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Chapter Thirty-Eight

Mrs D’s eyes filled with tears as I opened her cell door. ‘Have you caught whoever did it?’ she asked.

‘We think so.’ I couldn’t tell her that the evidence was pointing to Toby and Angelica working together, not until it was confirmed by forensics. Letting her know she could go and that she was no longer a suspect would have to be enough for now.

‘Poor Jennifer.’ Mrs D was still wiping her eyes. ‘First her father and now Toby. And she’s such a lovely woman. She works so hard. Honestly, I think the way her father raised them, without any handouts was the making of her. She’s dedicated her life to being a nurse. No one should have to go through loss like this, but especially not someone as kind as she is. And young Rory, losing both his mother and his father days apart. It breaks my heart.’

‘I’m sure Yanni will do everything she can to give them as much support as possible,’ I said. ‘But you should get yourself home. Go and relax.’

The old woman shot out a rheumaticky old hand to clutch mine. ‘Thank you so much, Beatrix. Thank you for believing in me. It really helped knowing you were on my side.’

‘Everyone believed in you, Mrs D, but we had to follow the evidence.’ God, I sounded like Yanni; next I’d be telling people to ‘trust the process’ and keeping a colour-coded case file.

Given that Yanni was still at the crime scene, there was something else I knew I had to tell Mrs D. ‘We’ll need you to stay in Witchlight Cove until we’ve got everything wrapped up, just in case we need to ask you more questions.’ With Warren dead, the likelihood of Mrs D being charged over the pasty incident was low but it was still possible. Still, I trusted Yanni’s better judgement to let sleeping dogs lie.

‘I understand.’ She dipped her head slightly. ‘And don’t worry. You know I never go away, not unless I’m taking the kids on a trip somewhere. And talking about staying put, I hope you will too, Beatrix. It might not have been the best of circumstances but it’s been wonderful having you back.’

I didn’t need to feel a rush of emotions from her to know she was telling the truth. ‘I figure I’ll be here for a little while longer, at least,’ I admitted, only for an image of Fraser Banks to flash into my mind. Fingers crossed it was because I was thinking about stopping him getting into the house. Yup, that was it.

Even though Mrs D was free to leave, it took her a while to gather herself and her things. As she finally left, Yanni was walking into the office. Their exchange was brief – smiles and a handshake – before Mrs D disappeared through the doors.

‘So?’ I asked as Yanni approached. ‘Any more information?’

‘The coroner still needs to do a proper investigation, but it looks like a lovers’ quarrel turned into a murder-suicide.’

‘They were together?’

‘It fits.’ Yanni gave a long sigh. I felt guilty that she’d sent me home during the day when she looked like she needed a holiday, a bottle of rum – and possibly an exorcism.

‘Those poor families,’ I murmured. ‘That’s the last thing they’ll want to deal with. Are you going to tell them today?’

She nodded. ‘I have to. But you don’t have to come with me. I can do this on my own. ’

My immediate instinct was to say that I would go with her but I hesitated when a wave of her emotions hit me. She was thinking about another loss. I’d felt those same feelings flow from her before: she was thinking about me, about what it had been like to tell me what I’d already known, that my parents were gone. Her feelings would be even more intense when she spoke to the Browns and Storcrests and I wasn’t sure that I could cope with them.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said quietly. ‘I’m not sure if I can. Unless you need me to—’

‘No, you need space. It’s okay.’ She managed a small smile. ‘Besides, that dog of yours looks like she needs a walk.’

I glanced at the office chairs, but rather than lying over them asleep Eva was sitting up, looking at me. I nodded. Yanni’s understanding had brought me both a relief and a guilt I couldn’t quite shake. ‘Come on, Eva,’ I said. ‘Let’s go for a walk.’

I wasn’t really thinking about where I was walking or how far I wanted to go; I wasn’t really thinking at all because my head too full of emotion. Poor Mrs Brown. I hadn’t lost a son, but I had lost. I could empathise so strongly it made me want to crawl into my bed and not come out.

