Joe went to find his boss and I told Lea (who had mostly stopped sobbing by this point) to drive herself home while I poked around some more. Fingers crossed Tim wouldn’t mind giving me a lift to the burial.
I hurried after him, calling out once we were free of the throng of mourners. He glanced over his shoulder and saw me, then waited on the church lawn until I reached him.
“What’s up?”
“Any chance of a lift?” I asked, a teensy bit breathless from the three seconds of slightly-faster-than-usual walking I’d just done.
Tim raised his eyebrows. “You trying to piggyback on my investigation?”
Definitely. “No.”
“Sure.”
“But now that you mention it…”
He folded his arms. “Here we go.”
“We really should partner up,” I said, wondering what the chances were that he’d actually go for it.
He stared at me for a moment. “You realise you’re the one who owes me the favour, right? Not the other way round.”
“I might not be as experienced with this kind of thing as you are, but I have insight into this case that you don’t have.”
“Did you ever even meet the victim?”
“No,” I admitted.
“Exactly.”
“But I know James.”
“I know James too.”
“Not as well as me.”
“How does that help me? He’s my client. I’m not investigating him.”
“I might not have known Frank, but I do know the rest of his family.”
Tim raised an eyebrow. “And do you think one of them might have done it?”
“No.”
“Great. Thanks for the insight. You’ve been invaluable.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as I attempted to bring a mental image of Lea into focus, encouraging me to keep trying against the odds. I didn’t know what I was doing. I had next to nothing to offer. Why would Tim agree to work with me?
“James offered me money if I solve this. Likely more than you’re getting paid to investigate. If you show me the ropes, maybe I can cut you in.”
“Do you know how much I’m getting paid?”
“No,” I admitted. “But are you really going to turn down an extra five grand?” I figured a quarter of the total cash prize would be enough to entice him. Still left seven and a half each for me and Lea if my maths was right, although there was a good chance it wasn’t.
“Only five?”
“You can be roommates with me and Lea in the house we’re getting as well if you like.”
Tim smirked. “That’s quite an offer,” he said. “Alright. To be clear, I’m not agreeing to help you, but next time, lead with the money.”
“Noted.”
“What have you found out so far?”
I frowned. “Why would I tell you? You just said you’re not agreeing to help me.”
“If you’ve managed to find out anything I’m impressed by, I’ll help you. I’m not sharing everything I have, but if you can prove you have any idea what you’re doing, I might flick a clue or two your way.”
Uh oh. I wanted a clue or two, but there was no way I could prove I had any idea what I was doing. I didn’t. Even slightly. That was why I’d come to him.
“You’re going to have to do better than that if you want the money,” I said.
He grinned. “You’re getting better at this negotiation thing.” Phew. “How about you don’t tell me the exact evidence you’ve gathered, but you just tell me the general nature of it?”
“I have a suspect based on their behaviour at the funeral.”
“Chad. Easy. Everyone in that room suspects him now. If that’s the best you can do –”
“I know the full names of the kids who found the body.”
He paused for a second. “How does that help me?”
“They can tell us what they saw. People in the area, where exactly the body was left in the park, how it was lying. I haven’t seen the crime-scene photos or the kids’ statements and I assume you haven’t either, so that’s probably the easiest way to get more information about the murder itself.”
“You’re going to interrogate a couple kids about what is almost definitely the most traumatic moment of their lives for your own financial gain?”
“It sounds bad when you say it like that.”
“Is there a way you can say it that doesn’t sound bad?”
I thought for a moment. “Allowing them to speak their truth?”
“Shit.” He looked me up and down. “Maybe I should add you to my suspect list. You’re clearly not wired right.”
“OK, fine, it’s a last resort. I only started this murder-solving thing yesterday. Give me a break.”
“Though I question your morals, I am slightly impressed that you found out their names.”
My eyes widened. “Impressed enough to team up with me to solve this?”
“Let’s not go wild. Enough to maybe throw you a piece of evidence or occasionally take you along when I talk to witnesses.”
“Are you going to question Chad?”
He shook his head. “Not today. I’ll give him some time to come down first. Swing by tomorrow and see what he has to say for himself. He’s not going to be much good to us at the moment.”
We walked to Tim’s car together – a black sports car that would have looked like a mid-life crisis driven by anyone else but somehow suited him – and climbed inside.
“So, Charlie,” he said as we drove. “I sort of got the impression today that you and McKenzie don’t generally get along. Any particular reason?”
