“Phyllis thinks she was trying to warn her off and she’ll be coming for us next. Personally, I’m not so sure. You know what Craddock’s like, he’ll steal any food he can get his paws on, so he might have poisoned himself.”
“But still, if Cynthia’s complained about us then we’ve obviously spooked her. She’s clearly trying to hide something, which is all the more reason to keep investigating her.”
“No, Arthur. Whatever’s going on, we need to leave it to the police. I’ve promised Sandy I’ll stop.”
Arthur wanted to argue, but Nova had a determined expression on her face, so he kept quiet. Still, if they backed off now then Cynthia would elope with her lover, and they might never find out what had happened to Michael and the missing money.
“Is Nova Davies around?” a voice called out from the lobby.
“I’m in here. Hang on a…Oh, hi Yusaf.”
Arthur looked round to see PC Khan and another uniformed police officer walking into the hall.
“Is this about the stolen money?” Nova asked. “I’m afraid Sandy isn’t here yet so—”
“This isn’t about the money,” Yusaf said. “I need you to come down to the station with me and answer a few questions.”
Nova’s face had gone pale. “Is this about the data protection breach? I swear, I didn’t realize it was illegal, it was a genuine mistake.”
“Data protection? No, it’s not that either,” Yusaf said, looking impatient. “This is about Sandy.”
“Sandy? Why, where is she?”
Yusaf took a moment before he answered. “She’s in the hospital. She was attacked last night at her home.”
“What? No!” Arthur had known Sandy for more than twenty years, and she always seemed like a nice woman: overly emotional and frequently stressed, but popular with everyone. Who on earth would want to attack her?
“Is she okay?” Nova asked.
“She’s shaken, but she’ll be fine.”
“My God, poor Sandy. Was it a robbery?”
Yusaf shook his head. “It doesn’t seem so. But if you can come to the station with us, we’ll discuss this further.”
“I’d love to come and help but now’s not a great time,” Nova said. “Sandy isn’t here, obviously, and Lauren isn’t in yet. Can I wait until—”
“No, I’m afraid I need you to come with us now,” the other officer said, in a tone that stopped any argument.
“Why do you want to talk to her?” Arthur asked.
“One of the victim’s neighbors said she saw an individual running away from Sandy’s house around the time of the attack.”
“So, I still don’t understand what that has to do with Nova.”
“The neighbor said the person was wearing a bright red coat.”
For a second, none of them spoke and Arthur saw Nova’s eyes go wide.
“You think it was…me?” she stuttered. “I’d never hurt Sandy.”
“Where were you between 10:50 and 11:20 p.m. last night?” the second officer asked Nova.
“I was at home, asleep in bed.”
“And do you have an alibi for that time period?”
“No, Craig and his parents were at the pub quiz.”
