He had been my colleague once. Just someone I came to for tech queries and CCTV sharpening. He’d always been warm and friendly, and I couldn’t pinpoint the moment when he’d slid from colleague to friend. Maybe it was now, in this moment of shared misery. But I was at the end of the tunnel, where he was at the beginning. I hoped I could offer some guidance through it, but step one was to speak to a professional psychologist, which I definitely was not.
I held Ji-ho until his tears ran dry. He swiped at his cheeks, embarrassed.
‘Time helps,’ I said honestly. ‘The human memory is crazily good at blunting the edges of trauma for you.’
He nodded.
‘But until you’re ready to speak to someone, when it gets too much, you call me. No matter the time.’
My dad had made me the same offer in the beginning. No matter the time, no matter if he was on shift, if I rang, he took my call. And it helped.
I gave Ji-ho one last squeeze and let him go. ‘All right, let’s get down to work. I have a dead guy I need your help with.’
‘Sure,’ Ji-ho said. He sat back at his desk and turned to look at me, and I saw a glint of his old determination there. ‘What do you need?’
Keeping busy helped too. ‘I want you to access the CCTV outside of the office. We had protestors. I’m all but certain they’re Anti-Crea, but I want you to ID them and shoot the details to Laura so she can create files for them. They popped up too fast. One of them knows something or knows someone who does.’
Purpose straightened his spine. ‘You got it, Shirlylock. I’ll ping you when I find anything interesting.’
I squeezed his shoulder. ‘Good man.’
Chapter Thirteen
It felt like I’d spent the day spinning my wheels, collecting information but getting nowhere fast. The business associates – Richard Ashworth and Crispin Pembroke – both had solid alibis.
Richard had been out to dinner with six friends and afterwards they’d returned to his property to play board games until 5am. Grown adults playing board games until dawn! It seemed bizarre to me, but each to their own. I’d given Channing the job of taking statements from all the friends to make sure there hadn’t been a window of opportunity for Ashworth to slip away … but even so, I didn’t feel it. His eyes had held genuine bafflement and upset. He hadn’t loved Teddy, but he’d liked him well enough and had been certain their business would be a profitable one. Teddy’s death was an inconvenience, not an asset.
Meanwhile, Pembroke had taken his new girlfriend out to a sex club, where they’d remained until 2am. Afterwards, they’d got a taxi to Pembroke’s house. He had CCTV footage which he had willingly surrendered without a warrant. Frost was goingthrough it now and speaking with the taxi company, but it also felt like a bust.
My door opened with a bang and Elvira flounced in. She looked edgy, wired.
‘Sit,’ I barked.
She sat and smiled at my bird. ‘Hey Loki. How’s it hanging?’
His head tilted to the side. ‘No hang,’ he said. ‘Fly.’
She grinned. ‘Right.’
‘What can I do for you, Garcia?’ I interjected before Elvira could explain the vernacular to the caladrius.
‘You know I was dealing with the domestic abuse murder?’
I nodded.
‘Well, he had an accident. He fell down the stairs and broke his neck.’ She paused. ‘He died. It’s a real fucking tragedy.’
I pinched the bridge of my nose. ‘Elvira, did you at least get a kill order from Thackeray first?’
‘It was anaccident,’ she repeated.
‘Did he accidentally run into your fist?’
She nodded. ‘Do you know what? He did. It was weird. Then he accidentally fell down the stairs. He bounced down a lot of steps.’
I sighed. ‘Family?’
‘None. His dad killed his mum and took his own life in a delightful murder-suicide. Franco was planning to follow in his father’s footsteps, only he chickened out at the suicide part. He explained to me, very patiently, that Caroline had deserved to die and that her death was entirely her fault. Because she made him the wrong dessert.’ Her bafflement, her fury, rode her.
