Since Osian’s mum and sister would show up early to discuss the wedding, Dannel was out the door the following morning with barely a kiss goodbye to his husband-to-be. He didn’t want to get roped into the conversation.
“What’d you find?” Dannel greeted Chris with a question when they met outside the tube station near his office. “Anything interesting in the files?”
“Spyware.” Chris pulled the drive out of his pocket, this time secured in an evidence bag. “A few blurry images that show nothing at all. Just a ruse to get you to download everything onto your computer.”
“Why?” Dannel followed Chris, who began walking down the street toward where he’d parked his vehicle. “What would the point be?”
Chris stared at Dannel over the top of his sunglasses for several seconds. “Access to whatever you have on your laptop.”
“Armour porn?” Dannel grinned. “Seriously? What could he possibly hope to find? We’re not the actual police. We’ve no insight into the investigation.”
Chris leaned against the side of his vehicle, tossing his keychain up in the air a few times. “You are investigating.”
“Okay. Fair, but if I’d committed murder, I’d want to know what the police had on me.” He dug into his pocket for his phone when it beeped. He frowned at the message from his brother. “Rolly’s suspension has been upheld—this time without pay.”
“What? Why?”
“He has no idea.” Dannel quickly typed out a text message to Osian. “Ossie’s going to meet with Haider after he's finished with his mum. See if they had something to do with it.”
“Haider doesn’t seem the type.” Chris unlocked his vehicle. “Let’s go chase Willa Abraham down. We can meet up with Osian when we’re done.”
“How are we chasing her down?”
“Let me worry about it.” Chris spent the next few minutes on his phone.
Despite Dannel’s best efforts, Chris wouldn’t explain how he learned where Willa was. Finally, they found her stepping out of her favourite café. Dannel almost regretted seeing her.
He hated confrontation.
“Can I help you?” Willa had her coffee cup in one hand and her phone in the other. “Well? I’m late for a meeting with a client.”
“What did you do with Wayne’s keys the night of the murder? You had control over them for several hours.” Dannel blurted out the question.
“I beg your pardon. How is this any of your business?” She tilted her head to the side, staring at them for several moments before answering. “I left them on my coffee table until Wayne came by looking for them around seven or eight. I can’t recall. I was half-asleep when he knocked on my door.”
“And Edgar? Was he with you all night?” Chris asked.
Willa narrowed her eyes on them immediately. “That is most certainly not any of your business.”
“It’s important. Please?” Dannel tried to be disarming. He wasn’t sure it worked. “Please?”
Willa sighed. She sipped her coffee. “I don’t do breakfast the next morning with men. He left after we finished. So I went to bed and slept off my evening.”
“And the keys were in the same spot you left them?” Chris pressed.
“They were on the coffee table. Unfortunately, I didn’t memorise the precise spot.” Willa pushed between them to continue down the pavement. “You’ve made me late. I might bill you.”
They watched her saunter off. Dannel had a feeling Edgar had gone to the top of their suspect list. But had he acted alone?
“Do you believe her?” Dannel turned toward the queue for the café. “Want to grab a coffee? I’m thinking about heading over to the police station to speak with Haider. He’s closer with Osian, but… I want to know what’s going on with Rolly.”
“Osian—”
“Ossie is busy distracting our mums and his sister by pretending to agree to their wedding plan ideas.” Dannel had a feeling he owed Osian something special for abandoning him to the chaotic madness of their family. “Not sure he’ll forgive me by the time the day’s over.”
“So, basically, he’s doing the dirty work.”
“Oi. I proposed. That was hard enough.” Dannel grinned.
“Hey, check it out.” Chris gestured over Dannel’s shoulder. “Willa.”
They watched her storm down the pavement toward them. Willa had her phone to her ear, shouting at the person at the end of the line. She stalked by them without even acknowledging their presence.
“No, Edgar. I won’t calm down.”
It was the only part of the conversation they heard. She disappeared around the corner. Dannel glanced over at Chris, who shrugged.
“Trouble in paradise?” Chris muttered. “She’s not pleased about something. I’d say we put a fly in the ointment.”
