by Emily Selby
His jaw tensed. His Adam's apple bobbed. He stopped rocking. 'Yeah? Silver and black by any chance?' he drawled.
'Aha.'
'With a little window?
'Yep,' she replied, keeping her voice as steady and relaxed and she could. 'This big.' She showed him her thumb.
He nodded.
'You think it might be yours?'
'Ai! I've lost a USB stick. That was on Saturday, maybe during the fete.'
'Oh, I'm aware you've been looking for it. With your favourite workout music.' She forced her lips to smile.
He grinned back at her. 'Yep. That’s the one!'
'Looks like I might have found it.'
'Where is it now?'
'I've kept it in my handbag.'
'Where is your handbag?' he asked glaring at her.
'At work. I've left it behind. But if you come with me, I'll get it for you,' she answered, relieved that this was, in fact true, as she must have left the darn thing in the staffroom at the station when she bolted out of it. 'Just follow me.'
She turned on her heel and rushed back to the station. Breathless from all the almost trotting to make sure she was at least two steps ahead of him, she prayed that Chris was still there. She was keen as never before to get back into the safety of the station. She ran up the steps two at a time and dashed through the double door.
There was no one at the reception.
'Wait for me here,' she called out, hearing the door open for him.
She pushed the door to the staffroom open. It was empty.
32
Katie's heart stopped for a second, and when it kicked back in, it was galloping. A bead of cold sweat rolled down her neck. Her feet froze.
What was she supposed to do now? Her plan didn't include dealing with this improvised situation on her own.
'Are you there?' Alex yelled from the reception. Through the open door, she could see his torso leaning over the counter, his head touching the glass panel separating the public area from the staff booth.
Katie forced her body to move. 'Two seconds, I'm looking,' she called out. Her throat tightened with panic. She grabbed the nearby chair and pushed it away. 'It was somewhere here,' she croaked.
What now? With the door open, she couldn't ring anyone without raising Alex's suspicion. But she could text. She grabbed her handbag and yanked her phone out. She tapped, 'Come back to the station ASAP. Can't talk,' she typed and sent it to Chris. He should still be nearby.
'Will it be long? I don't have much time,' Alex called, his voice brimming with impatience.
'Sorry, can't find it yet,' Katie replied. Playing for time, she pulled out a drawer and slammed it closed.
She also had to act fast. This was her only opportunity. She couldn't waste it.
She typed, 'I know who did it,' and sent the text to Jack.
This should alarm him.
She opened another drawer and rattled the contents. Darn it! She had a photo on her phone. She could try this. She pulled her phone again and fumbled with the keys.
'Hey, I'll pop in to your place later, okay?' There was a clear note of hostility in Alex's voice.
Later? When she was at home by herself? Never! Her eye caught a sight of something black behind Jack's coffee cup.
'No, no... wait. I've got it,' she called out. She pulled the plastic bag from under a piece of paper and strode back into the reception area.
'Is this it?' she asked him, waving the bag in her hand, a good three steps away from the counter. Even if he pushed his arm through the little round hole in the glass panel he wouldn't be able to reach her.
'Stop waggling it like it's a bag of chips,' he spluttered. 'I can’t see it.' He stretched his hand across the counter. 'Show me!' he demanded.
Katie took a deep breath and willed her hand still. She shuffled her feet an inch closer.
'Can you see it now?'
'Barely,' he drawled. 'I need to have a look at it properly.'
'But I can't give it to you.'
'Why not?' A deep line appeared on his high forehead. His eyebrows furrowed.
Her heart was galloping well beyond its speed limits. Her mouth was paper dry. 'Because I'm not sure if it's yours.'
'I can't tell you if it's mine without looking at it, right?'
Hard to argue with this one. She ran her tongue along her lips. 'It has "Ledger" on it.'
'It's a brand name. Mine was of the same brand. For goodness sake, I don't think anyone in this silly, little town would have another one like it!'
She stretched her arm out, dangling the bag right half a yard away from his face.
