Page 40 of Callous Shot

“Can’t you just tell me? I think…” I swallowed hard, trying to push down the guilt. Remember why you’re doing this, Link. “You should investigate them.”

Immediately on alert, he tilted his head, studying me intently. “Is there something I should know?”

“N-nothing specific. Yet. But they’re criminals. There’s always something.” My voice shook, and I knew Mike would pick up on it. “You should dig deeper.”

“Let me get this clear. You think I should focus my efforts on the Hoyton Firm. The same firm that boy in there—” He nodded towards the kitchen. “—is a part of. The same firm that is headed up by his uncle, and his mother is heavily involved in.”

“Y-yes.”

“Bloody hell,” he muttered. “I don’t— Why are you so insistent about this? Is there something I should know about?”

“There’s nothing. Just an instinct. I…I trust my instincts.”

“Link.” His hand landed on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. “You know that despite my profession, you and Tilly come first. If there’s something you need me to know, even if you’ve done or witnessed something illegal, you can tell me, and it goes no further. I promise.”

You and Tilly come first. Yeah, he and Tilly came first for me, and that was why I was throwing Daniel under the bus. I licked my dry lips. “If I find anything out, will you look into it? Please?”

“If I think it warrants an investigation, I’ll see what I can do.” Dropping his hand, he gave me a reassuring smile. “Come on. Better not keep our guest waiting any longer.”

When we re-entered the kitchen, I couldn’t even look at Daniel. I felt nauseous. Taking a seat at the table next to Mike, I slumped forwards, resting my hands on my thighs. Beneath the table, my fists clenched, my nails digging into my palms.

“Right,” Mike began casually. “As much as we’ve all…ahem, enjoyed this unexpected visit… Want to tell me what you’re really doing here?”

Daniel huffed out a breath. I still couldn’t look at him. “I told you earlier. I was looking for Lincoln.”

“That doesn’t explain how you ended up outside my cottage. According to you, you weren’t even aware of its existence.”

“I wasn’t.” Daniel’s voice rose. “It was an accident, okay? I’m sorry for trespassing. If you’re going to arrest me, can you just get on with it?”

“What? Arrest you? Where did you get that idea?” Mike’s voice was amused.

I finally dared to look at Daniel. His eyes flashed with fire as he glared at my uncle. “Hmm. I dunno. Maybe it was when you informed me that I was trespassing on private property. Or maybe it was when you basically told me I was a prisoner here?”

“Has anyone ever mentioned that you have a flair for the dramatic?”

“A couple of people might have,” he muttered sullenly, and I felt my lips kick up at the corners, despite the raging guilt that was threatening to choke me.

My uncle snorted. “I bet it was more than a couple. Regardless, you’re not under arrest. You were never under threat of arrest at any point. Do you think I would have left my daughter with you unattended if I was concerned?”

“Then what’s this interrogation all about?”

“It’s not an interrogation. This is about putting together a picture. Your motives. How and why you came to be here.”

“So, an interrogation,” Daniel said with an eye roll. He seemed a little more relaxed now, though. “Okay. I was looking for Lincoln for a reason. We’ll come to that in a minute, but that’s my motive, yeah?”

Mike nodded, his mouth quirking. “Go on.”

“Okay. So I went to his student apartment, and all the lights were off, and no one answered the buzzer. I knew he didn’t have any hockey stuff going on, because he played yesterday, and I know their coach always gives them the next day off. So I thought I’d check the estate, on the off chance he was there. I honestly thought it would be more likely that he’d be getting his dick— I mean, spending time with one of his many, many ‘special friends.’” He put air quotes around “special friends,” like an absolute twat.

“You can talk. You have just as many special friends as me,” I sneered. “Probably more.”

“So what? Don’t slut-shame me, asshole. It just makes you look bad.”

“Oh my god. Please. Can the two of you stop?” Mike groaned, rubbing his brow. “We’ve established that you were looking for Link, for reasons that have yet to be disclosed. You came to the estate. How did you get here?”

“I drove,” he said. “How else am I gonna get here?”

“Where’s your car?” Mike replied instantly.