“Disgusting.”
“But true.” Chris checked his watch. “Why don’t we grab coffee and doughnuts? Bribe our way into DI Khan’s good graces.”
“Not sure he has them when it comes to civilians investigating.” Dannel wouldn’t say no to sugary treats and caffeinated goodness. He grabbed his phone to read the text Osian had sent him. “I am apparently a terrible human being who owes him a full body massage.”
“More information than I needed.” Chris shook his head.
After grabbing coffee and doughnuts, they made their way to the police station. Dannel felt the awkward silence grow in the vehicle. He almost regretted trading places with Osian.
Almost.
An awkward conversation with a friend was infinitely better than trying to corral the strong women in their lives. No way. Not happening. I’d wind up agreeing to all their ideas.
“How’s your sister?” Dannel decided to fill the silence with something.
“Grumpy.” Chris chuckled. “She changed her phone number so Edgar can’t call. Not sure it’ll stop him. I might go out to see her.”
“Florida?”
“I could use a suntan,” Chris revealed, grinning when Dannel glanced sharply at him. “What?”
“Nothing.”
On the short walk from where they parked to the police station, Dannel considered their options. Walk in and ask for Haider? He’d see them coming a mile away.
He’d probably see them coming a mile away no matter what they did.
It was tempting to simply go home and enjoy the doughnuts. But then Dannel remembered his brother’s suspension from the force. The job Roland had always wanted to do.
Someone had attempted to sandbag his brother. Dannel wanted answers. He felt like they had too many loose threads needing to be tied together.
He couldn’t help feeling that they were running out of time to knot them.
“Quid for your thoughts?” Chris nudged him lightly with his elbow.
“Thinking about Barnaby Sharrow’s murder and everything else.” Dannel waved his hands, unsure of how to voice his thoughts fully.
“We’re about to have something else to ponder.” Chris pointed to two familiar figures exiting the police station. “Hello, Detectives. Fancy running into you here.”
“Yes, fancy meeting detectives outside a police station filled with them.” DI Powell rolled her eyes at them. She waved her hand when Chris held the box of doughnuts out to them. “I’ll pass.”
“I won’t.” Haider grabbed one of the doughnuts for himself. “We can’t tell you anything about the Sharrow case with or without a bribe.”
“Can we…” Dannel trailed off.
Leaving Chris to distract the other detective, Dannel led Haider further down the pavement to the narrow passage leading toward the car park behind the police station. Dannel stared at the doughnut in Haider’s hand. He suddenly forgot the questions he’d practised in his head.
“Dannel?” Haider brushed crumbs off his sleeve. “How can I help?”
“My brother.” Dannel cursed his sudden loss of words.
“Roland?” Haider shifted the doughnut to his other hand. He stepped closer to Dannel. “He’s been placed on temporary suspension pending an investigation.”
“For what?”
Haider massaged his forehead, sighing heavily. “You and your fiancé will be the death of me.”
“Not literally.”
“Death of my career.” Haider chuckled. “Off the record?”
“I don’t have a record.”
“Right.” Haider took a bite of the doughnut and seemed to consider his words carefully. “Tampering with evidence in an ongoing investigation.”
“Rolly?” Dannel knew his brother would never have done anything to jeopardise a case. “Seriously? Rolly?”
“I happen to agree with you.” Haider tilted his head around, checking for anyone passing by. “I’ve seen zero evidence. It’s my case, and I’d certainly know if he had been.”
“Which means?”
“He—or you and Osian—has managed to ruffle some important feathers.” Haider popped the last bite of the doughnut into his mouth. “I’ve told you both repeatedly to let the police handle the investigation. There are a lot of toes you don’t know not to step on here.”
Dannel stared at him, mildly confused. “What?”
“Be careful. That’s all I’m saying.” Haider patted his shoulder, then headed back over to his partner.
So who is it?
The handsy judge, the not grieving widow, the solicitor who had Wayne’s keys, or the angry bodyguard?
Handsy hamster in the courthouse with a silk tie?
Dannel had a distinct feeling it was going to get worse before it got better.
If it gets better.