last few years have been difficult for all of us. I am old to be unmarried.’ She was getting increasingly more uncomfortable. ‘Sorry, I have to go now.’

Shrimp jumped up beside her. Before he had time to think of something to say, Nina reached up, kissed him on his cheek.

‘Meet me here tomorrow, same time?’

‘Nina?’ Shrimp called to her as she disappeared.

She stopped and ran back to him. ‘Yes?’

‘I am sorry if I caused offence or said anything wrong. I like you.’

She giggled. ‘I know.’

Chapter 61

Mahmud sat in his cell. He’d come back from the hospital. He was shaking from the shock of having his left arm broken in two places. Not even the Mansions could prepare him for the remand centre. He was inside with so many young Triads who were used to the streets. The gang warfare continued inside the prison walls. He’d been beaten in a race attack, because he was an Indian who had killed a Chinese.

He sat on his bed, clutching the edge, and stared at the door, listening to the clanging of closing doors and the taunts of the prisoners. He listened to the horrible screams of the abused. He felt terrified to close his eyes in case he was attacked again. He was too distressed to eat. He hadn’t eaten since he’d arrived.

The prison guard appeared at his door and ordered him to stand. ‘Someone wants to see you.’

Mahmud cowered. He shrunk back into the corner of the bed. He feared the worst, a trap, a set-up. He feared this time they would kill him. The guard ordered him to march out. Mahmud kept his eyes on the ground as he walked past the people who had beaten him. They taunted him as he went. They told him he would die next time.

Mahmud sat opposite Shrimp. A guard stood in the room.

‘How long will I have to stay here?’ Mahmud was dressed in the prison-issue tracksuit that had seen many inmates before him – one size fits all and it swamped Mahmud. He looked like he’d lost weight. He hadn’t brushed his hair or his teeth. His eyes had taken on the hollow look of one who has lost hope. But he leaned towards Shrimp, eager for any news of help, from any quarter, no matter how unlikely.

‘A long time; unless you tell us what happened.’ Shrimp felt sorry for him. He could see how terrified he was. His face was swollen. ‘You took a beating?’ Mahmud nodded. ‘I’m sorry.’

Mahmud looked through his tears. The last thing he wanted to do was cry. He was terrified. He wanted to open the window and jump out. ‘They broke my wrist. They stamped on my arm. I can’t write now.’ Mahmud talked as if in a dream. He talked as if it didn’t matter. He shook his head. His shoulders slumped over.

‘Yeah, the sooner we get you out of here the better, Mahmud. But you have to work with me. As long as you’re not telling us what happened then we can’t help you. You’re not telling us anything new. You were caught at the scene. I caught you myself, you didn’t even run. What were you doing there? Did you give time for someone else to get away? You were with the Outcasts that night, and yet you say you are not one of them. Your dad says you said you were going to study. What took you across town that night?’

‘I don’t belong here. I am not a Triad. I hate the Outcasts for what they’ve done to our family. I hate the way they’ve ruined everything in the Mansions. It was always tough but we all looked after each other. We were all a family. It didn’t matter what colour you were. Now it’s like living in hell. Now they are turning on each other.’ He paused. ‘Have you seen my family?’

‘I’ve seen your sister. She asked me to come.’

Mahmud’s eyes glued onto Shrimp’s. The mention of home, of his family was enough to make him well up. ‘How is she? And Hafiz, how is he? My father and Ali? What about Grandmother? How are they all?’

‘They are all right. They are worried about you. They want you to come home. They don’t understand why you’re here. Your father wants you to co-operate. Nina wants you back.’

Mahmud nodded, blinked away a tear. ‘Is she still to be married?’

‘I don’t know. I hope not.’

Mahmud searched Shrimp’s face. ‘Do you know my sister well? Shrimp nodded. ‘Then you have to stop her. You have to help her. Her life will be ruined. Tell her it is not too late. Tell her to run away. I will be okay here, tell her not to worry.’

‘Mahmud, listen to me, it is an honourable thing to cover for your younger brother but we will uncover the truth in the end. Hafiz was involved in the fighting that night, wasn’t he? He had a wound on his arm. He ran from the scene, didn’t he? You saved him.’ Mahmud stared down at his hands. ‘Or was it Lilly?’

Mahmud looked at Shrimp and shook his head. ‘Lilly and I were good friends once, but not so much now. She has changed. She is getting into more trouble every day.’

‘You’ve known Lilly a long time?’

‘All my life. Her mum has been so kind to us all since my mum died. Nothing was the same after that. Nina had to look after things. Grandma became an invalid. We all had to help in the restaurant. Michelle and Lilly have been like family, until now.’

‘Michelle is a hardworking woman. Do you ever help her out?’

‘Sometimes, when she needs things doing and Rizal is busy. I don’t mind helping.’

‘She’s an attractive woman. Does she ever ask you to join her in the hotel sometimes? Sometimes she entertains guests, alone. They need a bit of something extra? It’s nothing to be ashamed of.’

Mahmud shook his head and blinked at Shrimp. He didn’t understand.

‘What about Rizal? Do you get on well with him?’ Shrimp continued.

Mahmud flushed with anger. ‘Rizal is a scumbag. He has something going on in every part of the Mansions. He thinks he owns the Mansions the way he struts around, and he abuses Lilly. She’s told me. She hates him. She would kill him if she could.’ Mahmud stopped, controlled his anger and remembered he wasn’t talking to a friend.