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supposed to do now? What had Todd gotten her into? Those guys in the hotel hadn't looked as though they'd dropped in just to say 'hi'.
     
    She was so on edge that she almost dropped the phone when it rang.
    “What the hell, Todd?”
    “Are you okay?”
    “Apart from almost having a heart attack? Yeah—just dandy. What's going on?”
    “It's complicated.”
    “Everything with you is complicated. Where are you?”
    “I'm in a bar in Soho called Rock It.”
    “Rocket?”
    “No ROCK IT.”
    “I don't even know where Soho is from here.”
    “Get a cab.”
    “Okay.”
    “Wait! Suzy!”
    “What now?”
    “Make sure no one is following you first.”
    “You're freaking me out.”
    “Get here as quickly as you can.”
    Suzy looked around to make sure there was no sign of little and large. This time she didn't give the cab driver an opportunity to ignore her. She stepped out into the road with her hand held up in a 'halt' gesture.
    “Are you crazy?” The cab driver wound down his window. “You're going to get yourself killed.”
    “Do you know Soho?”
    “Is this a wind-up? What do you think?”
    “Sorry. Course you do. I need the ROCK IT bar.”
     
    “The ROCK IT bar it is.”
    The fare was ten pounds again, but this time Suzy gave a two pound tip. It was just as well she'd taken the cab otherwise she'd have never found the bar. From the street, the only thing visible was a small sign above a red door. Once inside, she walked down a flight of stairs which led to the basement. The bar was so dark it took several minutes for her eyes to adjust. It appeared to be deserted except for two middle-aged men sitting on stools beside the bar. Both of them were staring at her as though they'd never seen a woman before. The bartender was seventy if he was a day. She looked around nervously, and almost jumped out of her skin when a hand touched her shoulder.
    “Jees Todd. You scared me to death.”
    “Sorry, honey.”
    She gave him the death-stare.
    “I mean Suzy.” He gestured for her to follow him.
    The alcove was at the far end of the room—out of sight of the bar. There was a bottle of Jack Daniels and two glasses on the table.
    “What the hell is going on?” Suzy said in a whisper.
    “Drink?”
    “No. Just tell me what's happening.”
    “It's nothing to worry about.”
    “Oh that's okay then.” She thumped the table. “I want to know what's going on right now!”
    “Calm down. Take a chill pill.” He took a long drink of whisky.
    “Who were those men at the hotel?”
    “What did they look like?”
    “One was tall. The other guy was shorter and bald.”
    “Just the two of them?”
    “I didn't see anyone else. What do they want?”
    “It's all a misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about.”
    “If it's nothing to worry about, why did you tell me to get out of there?”
    “I'm going to sort it out. Everything will be A-OK.”
    “If you don't tell me what the hell is going on in the next thirty seconds, I'm going to call Lacey, and tell her what's happening. Then I'll go back to the Esquire, and I'll bring those guys here myself.”
    “Okay. Okay.” Todd finished his drink and poured himself another.
    “I owe some people some money. It's not a problem.”
    “It felt like a problem back there. I only just got out before they turned up. What would have happened if I'd still been in the room?”
    “They wouldn't have hurt you. Those two are the admin guys. They just issue the warnings. If they were serious, they'd have sent 'Goldie' around.”
    “Goldie?”
    “Yeah. If he gets involved you know you're really in trouble.”
     “Oh shit,” Suzy said. “Pour me a drink.”
    “What?” Todd did as she said.
    Suzy knocked it back. “I think I may have run into Goldie.”
    “You said there were only two of them.”
    “In the hotel—yeah. Outside, I ran into a big guy with two gold front teeth.”
    “Oh shit.”
    Todd's whole demeanour changed. He seemed to shrink into his seat.
    “Why don't