Page 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

T he door shut and Robert let out a sigh. Keeping a stoic expression on his face had been the hardest thing to do. However, they still weren’t alone. The police constable, John, said something, though to Robert’s ears it sounded garbled, as if someone had shouted from the other end of a tunnel.

All he could hear were Nina’s sobs as she’d cried on his shoulder, telling him how her world had turned on its head the night of the arson-murder.

Her stricken face joined the album of memories he was slowly building up on Nina. She’d told him everything, confessed, spent a wonderful night with him and he’d done nothing to save her. For once, it hadn’t been because he’d been unaware, or he hadn’t been there. No, he had watched and let it happen.

Cheryl came into his line of vision. She said something to the police constable, who nodded and left.

Why hadn’t Robert intervened when Dickheadson had marched Nina out in handcuffs? Robert touched his chest, right where his heart thudded.

He knew why. Dickheadson had accused Nina of killing two people.

Aye, she’d confessed to probably killing her camera man but had refused to acknowledge she had anything to do with Anne’s death. His logic said evidence never lied. And Dickheadson had found evidence proving what Robert had originally thought: Nina was the killer.

A hand landed on his shoulder. ‘Robert?’

He jerked as if pulled from a nightmare. ‘Aye, um, sorry. What were you saying?’

Cheryl frowned then looked at Joshua. ‘I’m going to take him home. Can you wait for them to get back?’

Joshua fixed a bag on his shoulder. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to go. I’ve, er, I’ve got something that can’t wait.’

Robert faced his pal. Joshua’s demeanour held something rigid to it, his usual taking-life-as-it-comes air gone. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Gotta go – I’m sorry.’ Joshua patted Robert’s back, gave Cheryl a nod and left.

Cheryl wasted no time getting into Robert’s face. ‘What were you thinking? Your first instinct was spot on. Why did you allow her pretty face to make you doubt yourself? You’ve never been like this. Perhaps Dickinson is right and you need to take some time off.’

Dickheadson was a prick all round, but for once, the man had actually listened to Robert and looked into Anne’s death. Though perhaps his decision had been purely egotistical, not wanting to be upstaged by a police constable.

The joke was on him because Robert had apparently not just been way off base, he’d jumped into the sack with a killer.

Robert ran a hand through his hair. ‘Dickheadson wants me to come in, doesn’t he?’

Cheryl sighed. ‘Aye, he does. I’m going to get you a lawyer. While Dickinson has a stellar track record, despite everything else he does with his life, the man’s not above putting you behind bars. The truth is, she played you, Robert.’

She had. Nina had told him there had only been one body – a man’s. She’d made him believe she hadn’t killed Anne. Had made him want to move on for the first time since he’d been told they’d found Anne’s DNA at the crime scene.

Ever since Shah had named Nina, Robert had been on her tail. Chasing her had kept him going through the darkest of days. She’d given him a purpose, and last night, she’d set fire to his very soul. Investigating a case, chasing criminals, hell, even fighting a person trying to kill him had been absolutely invigorating. Like cold water after a sauna. He had sizzled; had never felt more alive.

And it had all been a ruse.

Robert tugged at his shirt. ‘I should go home and change before I head in. I don’t want to go in like this.’

Cheryl patted his shoulder again. ‘Robert… Smooth criminals, they can be invigorating, but, at the end of the day, they are a grenade waiting to explode.’

Robert shrugged. ‘It’s okay, Cheryl.’

She opened her mouth as if to say something but shut it. Then pulling out her car keys, she asked, ‘Do you want me to drive you?’

He shook his head. He’d walk. The flat he’d shared with Anne wasn’t that far away, and a walk would do him good.

Five minutes later, Robert found himself on the pavement, walking towards George Square. The day they’d first met, Robert and Nina had walked along this route, headed for the Counting House.

They’d been in sync even then.

Nina had an air about her – self-assured, determined, yet soft and vulnerable. The woman was as sharp as her chic bob. Would she really have killed two people for fame?

Robert turned right at the City Chambers that overlooked the square. The flower beds around the statues lay barren, and so did the pots that lined the council’s front door.

In a few months, these pots would come alive in red, purple, orange and yellow – spring colours. While his heart withered to grey.

Robert began his ascent up the hill towards the university. Anne had liked the residential area behind the uni; said it was quiet yet close enough to the city and bus station so they didn’t need a car.

And as with most things, he’d agreed with her.

Robert had learned to agree with Anne early in their relationship because she liked things just so. Being on her own for so long, she had her ways, and Robert had ensured he slotted into them.

When the wind whipped at his back, he shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched over. The gust tugged at his hair, propelling him up.

Aye, Robert had gone with the flow, not wanting to upset his wife, his co-workers, his pals. But lately he’d been anything but compliant – he’d got himself suspended, slept with a criminal, let his wife down, let his friends down… And he’d never felt more alive.

Robert let the weight of all the things he’d felt he should do slide and focused on his gut.

He’d spent days with Nina – investigating her, investigating with her, and, well, a night making love to her. She’d told him she lived for herself. Didn’t believe in people; didn’t care for them. The woman had determination, and she knew how investigations worked. What were the chances she knew about forensics?

A fire annihilated a lot of evidence – and if it burned long enough could also swallow all traces of a body.

So if she set a fire in a near abandoned building in the middle of the night, the odds were no one would raise the alarm until it was too late.

However…

A thought stopped him at the top of the hill. He stood by the glass walls of the City College of Glasgow, frowning at a dip in the road that was filled with water. If she knew how to erase evidence, why then hadn’t she taken precautions so that her DNA wouldn’t end up in the police database in the first place? Unless she hadn’t gone in prepared to kill. Perhaps she’d killed Anne and her camera guy out of anger.

Extreme anger could make people black out and forget.

Still, why would a woman who’d chosen a career over her family suddenly set fire to everything she’d built?

Out of desperation?

The puzzle pieces fell into place. Nina, having left her family behind, had found herself in Glasgow, without that corner office or incredible career in sight. Such severe frustration could lead to murder. She’d killed in the hopes of creating a story for her to investigate. Instead, the plan had backfired.

Robert swerved into a side alley to head into the residential area. Here the houses were just two storeys with two flats on each floor, with a children’s play area in the centre, a hot spot in spring and summer.

While Anne had avoided that area as if it were junkies who played there instead of children, Robert had always enjoyed walking through it, hearing the kids’ joyful shrieks as they hopped on a swing and skittered down a slide.

He unlocked the door to the building and climbed up the stairs. His feet dragged, his mind stuck in a loop.

Why? Why? Why? This puzzle sure appeared to be a complete picture, but…

He shrugged. Dickheadson had Nina. Yet somehow this case was far from over.