“There are too many reasons to even begin to list.”
He smiled. “I’m interested to see how long you’re going to last. I’m starting to think you might be more determined than I predicted.”
“Investigating this murder? I’ll stick with it to the bitter end, I promise. Anything to upstage McKenzie.”
He shook his head. “I meant at the job.”
I frowned. “You don’t think I’m capable of being a receptionist?” That seemed a bit rude. Sure, he might be right, but he shouldn’t just come right out and say a thing like that.
Tim’s face split into a smile and he laughed raucously. “If you think that’s the full extent of what you’ll be doing, you should quit the investigation game while you’re ahead. Clearly figuring things out isn’t your forte.”
My already furrowed brow began to hurt a little from all the concerned expressions I was making. “What else does the job involve?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to spoil it for you. You’ll find out soon enough.”
“If you weren’t so charming, Tim, a lot of the stuff that comes out of your mouth would sound really creepy.”
“Nothing creepy, I promise.”
I mimed wiping my brow. “Phew.”
“But it’ll be interesting to see how you react to the company exercise program.”
My heart stopped. No, really. My body would rather die than work out.
“Wait – the what now?”
As much as I probed, Tim refused to expand on his remarks about what ‘receptionist’ was apparently code for when it came to Baxter & Co.
He also wouldn’t tell me more about this workout program, which part of me was glad about. Maybe in this case ignorance really was bliss. I’d just take whatever horrific task they threw at me as it came. Like James had said at the funeral, I was tough. It would be fine. Everything would be…
My mind wandered back to the state of the reception desk before I’d tidied it up. The last guy had really gone to town on it before leaving. Oh no. What had I gotten myself into? I took a deep breath and exhaled to calm myself. It didn’t matter. Nothing was as bad as Jezza and the rat army.
Even if the new job involved – excuse me while I swallow down a little bit of vomit – exercise.
“You should probably get there a bit early tomorrow. Adam will have to show you what your job actually is and how to do it.”
“Adam? As in Adam Baxter?”
Tim raised an eyebrow. “A name you saw while snooping through files you shouldn’t have been?”
I shrugged noncommittally. Like Tim didn’t already know he was right. “Or maybe a name I just heard you mention to the cops. What’s he like?”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I’ve made some pretty average first impressions so far and I’m hoping when I meet my next colleague I can rectify that.”
“I doubt it.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “There’s no need to be mean.”
“I wasn’t trying to be. I just meant that Adam… He’s probably not a person you’re going to become friends with.”
“Because I’m a lowly receptionist and his name’s on the plaque at the door?”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not like that. Adam’s just a little…” He shrugged. “You’ll see.”
“Do you not like him?”
“He’s one of my best friends. He likes people who are good at what they do.”
Uh oh. I was in trouble, then. Unless being amazing at eating two-minute noodles counted as being good at what I did.
“So you don’t think I’m competent enough to be worthy of his company?”
“I don’t think that. He might, though.”
Great. “What you’re essentially telling me is that he’s an arsehole, then.”
Tim smiled. “What I’m saying is that you shouldn’t be offended if he doesn’t immediately invite you to his house for a sleepover.”
I frowned. “You need to think through what you’re saying before it comes out of your mouth, Tim. If my boss invited me to his house for a sleepover, I’d report him immediately. Well, after punching him in the face.”
“I meant it innocently. You’re the one who’s reading into that. All I’m trying to say is that you guys might not be instant besties. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Am I going to have to deal with him often?”
“He basically runs the Gerongate branch. Harry’s not around much,” he explained. “Travels a lot. Setting up offices overseas, you know. So his son takes care of Gerongate.”
“Didn’t you say Adam was your solicitor back at the funeral?”
“Yeah. He does that too.”
Well, someone was an overachiever. Who runs a security business and does law in their spare time?
“He’s pretty cool once you get to know him.” Tim paused. “If he likes you.”
Oh, good. If.
I had a feeling I was not going to make it into the if category.
“The cops seemed to back off pretty quickly when you mentioned him. Is he that good?”
“Yeah. He’s ridiculous. Did two university courses at once – law externally and medicine internally. Topped both of them.”
I decided to pretend I thought Tim was lying, because that would probably make me appear less gullible than if I showed I believed him.
“And he’ll tell me more about my fitness classes?”
“Yep. I wouldn’t advise whining about them to him, though. Just a tip.”
Great. I couldn’t wait.