The two men walked down the hall. The bald one draped his arm around the prickly woman’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. Charlie walked out the front door without even acknowledging me. I followed him outside.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked.
He glanced back at me. “Do I know you?”
I wasn’t the best when it came to facial recognition, but it seemed odd that he didn’t remember me. Today his hair was different. It was the same color but neatly trimmed and short. He reminded me of Edward Norton.
“You cut your hair,” I said.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. You had it in a ponytail when I saw you last.”
He threw his hands in the air. “What are you talking about?”
I was starting to feel like I was going crazy. Perhaps I was.
“You’re James’ lawyer,” I said. “We met at the police station. You sat with me when I was being questioned.”
He nodded. “Ohh ... I see what’s happening here. You’re thinking of my cousin, Charlie.”
I stared at him for a moment, scanning him up and down before realizing my mistake. The longer I looked at his face, the more I noticed the subtle differences between them.
“I can’t believe how much you look alike,” I said.
“Yeah, same height, same hairstyle until recently, and we’re only one year apart I get it. It happens sometimes.”
“Sorry for the mistake.”
He stuck his hand out. “I’m Brad.”
We shook. “I’m Sloane. I wouldn’t have aggressively pursued you if I had known you were someone else. What are you doing here?”
“Martin and I are on a rugby team together. We were just discussing the team dinner after the final game next week.”
I assumed Martin was the bald therapist who also worked in Caroline’s office.
“There’s one other therapist who works here too, right?”
He pointed at himself. “Yeah, me. What are you doing here?”
I wasn’t sure if here meant Australia or if he was asking why I was standing in front of him. “I’m just grabbing some things out of Caroline’s office.”
He folded his arms. “Why?”
It wasn’t what he asked, but how he asked that interested me. “I’m helping James gather some of her things together. He has a lot going on right now.”
“I heard. Why was my cousin with you at the police station?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard about the woman who just died, right? Adelaide Wiggins.”
“Yeah.”
“I was with her right before she was murdered,” I said. “The police just wanted to ask me about it.”
“Why were you with her?”
“I was at Caroline’s house, picking up some clothes for Grace.”
“Another errand for James?”
“Something like that.”
“Hey, I think the news said a woman named Sloane was with James when he was attacked at the park. That you too?”
I nodded.
“Seems like you keep finding yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I could say it’s a coincidence,” I said.
“You could, but would it be true?”
“What was your relationship like with Caroline?”
He stared at me a moment and then said, “Healthy. Nice meeting you, Sloane.”
He walked to his car and got in without saying another word. I tapped on the window. He put it down.
“I wasn’t completely honest with you just now,” I said. “I mean, I wasn’t lying either ... I just wasn’t telling you—”
“I know. Care to start again?”
“I’m a private investigator, and I’m here to help solve the recent murders, specifically Caroline’s. I’ve been keeping that part quiet because it could be problematic for me to be here if word gets out about what I’m doing.”
I didn’t know why I’d just blurted it all out like I had. Maybe because when it came to therapists, I’d always assumed they were trained to know when I was lying, and that had caused me to run my mouth.
“And how’s it going—solving her murder?” he asked.
“Not well at the moment. I was hoping I might find something of value in her office.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You were honest with me, so I’ll be honest with you. I liked her.”
“She’s like a broken record,” I said. “When it comes to her, everyone says the same thing.”
“No, I mean, I liked her. And I think she liked me too. It’s a bit difficult because we were colleagues, but a couple of months ago I took a chance and asked her out.”
“Didn’t you know she was dating Hugh?”
“I knew she wanted to break it off with him.”
“What did she say when you asked her out?”
“She told me she had a lot of things going on and to give her a few months and then ask again. As you know, I never got the chance. She seemed genuinely interested in getting together once things settled down, but I also wondered if she could have already been seeing someone else.”
“What makes you think that?”
“She started staying at my place.”
“Staying at your place?” I asked.
“Oh, no. Not with me. I own a rental house on the ocean. Well, above the ocean. It’s close to Fitzroy Island. I had a window installed along the center of the floor. You can sit and watch sea life swim by. It’s a great place to stay for peace and quiet, and it’s private. You need a boat to get there.”
“What do you mean she’d started staying there?”
“She rented it from me one weekend a month.”
“How often?” I asked.
“Let’s see ... I’d say about four times or so.”
“And she never told you why she was going there?”
He shook his head. “No idea.”
“How many bedrooms does it have?”
“Five.”
“When was the last time she stayed there?”
“Four months ago, I think? I was kind of surprised.”
“Why?”
“She had it booked for two more months, and she came into my office one day and canceled. I asked if she wanted to move the reservation to a different date, and she said no. She wouldn’t be needing it again.”