Keeping an eye on Mills, convinced he was going nowhere, Danny went to check up on Kofi.
His friend was sitting up, his back to the wall.
‘Good,’ Danny said. ‘You’re OK?’
When Kofi put his arms to his side to get up, Danny rested his hand on his friend’s shoulder.
‘Stay there. There’s an ambulance coming. Let them check you out first.’
Kofi nodded. ‘What about Ian?’
‘He’ll be OK. A few broken ribs, I expect. That’s why he can’t move much. But the police will be here soon.’
‘It was good you were here,’ Kofi said.
‘I know.’
Then they heard the sirens. Coming their way.
Danny was surprised how focused the police were.
Once they had checked out that Danny and Kofi were OK, they moved on to Mills. Mills had been lifted on to a wheelchair by the paramedics. He was OK. Danny watched him carefully. He was wondering what Mills would say to incriminate him.
‘Are you Ian Mills?’ one of the officers asked. He was short and lean. He had the physique of a long-distance runner.
‘I am,’ Mills said.
‘I am arresting you for the abduction and false imprisonment of Charlotte Duncan –’
‘The what?’ Danny shouted, making the police officers jump.
‘I’ve got her,’ Mills said, smiling at Danny. ‘You can arrest me for that. And you can arrest me for all the burglaries of the footballers. Paul Wire had nothing to do with any of them. There’s no way he’s getting the credit for them.’
Danny lunged at Mills, grabbing him by his clothes. ‘Where is she? If you’ve hurt her, I’ll kill you.’
His head had definitely gone this time. It had been hard enough thinking that Charlotte wanted to spend time with someone like him. But the idea that he had harmed her was too much.
The voice came from behind Danny.
Danny let go of Mills, pushing him away. Then he turned round.
Charlotte was standing in the doorway. With Kofi. And unharmed.
After over an hour answering police questions, the police offered to take Danny and Charlotte home in one of their cars. But Danny said he wanted to walk.
He asked Charlotte if she would come too.
Someone from City FC had arrived to see if Kofi was all right. And now that the media were there in force, Danny wanted to get away. He checked for Holt as they walked through the park, but he was not among the growing phalanx of reporters.
Danny wondered why he wasn’t.
As they walked, Charlotte put her arm in Danny’s. She hadn’t done that before. But it felt OK.
Once Charlotte had explained what had happened to her – and Danny had stopped laughing at the pictures she had taken of Mills’s car – she started to ask Danny questions.
‘So if Mills said he was going to get you into trouble for being involved in the burglaries, why didn’t he?’
Danny frowned. ‘I think he wanted all the glory for himself.’
‘Glory? He’ll end up in prison.’
‘He will. But I think he’s happier in prison and famous for something, than out of prison and not famous.’
‘I don’t get that,’ Charlotte said.
‘Nor me,’ Danny agreed, ‘but that’s how he works.’
Danny thought back to Wire. He and Mills were remarkably similar in their strange need for notoriety. What had Wire been doing claiming responsibility for the burglaries if it was Mills who had been doing it all along – in fact what was he actually doing in the house in the first place? Danny couldn’t put the City FC papers Wire had been so desperate for out of his mind. There was a lead there. He knew it. But one run-in with the police this week was enough for Danny. He would leave it for now.
Eventually they reached Danny’s house. There was a familiar car at the front.
‘Holt’s here,’ Danny said. ‘He must have come straight here to talk to me.’
Charlotte said nothing in reply as they went up the garden path. The front-room curtains were drawn.
Danny opened the front door.
His sister shot out of the living room, looking guilty.
‘Is Anton here?’ Danny asked.
‘Er … yeah,’ Emily said. ‘I thought you were Mum and Dad.’
‘They’re not back for two days,’ Danny said. What was going on?
Charlotte followed Danny into the front room.
Anton was sitting there, a cup of tea in front of him. He smiled at Danny. It was a funny smile and Danny was not quite sure what it meant.
‘So you heard?’ Danny said.
‘Er … about what?’ Holt said.
‘Mills. The attack on Kofi. Charlotte,’ Danny gasped.
Holt stood up, looking over Danny’s shoulder. ‘Charlotte. What? Are you OK?’
Charlotte smiled at Holt, then at Danny. ‘I’m fine,’ she said.
Now Holt was firing questions. What had happened to Kofi? How was Charlotte involved? What had the police said? Was someone from the Evening Post there?
Once Holt had finished Danny decided he wanted to ask a question. ‘So, if you didn’t know any of that was going on, why did you come round to see me?’
Danny heard Charlotte laugh, then Emily. He looked at Holt, who had managed to keep a straight face.
Danny looked at Charlotte. ‘What?’
Charlotte glanced at Holt, then at Emily. Then she raised her eyebrows at Danny.
It was a message. How had he missed it? Emily was going out with Anton!
And Danny could feel himself blushing. Heavily.
‘Great detective you are,’ Charlotte said, linking her arm into his again.