'See now?' she croaked.
'Looks exactly like mine,' he drawled again. 'It's mine, woman. I'm pretty sure it's mine. Give it to me,' he called out. His hand shot through the opening in the panel. Katie jumped back, but she was a split second too late. Alex's fingers closed on the bag, and he wrenched it from her grip.
'Yeah,' he grunted. 'It's mine.' His face brightened. A shadow of a smile appeared on his face. 'Gotta go. Thanks for it, girl.'
'You can't take it away!' Katie called out. Her voice was trembling.
'Of course I can, it's mine. You found it, you gave it back to me. What's your problem, girl?'
'It's police evidence. Give it back!'
He glared at her, a dot of foam gathering at the corners of his mouth.
'No way, woman!' he snarled and turned.
Katie's head spun. Her hands curled in fists. Her body shook. She hit the button to lock the front door.
'Thief!' she shrieked at the top of her voice.
Alex's hands flew up to his ears. A door behind her slammed together.
'What the-?' A familiar baritone cut through the thrill.
'He's stealing the evidence,' Katie croaked in one breath.
'She's blocked the darn door!' Alex yelled. 'That's illegal.'
Jack glanced at her, his eyes flashing heat.
'Did you, Katie?' he asked.
She nodded, feeling her heart, or many the contents of her stomach pushing its way up her chest.
'He's said the cryptocurrency wallet is his,' she said, steadying her voice as much as possible. Her heart hammered in her throat.
Jack's face flinched. He jumped towards the release button and pushed it.
'The door is open, but I request that you return the said item immediately to Sergeant Fox,' he said.
Katie pressed her hand to her mouth.
'Hey, Alex,' Chris stepped in between the double door, blocking the passage. 'Can I have this thing back, mate?
A minute later, Alex was in the interview room, with Chris, waiting for the duty officer to come back from patrol.
Katie retreated into the safety of the staffroom. Jack followed her. His hair was ruffled, his cheeks were burning.
'What the heck were you thinking, Katie?' he growled. 'You can't just lock people inside the station. It's illegal!'
'He stole the bag,' Katie replied sheepishly. She felt silly, and very, very relieved.
'How did it even end up in his hands?' Jack started pacing the floor.
'I-I... He snatched it from me...'
'Why did you even take it off the desk? Interfering with police evidence is a crime!'
'I didn't know that,' she replied and grinned. What else could she say? 'But at least, I've found the owner. And if the fingerprints on this thing match Alex's... you've got your murderer.'
Jack stopped and glared at her. He pushed his hands into his pockets. 'Murderer? This device is not yet evidence to anything. Even if he has some bitcoin on it, this doesn't even mean he's came to it illegally. You're really crossed the line this time, Katie.' He stood still, glaring at her, his temples glistening.
Katie took a few steadying breaths. She buckled her knees and leant on the nearby desk. The back pain crept up her shoulders again. A snippet of conversation shot through her memory. A silly thought crossed her mind. She chuckled.
She was going to play it cool, this time. S
he rolled her shoulders back and forth a few times.
'Did you get my message last night?'
Jack blinked.
'What message?'
'About glitter?'
He pressed his lips into a thin, pale line. He nodded.
'Hear me out, please,' she said slowly, trying very hard not to giggle. The sudden realisation of how the seemingly unsolvable hi-tech crime could be resolved, made her want to laugh out loud.
'We've been all running around looking for evidence pointing to Jeff Livermore's murderer, and finding absolutely nothing. I had this thought that the absence of evidence is evidence. Something that should be there, but is not, is evidence. Do you follow me?' she asked seeing his eyebrow arching up.
'You need to try a little harder...'
'It's like my daughter telling me she had brushed her teeth, but her toothbrush was dry. You can't brush your teeth and leave your toothbrush completely dry, right?'
'Correct.' Jack's face remained tense, but at least he was listening.
