Sipping the cool, fruit-filled nectar at leisure, I switched on the TV. I might as well find out what the rest of the world was learning about our gangland wars. I really hoped there would be no repetition of the video with our inglorious flight from Petrosian HQ. Fortunately, there wasn’t. Instead, the headline story carried the banner CRIME BOSS ARRESTED. A small army of detectives ranged themselves around a handcuffed man, and the camera zoomed in on his face. Deep brown eyes, cafe latte skin, small hands, very sharp black suit. He eyed the camera with impassive hostility, like an accountant with a brain tumour. Meanwhile the newsreader could barely contain her enthusiasm.
‘Tural Aldjanov, alleged Azeri crime boss, was today arrested and charged with the murders of Tigran and Aram Petrosian and the attempted murders of several other people. In all, forty-nine charges have been laid against five men from the Aldjanov family. This follows from yesterday’s attack on the Petrosians’ home in Kilmarnock. It will be alleged that this attack formed part of an ongoing drug-trafficking turf war between rival gangs of Armenians and Azeris in Melbourne’s north.’
The scene now shifted to a replay of yesterday’s explosion and exchange of gunfire. Our cameo roles had been left on the cutting-room floor this time. I didn’t want to think about it ever again. I hadn’t had any nightmares yet about the roaring madness and the rush of heat passing over me like a tidal wave, but I expected they might be lying in wait around the corner for me. If we had been any closer our clothes would have been scorched off our backs.
The newsreel segued effortlessly into something asinine and political, and I tuned out. Nobody expects anything politicians say to make any sense. When they do it is an unexpected bonus, like challenging a parking ticket and having it withdrawn. I received a text from Daniel which said: All very well here see you tomorrow. I responded with yes please and a suitably lascivious emoticon. Then I watched something anodyne that entirely escapes my memory and put myself to bed with Horatio.
Tuesday morning began as dull and uneventful as Monday, with breakfast, baking and the Stately Minuet of the Bread Trays.
I couldn’t get enough of dull and uneventful. Kylie and Gossamer arrived as Jason left for his Cholesterol Surprise and all was for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
Barely had such smug thoughts occurred to me when Jason returned at double speed. ‘Cap’n! You gotta come now! Del Pandamus is strangling one of the actors!’
‘Kylie!’ I bellowed, pointing an admonitory finger at her. ‘You’re in charge! I may be some time!’
I grabbed my purse and hared out into Calico Alley, with Jason at my side. The sun hadn’t made it over the skyscrapers yet, but a hot wind was buffeting the passers-by, ourselves included. It plucked at my sleeve like an insistent relative, but I ignored it. I barrelled into Cafe Delicious and caught Del’s eye. He had young Stephen in his grip and wasn’t showing any signs of wanting to let go. Peloponnesian oaths filled the cafe. Yai-yai was standing by the kitchen door with her arms folded, looking like all three of the Erinyes at once. She was watching her son’s efforts with what looked like solid approval. Several customers, including the other actors, were watching Del’s performance from a safe distance. Clearly some form of intervention was required before Del did serious damage to the young man.
‘Del, I wouldn’t dream of interrupting your chastisement, but what’s going on?’
Del did not answer at once, but tightened his grip once more. Stephen was struggling. He looked like someone who had probably played rugby or some such pastime. He came across as one of those disgustingly healthy boys with muscles on his muscles, but he was clearly no match for a man who had probably spent his boyhood chasing down goats on Mediterranean hillsides. Or tanks; I wouldn’t put it past him. Stephen went limp, and Del pushed him down into a chair.
‘Siddown!’ he ordered, in English this time. And Stephen sat cowering in his chair, with Del’s left hand still gripping his collar. ‘You! You drink my coffee, you eat my baklava, and you do this to me? What you say, huh?’
Fascinating though this undoubtedly was, I wanted some subtitles immediately. I had my own business to run, and use of the fast-forward button seemed appropriate. ‘Stephen,’ I ordered, ‘explain yourself.’
‘Speak up, listis!’ growled Del. ‘You tell her!’
Stephen gave me a winning smile. Except it wasn’t. He wasn’t winning anything right now. ‘I, er, I put the ransomware on the cafe website. Look, I didn’t mean any harm. But I need the money for our production. Arts Victoria wouldn’t give us a grant, and neither would the university. So I had to improvise.’ His eyes willed me to understand. ‘Art is important. And this production has to go ahead!’
I stared at him. ‘You horrible little man,’ I managed. ‘You sit there with your socks full of feet and tell me you were intending to steal from this hardworking family business to finance your dramatic indulgences?’ I turned to Luke, Claire and Sam. ‘And you? Did you know about this?’
The trio were glaring at their erstwhile friend and colleague.
‘You said you’d ask your father for money!’ Sam said.
Stephen grinned weakly. ‘I did. He told me to use my initiative.’
‘You were going to steal from an old lady?’ demanded Luke, his tone one of utter loathing. ‘Dude, just no. I think we’re done here?’
Two emphatic nods from the girls.
They rose, still shaking their heads, and exited the cafe without another word.
I turned to Del. ‘What shall we do with this miserable worm, Del? Would you like to press charges? Do please feel free.’
Del let go of the boy’s collar. ‘Ochi.’ He shook his head in silent fury. ‘I can’t be bothered with you, boy. Just go away. You’re banned from my cafe. You never show your face down my chimney again, right?’
Stephen stood up and looked around the room for support. Finding none, he slunk out the door.
Del stalked back into the kitchen, accompanied by Yai-yai. Me? I wasn’t finished yet. Because I had seen Gully, lurking in the corner. I beckoned to him. He looked at me like a cat with a stolen salmon. I gestured to the door.
When I had got him outside, I poked him in the middle of his moth-eaten black T-shirt. ‘Gully, there’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?’
He blinked at me. Bright sunshine was hardly his metier, and he squirmed like a snail. But I didn’t want him to be comfortable. ‘Don’t mess me around, Gully. You fixed the ransomware straight away. And – let me guess? – you knew who it was immediately, but you spun out the process so you could get a whole lot of extra free meals from Del. You did, didn’t you?’
His skinny shoulders quivered. ‘Not exactly like that, Corinna.’
‘But almost like that, yes?’
‘No. Well, okay, yes, I did. I knew it was someone in Insula straight away. I mean, the guy’s a complete amateur. His VPN was pretty easy to crack. I knew it was one of the actors. I’ve been tracing their online footprint ever since. Which one it was I didn’t find out for sure until …’ He paused.
‘Until when, Gully?’
‘Er, Sunday? Corinna, it was a big job. I’m happy not to be paid cash. But if I’d given him an invoice it would have been a fair bit more than coffee and a meal.’