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CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

N ina strapped herself into her seat. Her body ached with soreness from yesterday. Shah had got her good, but she wasn’t going to back out. And after a day spent in bed, ordering food in and watching a movie with Robert… or forgetting about said movie and making love to Robert, she felt better than she’d felt since this entire debacle had begun.

While Robert hadn’t started an argument about how she should have considered sleeping in that day, he had cast her several worried glances. ‘Are you sure we should do this?’

Nina nodded. ‘Get a move on.’

They could have walked the short distance to Buchanan Street. It wasn’t a weekend, so Glasgow’s main shopping street wasn’t yet a sea of heads. Still, Robert had insisted, and Nina didn’t mind conserving her energy.

As luck would have it, the shop didn’t have a single customer in it. Instead, it was just the two of them and more than two dozen cameras.

The shopkeeper smiled from behind one of the counters. ‘Hello. Can I help you?’

After a night to ponder their next actions, the only place Nina could think of to ask about Jonas was the camera shop he’d purchased the device from – at least according to the card they had found in the camera bag.

She reached into her backpack and retrieved Jonas’s camera. ‘I found this camera and was wondering if you had any information about its owner. So I could return it to them. I believe he might have bought it here…’

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes. He had glasses slung around his neck. The cardigan he wore alongside his beige trousers and salt-and-pepper hair gave him a professor-like appearance. He held his hands up, and Nina handed the device over, ensuring she never took her eye off the thing.

After a quick glance at it, and the model number, the man’s eyes shone. ‘Aye, we have these in stock. Mind though, we don’t sell many of these. Thanks to cameras on phones, our customer base has niched down. We get the occasional millennial looking for ring lights and such or enquiring about Polaroid cameras. But these… it’s only professionals that get ones like these.’

Robert stepped up beside Nina. He’d been frowning at a couple of cameras on the next counter. ‘If it’s a niche market, and you sell that model to professionals, would you personally know the people you’ve sold your products to?’

The shopkeeper set the camera down. ‘I’ve been in this shop for forty years. I’ve seen things change, and I’ve made it through the lows. I’m a member of many photographers groups, and I enjoy tinkering with a good camera every now and then. So aye, I know most of the people who come in here to buy something top grade, and I also know that they do their research. They often come in more than once to think over the purchase. So I know most faces.’

And that’s where they would hit a wall. Nina didn’t have any images of Jonas. Jonas had never taken his own photograph, and the police hadn’t released his picture to the public.

Robert pointed to the device. ‘Is there a way to find out who owned this one?’

‘Well…’ The shopkeeper pressed the ‘on’ button, and the camera’s screen came to life. ‘You need to start it and…’

Nina shut her eyes. Fuck! If this camera connected to the internet and Dickheadson came knocking again… But they needed information, consequences be damned.

The shopkeeper wasn’t paying her any attention, instead toggling through the camera’s settings. ‘This one comes with geotagging and Wi-Fi. But you can only access the cloud service if you create an account. Ah, here it is: Jonas Pederson. Jonas Pederson… I’m sorry, I don’t recall that name.’

Nina shared a look with Robert. ‘Maybe you have his invoice or?—’

‘I’d remember a name like that,’ the shopkeeper cut Nina off. ‘My wife’s maiden name is Pederson, and…’

The man browsed through the pictures, his face turning sour. ‘I must say, whoever took these pictures would’ve been better spending their six grand on a photography course instead of a camera.’

‘Six grand!’ Nina exclaimed. ‘Gee.’

The shopkeeper looked up now, a smile on his face. ‘Aye, it’s a steep price. And the fact they left the camera behind. I… Oh, I remember it now. There was this customer who came in, asking for the oddest thing and bought this model… Hold on.’

Setting the camera down, the shopkeeper hurried to the till. Nina bagged up the device and followed Robert as he made his way to the counter.

Five minutes later, the shopkeeper grinned up at them. ‘I remember. It was a couple of years ago now. This gent came in. Never seen him before. He asked me for a device that captured “amazing” photos, had geotagging capabilities, and the ability to password protect or hide photographs. I thought it was a bit odd – I mean what’s “amazing” and what’s right for you are not the same. For example, a wildlife photographer needs a sturdier camera than a fashion photographer and— Sorry, you don’t care about that… Anyway, I showed him a few cameras, but he insisted on going higher in quality and thus price. He chose this one and paid… in cash!’

