It was strangely freeing to walk into the police station on my own. No one recognized me at first, or cared why I was there. So I found a row of chairs across from the front desk and sat in the one farthest from the door. It took exactly seven minutes before I got a panicked phone call from Alice.
“Where are you?” she demanded, like she seemed to always do these days.
The constable behind the desk glared at me as I answered. “I need you to come meet me. I’m at the police station in the waiting area.”
“Huh.” She laughed a little. “You’re a constant surprise. I thought for sure you’d lied to your boy.” Alice lowered her voice and I could almost see her con mask settling in over her features. “Get out of there. We’ll find another way.” She definitely no longer sounded panicked.
I shook my head and met the eyes of the constable, who seemed suddenly much more interested in me. “This is the way. Come down and we’ll listen to their accusations.”
Alice paused a few seconds just as the constable made a phone call, his gaze never leaving mine.
“Do you have an alibi?” Alice asked. “Do I need to create one?”
“I don’t have one that will help. But you’d better get here soon. I think they’ve finally discovered me.”
I heard Mallory’s voice in the background of Alice’s call. “She is where?!”
A sudden amusement overtook Alice’s voice when she said, “Seems you’re right. Should I just hitch a ride with the inspector? It would save on petrol.”
I smiled, despite everything. I was starting to wonder if Alice wasn’t the best gift my mother ever gave me. “You are nothing if not conscientious.”
The constable must have been given orders to stay put, but another uniformed officer came out from the back to stand near the door, which meant I wasn’t to leave either. I toyed with the idea of going to the ladies’ just to mess with them, but in the end I stayed put myself. Even after Mallory came rushing into the station like he was there to save a life, I stayed in my same chair, tinkering around on my mobile.
“Did you know the prime minister just got a new cat?”
Mallory didn’t reply, but he did walk over to stand in front of me imposingly with four officers at his back, not including the one guarding the door and the one behind the desk.
“One more, and I believe he’ll qualify to become a member of the Cat Ladies’ Society. I wonder if they have a gentlemen’s branch in London?” I glanced up at the giant crowd of police in front of me, then bowed my head a bit to greet Mallory. “Detective Inspector.”
He was trying very hard to keep up his cool, disinterested persona just then, though his eyes were almost manic with anger. “Bring her,” is all he said, before he pushed through the double doors and into the back offices. I stood and two of the officers lunged toward me and grabbed my arms, holding them up while a third officer ripped my phone from my hands.
Right as he did it, however, the door to the station opened again, and Alice stepped inside, in full fire mode. A man in a suit also entered, holding a briefcase behind him and keeping one or two steps behind Alice, who walked straight at the officer and grabbed my mobile from him before he could drop it into an evidence bag.
“What are you doing, miss?”
“This phone is in my name,” she said. “Do you have a warrant?”
“It’s evidence. We’re allowed to seize mobiles without a warrant.”
The man who’d come in with Alice raised a finger in the air. “Excuse me, but that’s only technically true if you are arresting the girl. Do you, in fact, have a warrant for her arrest?”
The officer scowled as the uniformed constable behind him leaned in to secure a zip tie around my wrists. Once he heard the sound, the officer pointed at Alice. “You stay here until we invite you back.”
Alice’s man still had his finger in the air when he cleared his throat. “Once again, I’ll point you to the law on this matter—”
“Who the hell are you?!” Officer Scowls bellowed.
I grinned. “Just guessing, but I believe that’s my barrister.”
Alice nodded, and her man held up his briefcase, as though that proved his credentials. “Evan Golding, solicitor advocate, actually. But I have a barrister standing by should we require her services.”
Officer Scowls turned and smacked open the double doors, following Mallory’s path. We all followed him, including Alice and the solicitor, who stood on either side of me.
“Legally, you are allowed both a guardian and an attorney in this instance, you see.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the man, who cowered back a bit and glanced at Alice for approval.
“Yes, Evan. You’re doing a fine job.”
The expression on Evan’s face over such a tiny encouragement told me that he could only be another one of Alice’s men. And despite my previous issues with Alice’s manipulative ways, there was something comforting about that. He was so eager to please. Though he was also exceedingly awkward as we waited in the interview room for Mallory. The DI entered the room soon enough, however.
