His face grows puce with the vitriol he’s spouting. The two officers with him try to calm him down but to no avail. His lawyer tries to halt proceedings. Take a break to speak to his client.
We watch in horror as Crawley freezes, his eyes wide and mouth open. His hand goes to his chest.
“Tell them it’s not over,” he hisses. “Tell him and that little spy of his?—”
He cuts off, his eyes rolling back in his head as he slumps forward onto the table.
The officers in the room dive into action. One hits the emergency bell, alarms going off. The other pulls Crawley onto the floor and begins administering CPR.
The officer next to us calls for an ambulance, as Kat, Pen and I watch helplessly as they try to resuscitate Sir Leonard. An ambulance crew arrives in record time, but after twenty minutes they call time.
We all look at each other.
“Shit.”
CHAPTER 64
PEN
News Reports describe Sir Crawley’s death asa tragic loss to society.The death of a true gentleman.
The reason for his presence at the police station is swept under the carpet by the powers that be. According to them he was assisting police with their enquiries, and probably the reason, his wife could not wait to assist the officers sent to deliver the news of her husband’s tragic death. She was apparently more than forthcoming in showing them his hidden office.
A woman scorned and all that. After suffering years of beatings and infidelity, she got her own back.
The Seamstress has been on the telephone. She gave me the heads up about several up-and-coming arrests. His den was an Aladdin’s cave of evidence for several cold cases. It looked like Crawley liked to keep trophies. Tapes of blackmail and extortion.
Three days after Sir Leonard’s untimely death, the body of his son’s fiancée, Simone Asher was found, perfectly preserved in a freezer in one of the estate outbuildings. This was the saddest discovery. She’d been strangled.
I give April a hug. She knew Simone, they worked together for a time.
“We all really hoped she’d just left,” April says, turning to Caleb, whose arms come around her. “She was like me. She didn’t have any family.”
Caleb drops a kiss on April’s temple.
“I’ve taken care of it,” he says. “Her funeral is all in hand.”
Elijah’s phone rings.
“It’s Quentin,” he says.
Answering and putting the phone on speaker.
“Quentin, I’m here with Pen, Caleb, and April.”
“April, I’m sorry about Simone,” he says. “Unfortunately, I have further bad news.”
Elijah pinches the bridge of his nose.
“I know what he’s done.”
My breath catches. If we were hoping the death of Crawley was the end, then we were wrong.
“Tell us,” Caleb says, his voice monotone.
“I’m sorry, Caleb. They’ve released a sex tape.”
My stomach drops, and Elijah’s colour disappears.