Robert crossed his arms. ‘And would you say he knew anything about photography or cameras?’

‘Och no, not the real details. It’s also odd – most photographers aren’t looking to password protect their images either. I just thought it was a rich man bored with his life, you know. But… I have a receipt. Though it was paid in cash, so I have no other details, I’m afraid.’

Nina ensured the camera sat in her backpack then slugged the bag over her shoulder. ‘And does our camera have password-protected, hidden photos on it?’

The shopkeeper didn’t like that question. His smile turned into a scowl. ‘You can’t go poking into people’s personal lives. Leave that device with me – I’ll see how I can get it back to him.’

Nina tightened her hold on the bag. ‘I think I can manage that myself. Jonas Pederson is a name I can work with. I’m sure it’s not a very common name.’

‘I—’

Robert placed a hand on Nina’s shoulder. ‘She’s very passionate about returning people’s items back to them, especially a camera that could hold so many memories.’

Nina feigned laugher. ‘Aye! Of course.’

‘We should leave.’ Robert guided Nina to the door, then over his shoulder said to the shopkeeper, ‘Thank you very much for your help.’

Thank you? A bucketload of crap was what the shopkeeper had told them. ‘We have nothing. If this camera indeed has secret files, we need to find them, but with few tech skills between us, we have no hope. And that man just switched the camera on, so Dickheadson will soon be here asking questions.’

Robert’s arm was still around her as they headed down Buchanan Street, weaving between the shoppers. He squeezed Nina close, a grin on his face. ‘Aye, we can’t break into the device. But, darling, you’re going about this the old way. You’re no longer investigating alone.’

Nina rolled her eyes. ‘What’re you going to do, call your cop pals? Why not just drive to the police station and surrender right now?’

He laughed. ‘Once again, you underestimate me. I know it’s dangerous getting people involved, but I have a hunch.’

‘That we’ll be arrested?’ Nina knew she was being an arse. But she’d hoped this brief trip would give them something – something more than another fucking obstacle.

As they made their way down Buchanan Street, Robert’s arm around her, she wished this could be them on a date, like normal people. Never in her life had normalcy sounded so enticing.

‘Nina, you’re missing the point.’ Robert halted to let a bunch of people walk past them and took the opportunity to press a kiss to her forehead. ‘When someone drops a lot of money on a gadget they don’t know how to use, it’s either for vanity or it’s to do with something valuable. I think Jonas had both. We know he was no photographer. But with that camera, you believed he was.’

Nina harrumphed. ‘I know he conned me. And he wasn’t the only one.’

They walked past a busy shop, then Robert guided her into a café. ‘He needed the high-class gadget to make you believe he was a photographer. And he needed a sophisticated camera to store something valuable. We break into that device, and I have a hunch, we’ll find treasure.’

The barista looked up at them. ‘What will you have?’

‘Two long blacks, one with a splash of milk. And that chocolate cake, please.’ Robert dug out his wallet.

Nina was too busy frowning at him to offer to pay her bit. Did he honestly think she didn’t know Jonas must have had something valuable hidden on the camera?

When they found a rickety table in the corner, Nina opened her mouth to fire off some more jabs when Robert offered her a fork. ‘Let’s celebrate.’

‘Celebrate being stuck?’ She let the fork clatter onto the plate. ‘Robert, we can’t restart this camera and keep Dickheadson away.’

Robert held up his hand to stop her. ‘Nina, think. The first time Shah followed you was after you escaped that building. You escaped with Jonas’s camera, didn’t you?’

Nina frowned. ‘Aye, I did. I… I think I picked it up from the crime scene and ran with it.’

Robert frowned. ‘So think… Shah chased you through the airport, almost cut off your head, had a thug come after us in an alley and had someone almost plough us down using a bike… for that camera.’

Her heart was now hammering in her chest. ‘Aye, you’re right. He kept asking me to give him something.’

The glint in Robert’s eyes brightened. ‘It had to be the camera he was after. And why would he want the camera if it didn’t hold some damning evidence against him or whoever else he was involved with?’

So Robert wasn’t just hot, he was smart. Very damned smart. Still, her initial problem remained. ‘How do we break into that camera?’

‘I think we’ll have to bring in the professionals like you said.’ Robert shook his head when she frowned. ‘Please. Nina, do you trust me?’