People expect to lose their parents eventually, though not as young as I had, but to lose a child? And in such a violent way? And there would be no escaping the Witchlight Cove gossip. I wished there was something I could do to shield her from the heartbreak I knew was coming but there wasn’t.

‘Where do you want to go?’ I asked Eva as I unclipped her lead. Without so much as a pause for breath, she bounded toward the beach.

I shouldn’t have been surprised: in London, she’d ended up dripping wet more than once after bolting toward any body of water she could find. The sea, though, was an entirely different treat, the fun of chasing the waves, the softness of the sand beneath her feet. I understood why she wanted to go there; I loved it too.

As we approached the shoreline, a figure emerged from the water. He was chest-deep at first, his broad shoulders cutting through the waves, then his torso came into view as water streamed down his sculpted muscles. My eyes stayed locked on him, unwilling – or unable – to look away.

When I realised what was about to happen – and the part of his body that was about to be revealed – I slapped a hand over my face. At the same moment, he noticed me. ‘Beatrix!’ he called. ‘Sorry, I didn’t realise—’

‘No, no, it’s fine!’ I said quickly, my voice muffled by my hands. Nothing to see here, nothing at all. Just a naked man emerging from the waves like a mythological thirst trap.

‘My towel’s over there. Give me a second.’

‘Yes, of course!’ I squeaked, turning my back and squeezing my eyes shut. There was absolutely no way I was going to look, absolutely not. Even though every part of me was screaming to have a quick glance.

‘It’s alright,’ he chuckled. ‘I’m decent now.’

I turned cautiously to find him buttoning his trousers. His shirt and leather jacket were draped over a nearby rock and it was that jacket that held my attention. It was far more casual than the suits I’d seen him wearing before and there was something about the material… There was a glimmer to it, as if it were infused with some deep magic.

‘You’re a selkie,’ I said.

‘I am,’ he replied.

‘And swimming in … you know … with actual skin. Like human skin.’ I was babbling. Someone help me.

‘Human skin. Wow, very technical.’ He smirked.

I felt a warm sensation spread from him and settle behind my sternum. Why the hell did he always make me feel like this?

‘I like swimming skin-on-water sometimes,’ he said. ‘Feeling the struggle of it. As a selkie swimming is easy, but sometimes I like to work for my pleasure.’

‘“Working for your pleasure” isn’t something you hear often.’ I raised an eyebrow.

‘Well, I’m not like most people,’ he replied. ‘But from what I hear, neither are you.’

The warmth I’d been feeling cooled instantly under his gaze. ‘You’ve been asking about me?’ The thought made my gut clench.

‘No, I haven’t but people talk. I promise that if I want to know something about you, I’ll ask you,’ he said firmly. ‘But I will confess that I’m curious as to why everyone seems so fearful of your family name.’

He held my gaze steadily. He wasn’t lying, he hadn’t been gossiping about me – but why not? It would be easy for him to satisfy his curiosity. Then again, maybe it was a chance for me to satisfy my own. ‘How about this?’ I gambled. ‘I’ll tell you about me if you tell me about Fatima.’

His eyebrows rose. ‘Well now, you have been digging, haven’t you?’ He bit his lip and for the first time I sensed he was nervous. Whatever this was, it was my ticket to ensure he didn’t get the Eternal Flame, I was sure of it.

‘You want to know about Fatima?’

‘I want to know why you’ve sent her millions of pounds.’

‘And if I tell you, you’ll tell me your history?’

‘That’s the deal.’

Wordlessly, Fraser sank onto the rocks. He ran his tongue over his lips and for a second I assumed he’d refuse, but then he cleared his throat and lifted his gaze to mine. ‘All right.’ His gaze was serious. ‘Beatrix Stonehaven, you’ve got yourself a deal.’

My skin chilled as I wondered if I’d made a deal with the devil.