'It doesn't work with everything. For example, hair combing. It's harder to argue that she hasn't used her comb, only based on the look of her hair. But with the toothbrush, you just know. It's either wet or dry. Which leads me to my next step. And I'm telling you all this so you can see there is some logical thinking behind it, although on the surface this may appear like an illogical hunch.'
A sparkle of interest appeared in his serious eyes. 'Ah, I see... That's interesting. Carry on.'
'I had a jar of glitter in the storage room, and it was spilled during the murder. I could see a trail of it on the floor. Glitter sticks to everything. It's very hard to remove.'
'There were no traces of it outside the room.'
'So, you did check.'
He crossed his arms on his chest. 'Yes, ma’am, we try to do our job properly,' he said with a hint of annoyance.
'Okay, okay. But if not on his shoes, the glitter might have ended up on his clothes...'
'Whose clothes?'
'The murderer, of course.'
He shot her a steely glance. 'I suspect the body could have been moved shortly after Jeff was shot, probably to remove his wallet and maybe some other items from his pockets.'
A warm wave crept up Katie's face. There was some evidence to support her theory!
'And while the murderer was emptying Livermore's pockets, some glitter stuck to his jumper. He probably realised that, because, as we have stated multiple times, he is a smart guy. So, he went home, got changed and washed his jumper.'
'And so? What's your point?'
'If you hurry, you'll find some of that orange and red glitter in Alex and Olivia's washing machine. I've been told it's broken down.'
Jack leapt forward, his eye wide open and glinting. 'Glitter...' he muttered. 'I've read it's been used as evidence before. 'He grabbed the fingerprint kit from his desk. 'I'll be right back.'
He returned after a few minutes.
'You were right,' he said calmly, a note of admiration in his voice. 'We need to send the fingerprints off to the lab properly, but I can already see at least some of the prints on the cryptocurrency wallet are quite similar to Alex's. I'm getting a warrant to search his house. The washing machine included.'
Katie had to lean on the desk again, her body suddenly releasing all the tension from the past days. 'I'm really happy I've helped move it forward.'
Despite, for whatever strange, butterfly-hatching reason, being not as bright and quick to think as usually...
He gave a curt node. 'Of course, we need proper evidence, but he's demanded to speak to a lawyer when I mentioned the washing machine.'
Katie smiled. 'Olivia has been complaining about glitter being all over her washing since Sunday. He washed his old and smelly green jumper on Saturday night. It shrank, so she threw it away. I hope you can still find some evidence though.'
He ran his hand through his hair. 'Yeah, there may be a lot more work still ahead of us. But at least, we have a new trail. It's going to take some time, so how about you go home, have a nice cup of tea and I'll ring you with an update when I'm ready?'
Her heart fluttered. 'That's a deal. Oh- hang on,' she paused, feeling suddenly really cheeky with all the positive energy that filled her now. 'How about you pop in to give me an update?'
A warm smiled blossomed on his face. 'That's an idea-''
'And I'll cook something nice.'
'Sounds even better.'
'See you later then?'
He looked straight into her eyes, the smile still on his face, an unfamiliar glint sparkled behind his glasses. She held his gaze. The tingling of hundreds of butterflies bursting out of their cocoons fluttered through her body.
'Definitely.'
33
By the time the doorbell rang it was early evening. She rushed downstairs skipping steps. 'Coming!'
She opened the door, breathless. He stood on her front stoop, his dark hair glistening in the warm pre-sunset glow. Her legs wobbled. She leaned on the door and let her face release the smile that'd been building up all day. Now, he was back and safe, even the tension between her shoulders eased right off.
Trish was right, it must have been stress!
'Done! We've found glitter in the washing machine, same colour and shape as the stuff collected at the murder scene. The fingerprints on the wallet have been matched to him and Jeff,' he said on one breath.
She grinned.
'Now, I can come in?' he asked. The magical sparkle appeared in his tired eyes again.
Katie gave herself a discreet nudge with an elbow, just to keep the butterflies under control. 'Please do. The dinner is cooking, but I'll make you a cuppa first.'
