I nod.
“And he loves you?”
I nod again.
“Then just ask him. What’s the worst that can happen? If he says he’s not ready, you give him a little more time until he is. It’s not like you two have to go sign leases tomorrow or pick out duvet covers from Dunelm, but you do need to at least have a conversation. There is no right time, the progression of a relationship is different for everyone. You and Tristan have to figure it out for yourselves, but you won’t be able to do that if you can’t even talk about it.”
“Okay, fine.” I pull out my phone and shoot Tristan a quick message.
Dinner at Bella Vita, 7pm?
It only takes him a moment to message back with a simple,Love to see you at 7 x.I lift the screen for Maddie to see.
“Satisfied?” I ask as she lifts a brow. “I’ll ask him tonight.”
“Aww.” She wipes a mock tear from the corner of her eye. “My little man’s all grown up and asking his boyfriend to move in with him.”
“Shut up.” I huff out a fond laugh as I shove her unceremoniously off the side of the desk. “Are you going to do any work today? Or did you just stop by to dissect my private life?”
“A little of both, if I’m being honest.” She slides onto a chair and scoots back toward me. “How did it go interrogating all the murderous little old ladies yesterday? Any suspects?”
“I have a list of names of the women Mrs Abernathy was closest to, those who had access to her, but honestly, most of them are in their eighties. I can’t see them murdering each other over whose strawberry tart wins the blue ribbon at the May Day social.”
“You’d be surprised.” Maddie snorts. “Those things can get brutally competitive.”
“Maybe.” I chuckle. “We’ll check their backgrounds anyway.”
“Oh, by the way, Polina Ogarkov is back in the country,” Maddie says as she leans back in her chair.
“Polina,” I murmur as I cast my mind back. “She was one of Mrs Abernathy’s carers, wasn’t she?”
“Yep.” Maddie pops the word in her mouth as she nods her head. “Although she’s actually Polina Porter now. Got married, just back from her honeymoon, left just before Mrs Abernathy’s death.”
“Not being in the country at the time of the murder doesn’t preclude her from the list of suspects. She could’ve been poisoning her for weeks leading up to her death.”
Maddie nods. “I know, which is why I checked with the home. She’s working a shift this afternoon and into this evening.” She glances down at her watch. “She should be there by now.”
I stand abruptly, still feeling the tiredness dragging at me, and know I need to get up and move. I unhook my jacket from the back of my chair and slide it on. “Well, no time like the present. We might as well head over there now and question her.”
“Fine, but I’m driving. I’m not having you fall asleep at the wheel.” Maddie stands and holds out her hand. “Keys.”
“Fine.” I hand them over reluctantly. “But we’re stopping at Starbucks on the way. I see a triple espresso in my very near future.”
“Deal.” She grins.
By the time we arrive at the care home, the sky has once again turned a threatening grey and the clouds boil across the sky, dark and heavy.
“Looks like we’re in for more rain,” Maddie remarks as we climb out of the car.
“You know, I expected more sunshine when I moved South,” I mutter as we cross the carpark.
“Dream on.” Maddie looks up again as an unexpected rumble of thunder ripples across the sky. “You know the drill, it’s the same as up North. We get approximately one week of blazing sunshine, at which point we reserve the right to strenuously complain about it being too hot, before the weather flakes on us again.”
“Come on, best get inside.” I start trotting in the direction of the entrance as the heavens open and the first fat droplets of rain begin to fall.
The main doors slide open smoothly as we hurry into the reception.
“Danny,” I hear my name called before we even have a chance to check in with the receptionist.
