| |
Paige and Sophie were quiet on the drive home.
There were no words to describe the messiness and the drama, of what had just unfolded. Tyrone Dixon had kidnapped his own daughter, kept her sedated, scared and alone in a remote bach in the Coromandel, while he waited for a business deal to go through. The night she disappeared, she’d mentioned Sunshine International at dinner, and Tyrone had been shocked to realise, after a quick search of her room, that she was close to figuring it all out. After Polly had left, he’d put sedatives in his wife’s tea and carried her upstairs to bed. He’d then texted Polly—the text she received while out at The Place had been from her father—and had asked her to come home. Dominic had been right. She had gone home that night.
After Polly confirmed her dad was the culprit, Roman had asked him to come back to the station to make a formal statement. Tyrone had nodded, cast one more anguished look at his family and then walked outside. Before Roman followed him out, he’d stopped and shaken both Paige and Sophie’s hands. He’d lingered in front of Sophie, struggling to say something, but in the end all he said was that he’d be in touch. Chest tight, Sophie had nodded and hoped he would.
Carolyn, on the couch with her daughter in her arms, had remained where she was as everyone else left, for once unable to play the dutiful host.
***
PAIGE AND SOPHIE RETURNED to the office, ascending the stairs with burdened steps. The resolution of this case had taken a big bite out of both of them.
“I feel as if we should have a drink,” Paige said as she let them into the office. She pulled a bottle of whiskey and two tumblers from the back of the cupboard. Sophie looked at this stash with surprise.
“We’re a detective agency.” Paige shrugged in explanation. “At least we are... sort of, right? And we cracked the case,” she added, holding up the bottle of whiskey as a question to Sophie.
“Let’s do it.” Sophie nodded. “That was rough.”
Tumblers of the amber liquid in hand, they took seats in the two armchairs in the corner, underneath the window.
“We solved it, not the police. We should be proud of ourselves...” Paige trailed off because it didn’t feel like something that should be celebrated. They’d likely witnessed the death of a family today, and they both knew exactly what that meant.
“Are you alright?” Sophie asked.
“It’s so weird, Soph, it’s been four years, but I still find myself wondering, how can it be true. How can Dad just be gone... forever?” Her voice cracked. “A part of me died with him, Soph, a part I’ll never get back.”
“I know,” Sophie said, patting Paige’s arm. “I know.”
“And do you know what’s strange? Sometimes I miss those days immediately after his death, because I felt closer to him, you know? It sounds crazy but it was special in its own way.”
Sophie squeezed Paige’s arm and nodded.
And so they sat, not bothering to turn on the lights, letting the streetlamps and the neon sign across the road sporadically illuminate their faces as they sipped their drinks and contemplated the complexity and rawness of life.
Paige’s phone vibrated with a text. It was Leo, asking for an update. She typed out a quick response, promising to give him all the details tomorrow. He was definitely a good addition to the team. Maybe not a permanent one, but definitely a consultant. Wow, Paige smiled to herself, they were actually in the position of needing, and having, consultants. They were bound to get some good publicity from this, and they had enough money to keep operating for at least another couple of months. This was it, this was the start of something, she could feel it. They had done it—they had solved a proper case.
Dad would be so proud, she thought.
“Paige?” Sophie broke the silence.
“Yeah?” Paige smiled at her best friend. It seemed as if anything was possible now. They would prove everyone wrong and make a success of this.
“Whisky is gross.” Sophie put down her drink.
Paige laughed. “Totally. Let’s figure out another way to celebrate.”
***
DEAR READER,
I hope you enjoyed the first in the S & S Investigations series. If you did, good news - there are more! And you probably know how important getting reviews are for independent authors, so I’d be forever grateful if you left some stars for Precious Things.
If you would like to stay in the loop (find out about freebies, sales, and upcoming releases), email ‘sign me up’ to mdaauthor@gmail.com – no spamming I promise.
Check out my other titles on the following pages.
Thanks so much,
Margot
(M. D. Archer)
S & S Investigations - cases solved:
The Disappearance of Polly Dixon
The Persistent Pet Napper
