Dishonour

‘He’s not in court for a case today,’ she told Taslima. ‘At least I hope not.’

‘So why on earth is he here?’

‘To hang with his mates,’ Lilly said. ‘A day out.’

Taslima assumed she was joking until the woman at the table in the middle of the room spoke up.

‘They treat this place like a bloody youth club,’ she said.

Not a joke then.

The woman, who Taslima assumed was the prosecutor, sat in a sea of files.

‘Nice to see you, Kerry,’ said Lilly. ‘You’ve lost weight.’

Taslima had to swallow a gasp. Lilly was irreverent but surely that was a jibe too far, considering Kerry was at least fourteen stones, her thighs spreading across the plastic chair, the fat melting over the sides.

‘Another ten pounds,’ said Kerry.

Ah, a diet.

Lilly nodded to her own feet, which were almost square with water retention. ‘I think you’re giving it all to me.’

Kerry laughed but Taslima was no stranger to animosity and could feel it hovering in the background. This woman was clearly no fan of her new boss.

‘So who are you here for?’ Kerry asked.

‘Raffique Khan,’ Lilly answered.

Kerry laughed, but again there was no warmth in it. ‘I should have known you’d be involved in the biggest case of the year,’ she said.

‘I’d hardly call it that,’ said Lilly.

Kerry got out of her chair, the flesh of her bottom making a small sucking sound as it was prised away. She walked to the window and looked outside.

‘Being a prosecutor in Luton is not a great job,’ she said, ‘but even I’m getting excited by an honour killing.’

Taslima too, was excited. On the drive to court Lilly had told her about Yasmeen Khan. At first her family thought she’d committed suicide, which would have been terrible enough, then the police discovered it was murder. Taslima hadn’t been able to speak for fear of showing how inexperienced she was. A murder. It was like something on the telly. And she could imagine how the poor mother was feeling. Not only had she lost her daughter, but now her son had been accused by the police. Unspeakable.

Lilly joined Kerry at the window. From where Taslima was standing she couldn’t see the view but she knew it would be grey.