Page 116 of The Black Trilogy

I said as much to Gabir, who stared off into space for a second, pondering.

“This man, I could not be sure, but I think I saw him before. His jacket is very unusual.”

The black hoodie had YOLO graffitied in white across the back and the front—quite distinctive. You Only Live Once. I hoped to change his philosophy to YODO. Can you guess what the D stood for?

“I think he came into the store,” Gabir continued. “Earlier in the day.”

“I don’t suppose you’ve got that on film as well, have you?”

“Of course. I saved it all. I do watch CSI, you know.”

Thank goodness for that. What would we do without American crime drama?

Once again, Gabir clicked onto a file, and I watched the man walk around the store from sixteen different camera angles, picking up a roll of duct tape, two kinds of Pop-Tarts, and a couple of bottles of water. Was he making Tia eat Pop-Tarts? That was inhumane. When he reached the register, he added a pack of cigarettes, and thank heavens for nicotine. Because as he selected his brand, he stared straight into a camera he clearly didn’t realise was there, giving us a perfect head-on shot.

The second I saw his face, synapses fired in my brain, and I swear I almost squealed. I was about to call up Gabir’s brother and offer to have his babies.

Jiminy Cricket!

Five seconds later, my phone rang, and it was Dan.

“I’m ten minutes out.”

“Drive faster.”

I never thought I’d hear myself ask her to do that.

While I waited, Gabir copied both videos onto a USB stick. I clutched it as if it was the Rosetta stone.

“I hope I have been helpful?” he asked.

“More than you could ever know.”

His ever-present smile grew wider. “The USB stick is nine pounds ninety-nine. Is there anything else you need before you go?”

“A bottle of water and some gum would be good. Oh, and give me twenty quid’s worth of lottery scratch cards.”

The way my luck was changing today, I figured it couldn’t hurt.

Dan pulled up outside, and I thanked Gabir again before I left. On my way to the car, I passed a homeless man huddled under a blanket and dropped the scratch cards into his lap.

“Good luck, mate.”

He raised his hand in a silent thank you.

“How was JJ’s?” Dan asked as I climbed into the Aston.

She hadn’t been able to resist its lure, and I made a mental note to check the other side for scratches later.

“I knocked out my sparring partner again.”

“Who’d Jimmy put you up against this time?”

“Some dude called Lee Belmont.”

“As in Lee Belmont who just won the UK MMA title in the lightweight division?”

“Dunno, I didn’t ask. Probably. Jimmy seemed to think he needed taking down a peg or two.”

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