Page 129 of The Scene of the Crime

‘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.