CISSIE HAD PLEADED with me long into the night, insisted it was insane. But I hadn’t listened. I knew what I was going to do.
‘You’re only one man,’ she’d argued.
‘Yeah, but they’re dying. Nothing slows you down more’n that.’
‘Hoke, please…let’s just get away from here, out of the city, me and you…’
‘I’ve done enough running. It’s time to quit, time to bring it to an end.’
I’d struck a match and lit the Woodbine I’d taken from a pack lying on the kitchen table.
‘Besides, others are involved now. Maybe I can save ‘em if it’s not too late.’
‘But where will you find them? They could be anywhere in the city.’
‘He told us, don’t you remember?’
She’d looked at me curiously, slowly shaking her head.
‘When they had us in the Savoy, me trussed up like a turkey, ready for some bloodletting. Hubble said something like, while I had my palace, he had his castle.’
I’d exhaled smoke, creating a cloud between us.
‘S’far as I know,’ I’d continued, ‘there’s only one castle in London, right?’
I’d watched her steadily.
‘Right?’ I’d said again.