'That'll be great.'
They sat at her kitchen table. Katie served the tea and slid into her chair before her knees completely gave way. 'So what else have you found out? But maybe, first of all, tell me how on Earth, did you end up back in the station so quickly? Weren't you supposed to be driving up north?'
'I was. But when I stopped for petrol, I realised I’d forgot the bitcoin wallet. I wanted to drop it off to the guys in the lab so they could crack it. I drove back. I didn't even get your message 'til I walked into the office. But by then, I knew something wasn't right, because you were screaming your lungs out.'
Katie flashed him a grin, hoping it looked apologetic. 'I didn't know what else to do. But let's not talk about it now. Tell me more. Was the body identified?'
His young face saddened. A deep line crossed his forehead. 'Sadly, yes.'
'Poor Mrs Heron,' Katie said, hunching. 'She's a good woman, you know. And poor Trish. Will you let her go now?'
'Very likely, but we need more-'
'I know, more evidence. But what do you have so far?'
'Alex is a computer wizard. He might have been unemployed, but his brain has been very busy. Anything and everything we've found on him is clean. But I've just had a phone call from my colleagues in the Scottish Borders, and Aunty Helen has regained consciousness. She's not stable enough to be fully interviewed, but the initial statement she made incriminates someone who claimed to be Trish's friend, judging by description must have been Rob. I'll interview her probably tomorrow. The man talked her into opening a PO Box, as he said it was for Trish, who he claimed was opening an online business.'
'Whoa! That's a massive progress. So, Alex just used Rob?'
'Probably.'
'And then killed him?'
He took a deep breath. Katie could see the words "we need more evidence" forming in a little speech bubble above his head. She flinched. He must have noticed that, because he just waved his hand.
'Time will tell, but that's what I suspect.'
'What do you think may help provide it?' she asked, feeling a warm tingling of self-discovery. She was becoming more evidence-based and logical!
'The car that was found hidden in a well-camouflaged shed in the forest, just beside Rob's car.'
'Oh, is this the car Alex
used to drive from the Peak District to wherever in the Borders this place is?'
'Apparently so. He bought it from one of the locals with cash, somewhere in the Peak District on Sunday morning. We've got that evidence. He tried very hard to wipe all the fingerprints, but I think our forensic team might have found something. There is a nice, well-stocked survival kit in the boot of the car. And an envelope stuffed with cash.'
'Just one?'
'Just one. Remember, Alex had to come back to Sunnyvale via Peak District. Rob was killed probably on Tuesday. They've never managed to collect the other ones.
Katie gasped. 'Is Trish's name on it?'
'Yes. But no fingerprints other than the postman and the aunt have been found as yet.'
'Bad news then...' She felt a pang of disappointment. 'How are you ever going to prove his guilt?'
'Maybe by using whatever information we can pry from his secret pre-paid phone? One of at least two, if not more.'
'Ah! That explains a lot.'
'Yes. Moreover, because we found a trace of a recent bitcoin transaction made from his account to Jeff Livermore's account about half an hour before his death. The transaction would have been a significant one, but it was cancelled. A couple of hours later.'
'How come?'
'It didn't come through. I suspect, Alex had set the transaction fee deliberately low so that it took longer to process. He must have planned to get rid of Livermore by then. He cancelled it after the murder.'
'How awful! Did he kill him?'
'Looks that way.'
Katie suppressed the urge to drum her fingers on the table. 'And you have evidence for this?'
'Enough to arrest him.'
'You have arrested him, and you haven't told me?' Now, her face was burning with annoyance.
He shrugged. 'He's under arrest on the suspicion of Jeff's murder. I just thought you wanted to figure it all out.'
She blew out an angry puff. Then she paused. 'Okay, I can see your logic. And I appreciate giving me the pleasure of unravelling it myself.' She looked away to collect her thoughts. It was hard to carry on with this work-focused chat and hide the internal battle with butterflies and other warm fuzzies. 'Has he admitted to shooting Jeff?'
