Page 48 of Convict’s Game (Skeleton Crew #1)
“Already ordered and on their way.” Cassie took a deep swig of her coffee.
“Which brings me onto my update on my scheme. Richard Yelland is our businessman friend who purchased Becky from Burger Barn. Heh. Love that alliteration. Anyway, because he’s so friendly, he spends a lot of time sharing the love around different brothels in the country.
According to my stalking, he should be back in Deadwater in a few days.
Riordan and I will pick him up and do a little interrogation to crack that bad egg.
” She winked at me. “Ye may not want to be in the room for that one.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Deal. I’ll happily let you handle him.
My money is on Esther’s buyer being her killer, who Yelland can name, or it was Jan Salter, but in either case, I have no idea why.
As a minimum, Salter will know what happened to her, I’m certain of it.
He planned to give her a job, so if it wasn’t him, he’ll be pissed off that someone ended the life of one of his people. ”
Cassie hummed. She collected a pad of paper, her plate cleared, and wrote ‘Victim’ and Esther’s name at the top of one page, then ‘Suspects’ on a second, listing Salter and her unknown buyer.
“I’ll make notes of the evidence as we discover it,” she commented.
Under Esther, she added a bullet point: ‘Discovered dead in the harbour’.
“Add the bracelet,” I suggested. “It’s our clue to the timeline. My guess is she was killed directly after the auction, otherwise why would she still have it on?”
We added what else we knew. Her name, her role. I liked the feeling of creating a record. Then above the suspects, Cassie wrote: ‘Means, motive, and opportunity’, but we could only populate her buyer having her after the auction as an opportunity. After that, we were stuck.
Lovelyn made a sound of success. “I’ve found the case file for the explosion.
There are no witness statements yet, but a detective has been assigned.
” She read, drumming her fingers on the counter.
“Oh, that’s interesting. An initial review of CCTV shows the busy road nearby but also two figures on the outer harbour wall at some point before the explosion.
The timestamp isn’t noted. The operator records that they appear to be all in black. ”
My mind raced over the report. What couple would want the Eden destroyed and also have the capacity to do it? “Wait, could that be Convict and Arran? They watched it explode.”
“Damn. Yes, possibly.”
A knock came at the door. Cassie went to answer it.
“Mila? It’s for ye.”
I jogged over to find Convict waiting in the hall.
My heart swelled.
He didn’t come in, instead giving me an unsure look. From obsessed maniac to lost boy. I was falling for the whole range he covered.
“I don’t want to interrupt, but I’m done.
We found Salter. It’s the right place, and he’s barricaded up tight.
Kane’s watching for an opening, but it’ll take strategy.
This won’t be a smash-and-grab.” His gaze soaked me in.
“I’m going to hang around downstairs and make myself useful until you’re ready. ”
“Are you checking up on me?”
“Nah, just loitering like a very handsome stalker.” His lips curved. “I’m missing having CCTV to watch you on.”
I’d missed him, too. It had been under an hour, and I wanted to jump into his arms.
“I’ll let you know when I’m done,” I forced out. If I obeyed my instincts, I’d fly at him, and that wasn’t healthy at all.
He turned to go.
“Con?”
He came back around, and a slow smile tipped up his lips. “First time you’ve used that nickname for me. Any, if I think about it.”
Why did that tug at my heartstrings? “Give me thirty minutes then I’m all yours.”
“There’s nothing I want more, beautiful.”
He left, and I closed the door and leaned on it. Cassie was clearing up the kitchen, a tablet on her countertop displaying a live feed of downstairs in the warehouse.
She caught me staring. “I’m watching Riordan at work. I get withdrawal symptoms if I can’t ogle him for a while.”
I smiled, considering how Convict would do the same if we had cameras in here, and grabbed a cloth to help. “I take it you’ve been together for a while.”
“Nope, but I knew the second I saw him and I’ve been obsessed since. It took longer and some minor kidnapping to convince him he was mine.” She breathed out happily.
She was joking, surely.
Side by side, we cleaned up, then I returned to my task and wrote a very bland statement for the relatives, sending it to all of their emails.
The whole time, the ticking clock of returning to Convict gained increasing urgency. I’d always believed relationships had to follow a certain path or they weren’t right. Knowing someone didn’t happen overnight. You had to see them happy, sad, stressed, and that took time.
That didn’t explain the feeling in my chest. The draw to him that was so strong it was overpowering, and the connection a rope, towing me back to his side.
Cassie hadn’t denied herself the same feeling for Riordan. From what she’d described, she’d embraced it and ran with the ball.
I had a whole lot to rethink.
For a moment, I sat back in my seat and just let myself enjoy the rush, and it felt so, so good.