‘I can’t believe you’re making me do this,’ Tanvi said as they walked under the police tape. ‘What if we get caught?’
Shilpa laughed. ‘I can’t believe you’re the nervous one and I’m egging you on to do something illegal.’ Her ordeal with Alison and then with Graham and John should have put the fear in her, and to an extent it had, but she found it had given her a new confidence. Twice now she had confronted the people she believed to have done wrong. She may not have been right in the case of Alison Bishop, but she definitely had something on her neighbours. Ordinarily she would never have had the nerve to do something like this, but she had realised over the last few days that you had to step out of your comfort zone to get to the truth.
‘We could compromise their whole investigation. What if we tamper with some evidence without realising?’
‘That’s why I have these,’ Shilpa said, handing Tanvi some blue overshoes and latex gloves.
Tanvi shot Shilpa a questioning look.
‘Catering,’ Shilpa said. ‘You never know when you have to handle something that requires gloves. They’re Spontex. Did I tell you what Theo said?’
‘That they haven’t charged Steven and that they’re working on another suspect.’
‘Who could be Harriet,’ Shilpa said.
‘Black widow? If it’s her, what are we doing here in the middle of the night?’ Tanvi asked while Shilpa picked the lock. ‘How do you know how to do that?’ Tanvi was looking on incredulously. ‘Who are you?’
Shilpa turned to her friend with wide eyes as the door opened. ‘I didn’t know I could until now. Result!’ Shilpa crept into the apartment, and Tanvi slowly followed.
‘I think Alison knew more than she was letting on,’ Shilpa said, once they were inside.
‘Do we turn on the lights or use torches?’ Tanvi asked.
‘Torches,’ Shilpa said as she carefully looked around the apartment. There was still a bloody stain in the kitchen where Alison had been stabbed. A chill ran down her spine. ‘Okay, let’s be quick.’
‘And what is it that we’re looking for?’ Tanvi asked.
‘Anything suspicious. Anything to do with a black dress; a picture of anyone in black from the engagement party; bags.’
‘Bags?’
‘She mentioned a bag before she died. It has to be connected to either her death or Mason’s.’
‘You think she was keeping Mason’s murderer in a bag in her apartment? Tanvi asked. ‘I think the police would’ve found that.’
‘Listen, Tanvi,’ Shilpa said. ‘Less backchat and more work.’ Shilpa started opening and closing drawers and kitchen cupboards while Tanvi gently peered around the sofa. Shilpa shook her head and continued carefully opening and closing drawers.
‘If there was anything of interest, the police would have found it, don’t you think?’ Tanvi said. ‘Does Theo know what you’re doing? I’m not sure he’d approve.’
Shilpa ignored her friend, although Tanvi was right. She had asked Theo this afternoon if they had found any evidence at Alison’s, but he was reluctant to share any details, suddenly conscious about losing his job, especially after messaging her the two photos found at Alison’s apartment.
‘Alison gave me those pictures,’ Shilpa had said, remembering the lie she told in her statement when she had reported what John and Graham had done. She had surprised herself at how quickly and easily the untruth had tripped off her tongue.
Theo had swiftly moved the conversation along, and instead she found herself talking about John and Graham. Their boat had malfunctioned and had been found grounded at a small harbour in Normandy. They had ditched the vessel and were officially on the run. It must have pained them to have to leave their home like that. She knew how much it meant to them, but she felt no pity. They deserved everything that was coming to them. She just hoped the police caught up with them.
Her idea to break into Alison’s house had come to her after her conversation with Theo, but she didn’t think it wise to share it with him. Plus, she didn’t want to get him into any trouble. If he knew what she was doing, it could compromise his job and his position on the case.
Mason and Alison were both dead. Their deaths were most certainly connected. Her gut told her that while Steven may have had a hand in Mason’s death, he wasn’t the killer, and Theo said they hadn’t charged him, which proved they had insufficient evidence. Alison had evidence to put the killer away. Shilpa’s comment about the woman in the black dress had triggered something, and her words may have been what got Alison killed. It was therefore her responsibility to find out what she could to help catch her killer.
Whoever had killed Alison had killed Mason too. Theo had as good as confirmed it. Yet it seemed like the police had given up on Alison’s flat. Even her comment about the bag as she was dying seemed to have been brushed aside.
‘It’s a dead end,’ Theo had said.
‘Did any of the guests have a bag with them?’ Shilpa had asked.
‘All the women,’ Theo had answered sarcastically.
‘You know what I mean. A bag of note.’
Theo had cut her short. ‘If we could find her phone, that would be something.’
Maybe Alison’s apartment was a dead end, but Shilpa wanted to take a look. She had been at the engagement party. Theo and the rest of the Otter’s Reach police had not. There could be some clue that she might pick up on that they hadn’t.
‘Leave Theo out of this,’ Shilpa said to Tanvi. ‘Just keep looking. Anyway, you have your own criminal to deal with.’
‘I know, right?’ Tanvi said, sounding a little bit more cheerful. ‘Who’d have thought Brij would be into hacking. Do you think he’s doing something more than fixing phones at his new job?’
‘Definitely. I did think it was odd that someone would give up a lucrative career in pharmacology just to repair old phones.’
‘Do people even fix their phones these days? Surely they just buy a new one,’ Tanvi said. ‘I’ve gotta say though, a hacker makes a better boyfriend than a phone repair guy.’
‘Snob.’
