Page 100 of The Scene of the Crime

‘Why didn’t you call the police when you first heard him downstairs?’

‘I don’t know. I’d just woken up . . . I was confused. I wasn’t sure if somebody was really in the house, so I went downstairs to check it out.’

‘Do you think Cole was involved in what happened?’

Johan grimaced. ‘Why do you ask that? I haven’t had anything to do with him since what happened with Chandice’s ring.’

‘You promise me that’s the truth?’

‘I’ve had nothing to do with him, I’m telling you.’

‘When the police searched this man Liam’s flat, they found jewellery stolen in another burglary. I know that Cole deals in stolen jewellery. He removes the stones, makes new rings and necklaces and sells them on.’

‘How do you know that?’ he asked, frowning.

‘For heaven’s sake, are you stupid? Why do you think I warned you never to see Cole again? I deal with plenty of criminals in my job. After what Cole did to Chandice, I started asking some of my clients a few questions about him and got answers that were worrying, to say the least.’ She didn’t mention that she had hired a private detective to investigate Cole.

‘I swear, I haven’t had anything to do with him since then.’ He started coughing, and his breathing got heavier.

Michelle could tell he was still lying. She got up, put on her coat and picked up her handbag. Johan looked worried. ‘Where are you going?’

‘Home. I’ve had enough of your lies, Johan. From now on, you can fend for yourself!’

‘No, please, Michelle, don’t go. I can’t do this without you,’ he pleaded.

‘My mind is made up, Johan,’ she said, hoping he would reveal more.

‘All right, all right . . .’ a sullen-looking Johan nodded. ‘I was seeing him, but I’m not now.’

‘I want to know what the pair of you were up to!’

He let out a long sigh. ‘Long before the incident with Chandice’s ring, I was at Cole’s shop. He knew I had a warehouse in Hackney and asked if any empty ones were for rent. I told him the one next to me was about to be vacated.’

‘What did Cole want with a warehouse?’

‘He said he was considering buying a CVD machine and would need somewhere to keep it.’

‘What’s that?’ she asked.

‘It’s short for chemical vapour deposition. A CVD is used to make high-quality synthetic diamonds. Cole said he was looking for a business partner . . . I asked him about making diamonds,and he told me how everything worked. He said they were cheap to produce and you could make a big profit when you sold them.’

Michelle raised her eyes. ‘Don’t tell me you became his partner and started selling fake diamonds.’

‘They aren’t fake. They are real diamonds, man-made. Cole assured me it isn’t illegal to own a CVD machine and make lab diamonds to sell. I checked it out . . . he was telling the truth.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me about it?’ she said, trying to keep calm.

‘Because I didn’t want you to find out my debts were mounting, and I was struggling to keep the business going, that bloody mortgage. The money from the lab diamonds enabled me to turn things around.’

Michelle bowed her head, gave a sharp intake of breath. Things were going from bad to worse. ‘You are so fucking stupid. There’s no way a man like Cole would do things legally and above board. Surely you must have suspected he was up to no good after what he did to Chandice?’

‘It crossed my mind that he might tell clients the lab diamonds were mined so he could bump up the price . . .’

‘Which means Cole was deceiving you as well. Anyone in their right mind would have challenged him about it.’

‘I was worried he might say he didn’t want me involved in the partnership.’

‘You’re unbelievable, Johan. How much was the CVD machine?’