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Maggie put her hand on the man’s shoulder. He jumped, and turned around. He broke into a big smile when he saw her.
“Maggie! Hi. What a lovely surprise.”
“Hi, Sam. Here, get under my umbrella. You’re getting soaked.” She manoeuvred the umbrella until it was covering them both.
“Thanks. I wasn’t expecting rain today. It just came out of nowhere.”
“You should meet Delia’s neighbour. She’s like a human weather forecaster. She told me it was going to rain. Apparently, it’s going to get worse. Where are you going?”
“Back to the shop. I nipped out for a bit of food for Jake and me.” He smiled again. “I’ve been thinking about you.”
“Have you?”
He nodded. “I was wondering how you were getting on with your investigation.”
“Oh. Right.”
“And I was wondering how you were. Are you okay? Have you got time for a chat? Come back to the shop with me and I’ll put the kettle on. If you’re hungry, you can share my food. There’s plenty.”
Maggie said, “I’m not hungry, but I’d love to have a chat. If you’re not too busy?”
“I’m not too busy for you.”
They set off towards Sam’s building, cosy under the umbrella together.
He said, “I wanted to phone you, but I didn’t want to bother you.”
“You’re not a bother. I wanted to phone you too.” She gave him a shy smile. “But I didn’t want to bother you.”
He laughed. “What a pair of polite and considerate idiots we are.”
The rain got heavier, and their steps got quicker. They reached the surveillance shop a few minutes later.
Jake was on the phone behind the reception desk, but he gave Maggie a wave and a quick smile.
Sam took Maggie’s wet umbrella and coat. He said, “I’ll put these in the kitchen. Take a seat, I won’t be long. Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee, please. White, no sugar.”
“I know how you take your coffee.” He smiled once more before disappearing into the kitchen.
Maggie settled herself in one of the visitor’s chairs in front of the reception desk. She looked around the shop. If she was going to work here, she’d like to make it more welcoming. With Sam’s permission, of course. She shuffled in her seat. Comfier chairs would be a start.
Jake ended his phone call, and grinned over at Maggie. “Are you thinking about all the changes you’re going to make in here?”
“No. Maybe. Okay, yes I am. It looks very clinical, like being in a hospital.”
“That’s Dad’s fault.”
“What’s my fault?” Sam asked as he came into the room carrying a tray.
Jake nodded at Maggie. “She thinks this shop is like a morgue.”
Maggie defended herself. “I didn’t say morgue. More like a hospital. The lights are too harsh. These chairs too uncomfortable. The walls are too bare.” She winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”
Sam set the tray down. “You haven’t insulted me. But you’re right about this place. It’s awful. You’ve seen the lack of decorating skills in my house. Feel free to make any changes here This is your place of work too. If you still want to work here?” He handed her a cup of coffee.
“I do want to work here. But you might not want me to. I’m not doing a very good job.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” Sam replied. He handed a cup to Jake along with a plate of food.
Jake took the items. “Why are we eating from plates instead of the paper bags? Is the queen coming for a visit?”
Sam said, “It wouldn’t hurt you to have some table manners.”
“What do I need them for?” Jake began to shovel the food into his mouth.
Sam shared an exasperated look with Maggie before taking a seat opposite her. “Do you mind if I eat while you tell us what you’ve been up to?”
“I don’t mind at all. Go ahead.”
Maggie took a drink of coffee before proceeding to tell them about what she’d discovered. She noticed Sam’s expression hardening when she mentioned talking to DCI Dexter, but the hard look didn’t last long. She left out the part about DCI Dexter buying her an ice cream, not that she was bothered what Sam would think about that. Well, maybe she was bothered a little.
When she’d finished talking, Jake said, “So, Toby could be telling the truth about killing Harvey. If he knew about the engagement, then he had a motive. And if he knew about Elliott hiding a treasure box in that tree, then he had the opportunity to be in the right place at the right time. And he could have sawn through some branches to make sure Harvey did fall to the ground when he pushed him.”
Maggie asked, “But why would Harvey have climbed the tree? Especially when he was scared of heights.”
Jake shrugged. “That’s a mystery.” He looked over at Sam. “Dad, if you’re not having that food, pass it here.”
Sam pushed his plate of half-eaten food towards his son.
Maggie put her empty coffee cup down. “What would possess a person to climb a tree if they were scared of heights?”
“Love,” Sam said. His look was aimed directly at her. “Love makes you do anything. Maggie, if your son was stuck up a tree, wouldn’t you rescue him? Even if you were terrified of heights.”
“I would. And I have. Twice.” Maggie smiled at the memories of a young Oscar crying out for her from the branches of an oak tree.
With a mouth full of food, Jake asked, “Dad, would you rescue me?”
Sam’s eyes twinkled. “It depends on the height of the tree.”
“Charming.” Jake’s focus went back to his food.
Maggie said, “We don’t know why Harvey climbed the tree, but only that he did climb it.”
“Do we?” Sam asked. “We’re assuming he did based on the evidence we saw. But evidence can be planted. Someone could have hit Harvey in certain places on his body to make it look like he fell.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” Maggie admitted. “If we assume it was Toby who killed Harvey, then why did Toby mug Delia?”
Sam answered, “Maybe when Toby found out about Polly and Harvey, he threatened Harvey. And then Harvey wrote about that in one of his notebooks. That would make Toby a prime suspect.”
Maggie’s shoulders dropped. “Oh, I hadn’t thought about that either. You’re very good at this, Sam. Much better than me.”
“I doubt that. You’re doing a great job.” The look in Sam’s eyes was warm.
“Thank you,” Maggie replied with a smile.
“You’re welcome.”
Jake cleared his throat noisily. “If you two have quite finished, there is something I’d like to say.”
Maggie tore her attention away from Sam. “Yes?”
Jake asked, “Have you spoken to the person who took Delia to the police station after the mugging? Weren’t they a witness?”
“I don’t know who that was.”
“I can find out,” Jake replied. He turned to his computer and began to tap on the keys.
Maggie asked Sam, “What’s he doing? Hacking into the police records?”
Sam glanced over at Jake. “He’s not hacking into the police records, just into their CCTV system.”
“Is that legal?”
Sam looked at Maggie. “There are some questions which shouldn’t be answered.” He added a smile which didn’t help Maggie feel any better about what Jake was doing.
She decided to change the subject in an effort to ignore whatever Jake was up to. She asked Sam, “How’s your new contract going?”
“It’s great. Very interesting. It’ll keep us busy for weeks. Maybe months.” His smile was a bit more reserved this time, so Maggie didn’t ask him anything else.
Sam said, “Would you like another coffee?”
“No. Thank you.” Maggie looked over her shoulder and through the window. “Looks like the rain is easing.” She turned back to Sam. “Rain’s good for the garden.”
“It is. Indeed. It is,” Sam said with a series of nods. “But the sun is good for the garden too.”
“Indeed.” Maggie added a nod to her word.
Jake said, “Sorry to disturb your scintillating conversation about the weather, but I’ve found the person who took Delia to the police station.”
Sam wheeled his chair over to Sam. Maggie walked over and looked over Jake’s shoulder at the image on the screen.
“No. It can’t be.” Maggie looked at Sam. “Is it?”
Sam nodded. “It is. I recognise that beard and man-bun. It’s Elliott.