‘It’s just more exciting, that’s all,’ Tanvi said. ‘I don’t think he’s hacking into anything major, that’s if he’s hacking at all. He’s got too many morals.’
‘He didn’t seem too shy when it came to looking into Alison’s photos. He was raring to go,’ Shilpa said.
‘That’s different. Firstly, she’s dead, and secondly, we’re trying to catch her killer, not fleece her bank account. There’s a difference. Hmm, my boyfriend, the hacker. I quite like the sound of that.’
Shilpa laughed. ‘Did you just use the term “boyfriend”? This week is getting weirder and weirder.’
‘Oh, shut up,’ Tanvi said. ‘I’ll have a look in the bedroom.’
Shilpa ran her hand under the desk she was looking in. A tiny fox and rabbit looked up at her as she did it. The felt animals were putting her on edge with their tiny beady eyes, watching her illegal activity.
‘I’m trying to find your killer, Alison,’ Shilpa whispered. ‘Just help me out here. Her hand felt something, like a piece of paper taped to the underside of Alison’s desk. Shilpa bent down to take a look.
‘Are you talking to yourself now?’ Tanvi asked. Shilpa bumped her head as she tried to manoeuvre out from under the desk. ‘Nothing in her bedroom or bathroom. A few bags, ugly ones I would never wear. Maybe she was referring to her poor taste in bags when she died. It could have just been a possible regret.’
‘Look at this,’ Shilpa said. Tanvi squatted and craned her neck to see where Shilpa was pointing.
‘I don’t get it,’ Tanvi said.
Shilpa grinned. ‘I think we have what we’re looking for.’
‘Don’t you think it’s strange that the police didn’t find this?’ Tanvi asked, and Shilpa couldn’t help but agree. She felt uneasy as she took a photo of the email addresses and passwords. How had the police missed this?
‘Come on, let’s go,’ Shilpa whispered.
Tanvi stood up. ‘You’re the boss, and quite frankly I’m glad,’ she said, eyeing a felted leopard. ‘This place gives me the creeps.’
Shilpa rubbed her eyes and looked at her pitiful offering. She had done well to bake in the time she had, but it was still a paltry selection, and she wasn’t confident in the taste of her baked goods either. She had let herself down. She was trying to make a name for herself in Otter’s Reach – the go-to baker, the maker of fabulous cakes. She couldn’t let her standards drop, and yet she had. But at least she hadn’t pulled out at the last moment, leaving Kelly with one less stallholder. She had a good enough reason though, with what had happened to her over the last week. She looked at her watch. It was early, but already the market was busy with locals and tourists, and the two strong black coffees she had swallowed first thing didn’t seem to be working.
‘Two of those,’ an old lady said, pointing to the cupcakes Tanvi had helped decorate. Shilpa boxed them and placed them in the lady’s shopper before undercharging her. She sighed as she put the incorrect money into the tin. Perhaps she should have cancelled today after all. One day wouldn’t have hurt, but she could hear her father’s voice. ‘You cancel once, beta, you make it a habit. You have a new business. Turning up is what you have to do to make it work.’ Her father was right. Murder and espionage aside, this was her livelihood. She had to give it her all. But Tanvi was right too. She was delusional. Just what did she think she would accomplish by breaking and entering at Alison Bishop’s apartment so late last night?
‘You’re distracting yourself because of what happened to Dipesh,’ Tanvi had said on their way home in the early hours. ‘Have you spoken to your parents about what happened?’ Shilpa shook her head as she flicked the indicator and turned left. ‘You need time to digest what happened. It has only been a couple of days since you jumped into the estuary, and here you are running about trying to be a detective. Maybe you’re running on adrenaline, but… you learned something shocking about what happened to your uncle. This isn’t something you can brush over with that gung-ho attitude of yours. Pick up the phone and speak to your mum. Dipesh was her brother.’
‘I can’t deal with their grief right now,’ Shilpa said.
‘Why not? What’s holding you here? You could hop on a train with me in a couple of days. Just have some time out. Your business won’t suffer as a result, I promise you. And you’ll feel better for it. Trust me. You’ll thank me.’
‘What’s happened to us?’ was all Shilpa could think of saying. ‘You’re dishing out the advice with a boyfriend at home and I’m committing a crime.’ Tanvi had taken the hint and had dropped the topic, but her friend was right. Her parents, especially her mum, deserved to hear the real reason for her brother’s death, and they needed to hear it from her before the authorities called them. Theo was certain they would reopen the investigation now there was some question over the cause of death.
She picked up a mini muffin and popped it into her mouth. She was surprised that the taste was as good as if she had baked them without all the drama going on. No one would know that after breaking into Alison’s apartment she had returned home and, unable to sleep, wondering if she had left anything out of place during their search, started baking. Perhaps her bakes were better when she was dog-tired and jittery.
In the light of day, the whole escapade to Alison’s home had been foolish. She had realised that as the sun came up over the estuary giving the sky a pink luminosity. She felt foolish giving Brijesh her findings to hack into Alison’s personal photo accounts. So, she hadn’t given him what she had found despite having a photo of half a dozen email addresses and some cryptic letters and symbols which she guessed were passwords. Breaking into Alison’s apartment had been pointless. Tanvi was right. She had been looking for a distraction.
As a woman approached her stall, she put on her brightest smile. She needed to pour all her energy into Sweet Treats and make a success of it. More than anything, she needed to forget about Alison and Mason. It was none of her business.