Page 78 of Between the Lies

‘What do you do with things that are perishable?’

‘That’s not allowed. We don’t want spiders or flies using our lockers.’ With a flourish, he pointed to the bin. ‘But if an eejit sneaks something in, we bin it.’

‘What about personal documents?’

Once again, the lad pointed to the bin.

Nina frowned. ‘What if they’re important documents?’

‘We’re running a business, not a charity.’

The man was too unsociable to be working in a shop and manning a till. No wonder the place had no customers.

Nina would give him another chance. If Anne had a locker here, whatever was in there had to be pertinent to the murders.

Nina shoved a hand into her pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. She flashed the orange note on top… not a tenner or a twenty but the newly minted £50 with King Charles emblazoned upon it. The lad’s eyes brightened – then dimmed when she shoved the cash back into her pocket and produced a fiver.

She slapped the note on the desk. ‘I suppose I’ll take these crisps, since you can’t be more helpful.’

Immediately, his hands went up, and a smile bloomed on his face. ‘No need to say that. You didn’t ask me for help.’

‘I asked you about food and documents.’

The lad picked up the crisp packet and scanned it. Then he sighed. ‘I didn’t lie. The boss is very touchy about people “overstaying their welcome”. If someone is overdue and we don’t clear up the locker, he takes the dues from our pay cheque.’

‘And he pays you in cash, so you can’t prove he’s done that.’ Chances were this lad had no employment contract with his boss either. So there was no law that could save him.

He nodded. ‘He fleeces us as it is.’

‘So, are all the lockers full?’

‘Aye, me and Ed were discussing how that’s the case, you know. The man never advertises or anything, but the lockers are always full.’

Nina set the fiver on the counter, then added a tenner to it. ‘And?’

‘We’re not to lease out specific lockers. It’s like they’re reserved, but no one accesses them – ever.’

Another fiver joined the pile. He might’ve been a right prick at the start, but surely this would lead her somewhere. ‘Can you tell me which ones are reserved?’

‘Why?’

Nina tapped the growing pile of money on the counter. ‘I’m not paying you to ask questions. Tell me.’

The man shook his head. ‘I don’t want him to catch us. He has cameras everywhere. I’ll lose my job if he finds out I’m telling you anything. He doesn’t like us being snoopy.’

Nina wanted answers, but she wasn’t going to cost this lad his job. Besides, if he stayed on and she needed him for more answers in the future, she could hit him up again.

‘Okay, let’s talk about something else. The documents. Did you bin any recently?’

The lad’s eyes flicked to the camera. ‘Are you going to get something else?’

Nina picked up a stack of tabloid newspapers and smacked them on the counter, right above the cash. She pulled the fiver she’d offered out of the pile. ‘If you’re going to be like that.’

‘Sorry! He doesn’t like us talking to customers either.’

‘Sounds like a right bastard. Now about those documents – did you bin any in the last few months?’

‘No, he didn’t,’ a raspy voice said from behind Nina. ‘But I picked some up.’

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