Page 65 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

‘Of course. And that wasn’t Wheeler’s only injury. Burn marks on his body indicate that he was tortured with a lit cigar shortly before he died,’ Anderson said.

‘Oh my God, this is just terrible. Have you any idea who might have done that to him?’

‘Not as yet, but we believe they were involved in or at least aware of the break-in and were looking for the contents of Johan’s safe,’ Anderson told her.

‘Did you find anything else you think might have been stolen from Johan’s safe?’ she asked.

‘Yes. We recovered a large amount of money hidden in a travel pillow. Added to the five thousand found in Palmer’s flat, it totals nearly two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Do you know if Johan had that much cash in the safe?’

Jessica noticed a brief flare of anger in Michelle’s eyes before she gave a small shake of her head, as if finding it hard to believe. ‘That’s a lot of money, but I don’t know anything about it. You’ll have to ask Johan when he regains consciousness.’

‘Doctor Babu was surprised he hadn’t woken up by now,’ Jessica said.

‘I know,’ Michelle said sadly. Michelle gripped both arms of the chair and eased herself up, then stood with one hand resting on her belly. ‘Thank you for updating me on the investigation. Is there anything else?’

Anderson shook his head. ‘We’ll let you know if there are any further developments.’

She nodded and left the room.

‘What did you make of that?’ Anderson asked Jessica when she had gone.

‘I thought you handled her well. But it was interesting how she deflected the question of what was in the safe towards Johan. When you told her the actual amount of the cash, she looked annoyed before she managed to control herself.’

‘And what does that tell us?’

‘I’m not sure – but I’m wondering if Johan has already woken up.’

Anderson looked taken aback. ‘I find that hard to believe. I mean, do you really think he has regained consciousness and has spoken with Michelle?’

‘I don’t know. I’m just raising it as a possibility based on my observations. I thought it odd that she didn’t ask more about Wheeler or why he would break into their house.’

‘Why?’

‘Because barristers, like us, are naturally inquisitive. I thought she would want to know more about who was involved and why their house was targeted.’

‘I think she’s just focused on Johan and his recovery.’

‘She makes that very clear, but I think she was also fishing for information but didn’t want to go too deep in case she gave anything away. Also, people who already know the answers tend not to ask pertinent questions.’

‘Do you think I should have mentioned the diamonds recovered from Wheeler’s stomach?’

‘No, I think you were right not to. I think it’s good to keep something up our sleeve. Excuse me for a minute. I won’t be long.’

‘I’ll wait here for you,’ Anderson replied, thinking she was going to the toilet.

Jessica returned to the waiting room a minute later. ‘That was quick,’ Anderson said.

‘I’m now convinced Michelle is lying, and she discussed the investigation with Johan before we got here.’

Anderson looked surprised. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘I just knocked on Johan’s door. When Michelle opened it, I lied and told her we’d finished with Johan’s laptop and phone and asked if she’d like them back . . .’

‘Was Johan awake?’ Anderson asked hopefully.

‘No, he still looked to be asleep, but I think he might be putting on an act.’

‘Why?’

‘When we first arrived and Michelle opened the door, I noticed a bottle of water on his bedside cabinet, which was three-quarters full. When Michelle opened the door a minute ago, it was nearly empty. It can’t have evaporated into thin air.’

‘Good work! Should we go and confront them, do you think?’

‘No, let them stew for now. I’ll go to the lab early tomorrow morning and speak with the team. Hopefully, we might have some more forensic results to present them with.’

*?*?*

Michelle peeked through the blinds, watching Jessica and Anderson walking down the corridor towards the lift. ‘They’ve gone, Johan.’

He opened his eyes and sat up slightly. Michelle turned sharply and glared at him. ‘Anderson said the man who broke into the house is called John Wheeler. Looks like they recovered the rest of the money from the safe when they found him.’

‘What about the diamonds?’ Johan asked anxiously.

‘They never mentioned them, so they may not have found them.’

‘But if this Wheeler guy has them, he might tell the police they were in my safe.’

‘We don’t need to worry about Wheeler talking to the police.’

‘Why not?’ Johan asked.

She held her hands over her stomach. ‘Because he’s dead. You ruptured his spleen in the struggle when he attacked you.’

‘Jesus . . . did they say anything about Cole?’

‘No. It looks like they don’t know about him yet.’ Michelle told him about Wheeler being tortured with a cigar and the money found in the travel pillow.

‘So Cole killed Wheeler. That means he must have the diamonds,’ she added.

‘What if the police connect him to Wheeler’s death and arrest him?’

‘We’ve got to hope they don’t, and if they do, hope that he doesn’t drop you in the shit.’

‘But you said he wouldn’t do that because he’d implicate himself.’

‘If there’s forensic evidence that puts Cole or an accomplice in Wheeler’s flat, that changes things. If Cole is charged with murder, I’m sure he’d say anything to get a reduced sentence.’

‘Oh my God. What will we do then?’

‘Stop whining!’ she snapped.

‘I’m sorry, Michelle. I think maybe I should just come clean and tell them everything . . .’

‘For Christ’s sake, shut up and give me time to think. The forensic woman, Jessica Russell, was with Anderson. I think she’s suspicious. So we need to have a watertight story.’

Johan said nothing, waiting for Michelle to tell him what to do.

‘I’ve got to go out for a while, but when I get back, I’ll tell a nurse that you’ve woken up.

You need to act disoriented and confused.

Doctor Babu or another doctor will come and examine you.

You’ll probably be asked if you can remember what happened . . .’

‘What should I say?’

‘For now, you can’t remember a thing. Do you think you can manage that?’

‘I think so,’ he said, sounding unsure.

‘You’ve lied to me for months, so it shouldn’t be a problem,’ she said harshly.

‘Where are you going?’

‘To clear up the fucking mess you’ve created.’