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CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

R obert shut the door behind him and reached for Nina. She slipped out of his grip, choosing instead to go plop on the sofa. She hadn’t said a word on their way back. In fact, she hadn’t spoken much since Candace and Daisy had left for the night.

He’d taken her to the chippie, hoping to spark her appetite, but she hadn’t touched her fish supper on their way back and showed no interest in it now either, though the aroma tugged at his stomach; he hadn’t eaten anything in ages. Setting their takeaways on the kitchen counter, Robert sighed. ‘Nina, I need to check the flat. Please follow me?’

She looked up, shaking her head. ‘There’s no one here. If they were, they’d have got to us already.’

Robert removed his jacket, then went over to Nina. Aye, the entire thing was frustrating. Candace couldn’t name the mastermind behind it all. Still, she had identified Shah and Dickheadson, and confirmed Nina’s findings. ‘We’ll find them sooner or later. There’s something that’ll lead us to the person behind it all.’

‘When will that be?’ Nina flapped her arms. ‘When I’m rotting in prison?’

He sat down beside her, placed his arms around her and pulled her close. ‘You said you trust me.’

Nina burrowed her face in his neck and sniffled, her palm resting against his chest. ‘I believe you, and I trust you, Robert. No way would I have involved so many people otherwise. But that’s not our issue anymore; it’s a lack of evidence pointing us to the right person. We have too much information – and a suspect list that includes dead people. How can we ever find the real’ – she circled her finger – ‘CEO?’

‘Look, I’ll go through everything we have once more. Maybe after a good night’s rest?—’

‘No.’ Nina looked up at him, a determination lurking in her eyes. ‘I’m sick of this. I’ve been at it for months – months! I need to move on from this now. If we can’t track them, we’ll have to get them to come to us.’

Hell no! Robert tightened his grip on her. ‘That’s dangerous. These aren’t your average thieves. These people want you dead.’

But she wasn’t listening. She shifted out of his arms, pulled the backpack towards her and brought out the camera. ‘Whoever is the mastermind behind all this wants the camera. And they know we have it. All we need to do is tempt them to come get it.’

‘No, Nina. I didn’t ask you to stop after Shah was killed. You saw someone shoot his brains out. That has to be traumatic. Why don’t we leave it at that? Why not be a little more patient?’

Robert hadn’t investigated a big case before, and this was as big as it got. At the moment, all he knew was the mastermind was dangerous enough that people were terrified to even speak of them. And there was no smoke without fire.

Nina’s hand on his thigh drew his attention away from the case. ‘I was wondering if I could leave Glasgow after this is over and start over somewhere else. If I could just leave this all behind.’

Robert felt a sharp sting in his chest. He grimaced. This wasn’t a surprise. Hell, she was a runner. Of course she’d want to leave. ‘I— It would help.’

Nina pursed her lips. ‘It’s what my instincts are telling me to do, but…’ Her hold on his thigh tightened. ‘It’s not what I need. I need you .’

Robert froze, watching Nina. Was she overtired? Had the pills loosened her tongue? But no – she hadn’t taken any pain meds since that morning. ‘Nina, I think this is a conversation for later.’

‘It’s not. You mean a lot to me. I’ve never told anyone they’re what I need. Not the first boyfriend who thought I wanted a ball and chain. Nor to my own parents, even if I needed them for a lot of things. I know you’ve been through something traumatic, too. Finding the person who framed me for the murder of your wife is a way for me to let the past rest in peace. And I’m hoping it would be a way for you to move on… with me. If you’ll have me.’

He was stunned. ‘Nina, I feel deeply for you. And I told you, Anne and I were over before she died. I want to make this work. You’ve been a breath of life for me, ever since I met you. Even if I suspected you, you gave me a reason to keep going. I…’

He should have told her he loved her. But he saw the objection in her eyes before she voiced it. ‘If we don’t solve this and move on, our relationship will forever be tied to what happened. For once in my life, Robert, I’m not making plans to leave. Whatever we build, I want it to be fireproof, pun intended, and I want us to be dynamite. So please, please let us do this.’

Robert remembered what Joshua had told him. To stick to his own self, to follow his intuition. If they did seek the mastermind out, this would end. But they had another problem Robert hadn’t considered before – Dickheadson.

Of course, for an operation of this size to function like clockwork, they needed cops, but Dickheadson…

‘We can’t stage a fucking ambush, Nina. Not yet.’

‘Do you have a better plan?’

‘If we do entrap them, then take them to the police, Dickheadson is their inside man. He’ll point to the evidence, arrest you and get them out. Why do you think he’s been so fixated on you?’

Robert saw Nina’s eyes widen the moment she caught on, then she scrambled to the other side of the sofa, hunting for a sheet of paper. ‘Hold on, aye, you’re correct. Dickheadson has been running this case. He oversaw everyone who worked this case – crime scene technicians, the pathologists, the officers working through the evidence.’

While he’d never liked the man, it hurt to think the person behind his current pain was a fellow man in uniform. Robert hadn’t dealt with organised crime, so he’d never suspected his boss could be involved. But now it all came together.

‘Dickheadson’s involvement explains why they never handed the case to organised crime and why Shah was never on the suspect list when he was clearly there that night. And why Dickheadson told me they’d only found one body.’

Nina had been scribbling away on the paper, jotting down whatever Robert said. Now she shook her head, reading through it all. ‘We’re fucked. We can’t go to the police for help. Hell, even if we draw them out, how do we actually stop them? Nobody would believe us. Chances are the autopsy and the reports by the arson investigator and the crime scene techs have all been doctored.’

Aye, Dickheadson might’ve greased a few hands to look the other way, or tweaked the truth, or perhaps got other corrupt officials to do the job.

The sudden rage inside him unsettled Robert’s previously tired mind. He paced, trying to figure out a way to do something. Technically, they needed someone from the organised crime unit or, if this operation concerned global politics, even intelligence services. But none of them would believe a suspected murderer and a grieving widower.

Robert pulled out his phone. ‘I’m sorry, Nina, but we need official reinforcements.’