Mallory walked in with one other officer, who placed a laptop and two file folders on the interview table before taking his place by the door. Mallory sat and stared down at his papers, which I knew was all a part of his theater. Not even Evan fell for it.
“The twenty-four hours you are allowed to hold my client here started the moment you took her into custody, which means you have only twenty-three and a half hours left. Use them wisely.”
Mallory didn’t speak. He opened a file folder and slid a form across the table toward Evan, who immediately frowned.
“I see,” Evan said. “You have thirty-five hours, then. Not a minute more.”
“We have submitted to the court for a ninety-six hour hold,” Mallory countered. “Based on the seriousness of the crimes.”
“I’ll look into that,” Evan told Alice.
Mallory seemed to find Alice’s authority over Evan amusing. “Where were you between the hours of four and six this morning, Miss Moriarty?”
Evan rested a hand on my arm to stop me from answering. “Miss Moriarty will not answer any questions until you present us with a reason for holding her.”
Mallory opened the laptop and turned it toward us. With the press of the space bar, a video started, which was obviously from a CCTV camera somewhere near the Regent’s Park York Bridge. It showed a few scattered pedestrians walking along the sidewalk in front of the bridge. But because there was no foot traffic coming in and out of the park that early in the morning, the appearance of a woman being dragged by a dark figure instantly drew my attention. The two figures moved closer to the camera as they left, close enough to see that the dark figure was female, her hair tucked into a hat that hid her face. Not that her face would have been distinguishable without the hat. The footage was so blurry, I knew the other figure was Constance only because of the bags.
“That’s not—,” I started, but Evan rested his hand on my arm once more.
“That could be anyone,” he said.
Mallory looked right at me. “I asked you before if you had any enemies. Are you ready to tell me what’s going on?”
I started to speak, only to be cut off by Evan again.
“Still waiting for the evidence that would allow you to hold her here.”
“The body was found sprawled halfway into her house.”
Alice spoke up then. “Which actually proves she didn’t do it. Why in the world would she kill someone and put the body where it would most implicate her?”
“Because she’s arrogant,” Mallory said. He was still staring at me, but it was obvious he didn’t think I’d done it. “Because she doesn’t think the police are smart enough to beat her. Because she’s been playing us all this time.”
Evan was unfazed by the inspector’s little speech. “That’s all your conjecture and contains not a shred of evidence.”
“Yes, and it’s exactly the conjecture that will appear in newscasts and across the Internet before the next hour has passed. Let her tell us where she was. What does she have to hide?”
“Nothing,” Evan said. “She’s neither hiding nor revealing anything, because you have the burden to prove why you are holding her.”
Mallory opened the final file folder. “We have a witness who saw her going into the park last night.” He flipped a page. “We have a statement from the victim that she saw Miss Moriarty tossing a murder weapon into the lake.” He flipped a page. “We then found that weapon and have confirmed that it is the weapon used to kill at least two other victims in Regent’s Park—crimes Miss Moriarty has accused her father of committing. And finally,” he said, flipping yet another page, “we have confirmed that the victim of this morning’s crime was killed with a weapon similar to that used in the previous crimes.”
I shook my head and sat back. I’d come there to tell the truth, but I was starting to second-guess that decision. I was pretty sure Mallory would listen. It was even possible he’d believe me. But I was also sure the “similar weapon” bit was a lie meant to trap me somehow. I hadn’t taken the time to inspect the body, but if it had been slashed, I’m sure I would have noticed a giant pool of blood dripping down our stoop.
Evan leaned forward. “That is all circumstantial.”
“Perhaps,” Mallory said. “But it is enough to hold her. And if she didn’t do it, then there is someone out there doing their best to make it look like she did. If for no other reason, we’ll hold her for her own safety.”
“Or until your thirty-five hours elapse.”
Mallory gathered his papers and walked from the room, leaving us to fall into an awkward silence.
That was until Alice asked, “What now?”
“Now we wait and see what they find,” Evan said. He turned toward me. “Tell me, what is it they are going to find?”