Colin left the bedroom and wandered down the expansive corridor once more. He felt like he’d walked the hallways so many times that, should they need a tour guide in the near future, he would be in pole position for that job.
Once more, he descended the staircase with burning hamstrings, eyeing who was on the front desk as he did so.
It was a dark-haired man. Not the same one who had greeted them with a single key on arrival. This man was a little shorter with a clean-shaven face. Colin watched him converse with one of Emily’s friends, his movements fluid as he took a key out of a drawer and passed it to her at the same time as telling her the directions to her room.
Colin waited until she’d gathered up her suitcases.
Plural.
A lot of luggage for two night’s stay, he thought to himself as she walked away, wheeling one case while hoisting a smaller bag onto her shoulder.
‘How can I help you?’ the man behind the desk said. His accent suggested he originally came from Belfast way.
Colin stepped forward.
‘I’m wondering if you know who was working on the desk last night?’ he said.
‘That was me,’ the man said, extending his hand across the desk. ‘James Miller.’
Colin shook his hand.
‘I was wondering if you saw my friend…’
James’s gaze diverted from him and Colin realised that someone had joined the queue behind him. James smiled at Colin.
‘I think I know what you want to talk about.’ He checked his watch. ‘I’m about to clock off. Why don’t you meet me outside and I can answer some of your questions?’
Colin nodded and stood aside, letting an older lady pass by him. He turned and walked through the huge door, coming to rest on the steps outside. He squinted into the sunlight, wishing he’d had the foresight to bring his sunglasses with him.
While Colin was watching the few clouds in the sky drift lazily past, Adam was busy in the room. He moved from table to wall, picking up a piece of paper, pressing some Blu Tack onto the back of it before sticking it onto the wall. Police officers usually had a case board, one that they could wheel about easily and add to when needed, but this would do for now.
When he had exhausted his pile of paper, he stood back and took his creation in. It may not be pretty, but it was already helping him to piece together the case like a jigsaw. He just needed to voice his theory aloud.
For that, he needed his partner.
Colin jumped as James tapped his shoulder. He had been thinking about everything and nothing, lost in the haze and heat of the day. Thoughts worked their way back and forth through his head; stupidity and embarrassment that he’d agreed to undertake the task of detective at all. Every time he had to ask questions, he felt like a boy playing a game with grown-ups who were simply humouring him. On the other hand, he’d managed to uncover definite clues that suggested that Danny was murdered.
James sat down beside him on the step, pulling a cigarette out. He offered one to Colin, who declined, before lighting his own.
‘So, it was you who was working last night?’ Colin asked.
James nodded, exhaling a plume of acrid smoke.
‘We’re always short staffed around this time of year, on account of the parades, which I have no interest in,’ he explained. ‘It means working a late night and an early morning, but I’m alright with that for the overtime pay.’
‘And you thought you might’ve seen my friend who died?’
‘Sorry to hear he was your mate,’ James said, nodding. ‘I’m sure it was him, because I was the one who showed the police to his room this morning. I recognised him immediately.’
‘Why?’ Colin asked. Danny didn’t really have any distinguishing features to speak off; nothing that made him stand out from the crowd.
‘Because I remember thinking last night that he seemed like he was up to something. He was loitering in the reception and when I asked him if he needed anything, he shook his head. He seemed like this bag of directionless energy. Then, his phone rang and he ran outside.’
‘And you didn’t see what he was up to outside.’
‘No,’ he answered, shaking his head. ‘Like I said, we’re short staffed and I’m not meant to leave the desk. I assumed he had gone to meet a girl or something. I didn’t think any more of it until he came in again a few minutes later.’
He stopped to take another puff of his cigarette, which was burning close to his fingers. Colin remained silent, afraid he’d interrupt the thread of the story.
‘When he came back in, he seemed changed. The frenzy of before was gone, replaced with… swagger, maybe,’ he said, shrugging his shoulders.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, he came in with his shoulders rolling, like he thought he was the big man. He was holding an envelope and going through whatever was inside. I was about to ask, because I was worried it was drugs, but he was gone before I could say anything.’
‘Did anything else happen with him?’
‘No,’ he said, throwing his cigarette on the step and stamping on it, before lifting it again. ‘I shouldn’t leave that there. More than my job’s worth!’
Colin thanked him and stood to leave.
‘Oh, one more thing, actually,’ James said. ‘After he put the envelope away, he walked upstairs. I heard him talking to someone, another lad, sounded like a bit of an argument. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, only the tone of the conversation and it wasn’t friendly.’
He stood and began walking towards a red Corsa.
‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time I got some shut eye.’
Colin’s face fell when he took in what Adam had been up to in his absence.
The wall was covered in paper, pages and pages of it. Pictures of people and a bird’s-eye view of the manor house were connected with pieces of red string.
‘Please tell me you haven’t used Blu Tack to stick that up?’ Colin said.
‘Why?’
‘It stains the wall. I don’t fancy paying some bill to have it cleaned.’
Adam waved his concerns away with a flick of his wrist. He stood slightly to the side of his masterpiece, and Colin saw the glint in his eye that preceded a show. He pulled the chair out from below the table and sat down in front of the mass of paper, feeling very much like a pupil in Adam’s classroom.
Before Adam began, he asked his friend to give him the skinny on what he’d found out from the receptionist. As he relayed his story, Colin thought that the information he was giving was slotting nicely into whatever theory Adam had conjured up in his absence, judging from the look on his face.
‘No CCTV?’ Adam asked when Colin had finished.
His friend’s face fell.
‘I didn’t check.’
‘Luckily, I did. Yesterday. There aren’t any cameras on the exterior and none that I can see in the inside either. Do you want to hear what I’ve come up with?’
Colin nodded.
‘Now,’ said Adam, assuming a theatrical air. ‘I’m not saying this is what happened or anything, only what I’ve managed to piece together.’
He pointed first to the pictures of the people he’d stuck up – profile pictures from Facebook, judging by the varied poses and locations of the photos.
Colin took in the list of suspects.
Sam, the blackmailed groom.
Ross, the twin who lost out on being best man.
Vicky, the ex-girlfriend who Danny had sex with.
Neil, Vicky’s boyfriend who may or may not have known about his girlfriend’s infidelity.
‘I printed these off before finding out about the phone, so my theory has changed slightly. I still think it could be any one of these, but I think they are working with someone.’
‘Who?’
‘Whoever came by car and gave Danny the cash. There’s no way of telling who that is yet.’
Colin mulled it over. It would make sense that whoever handed the money over would be behind the murder. But he knew it couldn’t physically be that person because the receptionist heard them drive away. Could they have teamed up with someone in the house to get their money back and take away any further blackmailing opportunities?
‘Makes sense,’ Colin said, eyes focussed on the wall again. ‘Is there anyone we can rule out?’
Adam considered this.
‘I think we should keep them all in mind at the minute, but Neil is probably the easiest to rule out. The rest were definitely in the house and aware of Danny wronging them in some way. Neil was probably on his way home, oblivious to his girlfriend cheating on him. If only we had CCTV, we could clarify a few things.’
‘I know where we can go,’ Colin said, his eyes widening. ‘But first, get the Blu Tack off the walls.’