by W. Soliman
“This doesn’t look good for you. Just tell me why you were there and we can leave you and your friend to carry on doing whatever you were doing.”
“If I was there to see Miller then it would be privileged.”
She rolled her eyes. “How often have I heard that one?” She laughed but no one else appeared to get the joke.
“I wasn’t there to see Miller,” I said, standing to indicate that they’d overstayed their welcome. “And that’s all I’m prepared to say.”
“Tell us who you were there to see, and he or she can give you an alibi.”
“Do I need one?”
She resorted to a smile that would frighten small children. “What do you think?”
I sipped at my drink and took my time responding. “Since you ask, I think you’re sounding a bit desperate.”
“And you’re in a pile of deep shit unless you cooperate.”
I actually smiled at that one, taking a tighter grip on Cleo’s hand as I did so and making sure Slater noticed. Hardly the best way to get myself out of this mess, flaunting Cleo beneath the nose of a woman who’d tried every trick in the book to get up close and personal with me when we’d worked together. But I was tired of being jerked about and really didn’t give a toss about Slater’s injured pride.
“I won’t be able to sleep,” I said, hoping I sounded unconcerned as I showed them off the boat and Slater clambered rather inelegantly onto the dock.
“Sorry, mate,” Jimmy said, hanging back as Slater busied herself putting her shoes back on.
“Not your fault,” I said. “In her position I’d have pulled myself in for questioning.”
“She probably will.”
He wasn’t telling me something I didn’t already know. Slater wanted to get me so badly that she’d do everything by the book, running my possible involvement past the brass before making her next move. She’d already convinced herself that I knew more than I did and would want to make sure there were no cracks I could slip through. I figured I had until the morning.
“What the hell’s going on?” Cleo asked the moment our visitors left.
“Good question,” I said, refilling our glasses.
“What a mess.” She expelled a long breath. “Sorry, Charlie.”
“What for?”
“I got you into this.”
“You didn’t get Miller killed. And Slater knows I don’t have it in me to commit murder. She just wants it to be that way. That’s why she’ll try and find a way to make the facts point to me.”
“She’s already doing a pretty good job of it.” Cleo frowned. “She’s the woman who dealt with my dad’s case, isn’t she? She looks different now but I thought I recognised her.”
“She hasn’t improved with age.”
“Why is she trying to fit you up?”
“We don’t like each other.” I slipped an arm round Cleo’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “Now, where were we?”
“Charlie! This is more important.”
I grinned at her. Actually grinned. “Nothing’s more important than sex.”
“You silver-tongued devil, you.”
“You have no idea.”
“I’m getting there. But you won’t be. Not until you tell me why that woman was so antagonistic toward you.”
I huffed a bit, annoyed with Slater for spoiling the moment. “You must know that I’d tell you any old story right now just to get your cooperation.” I placed her hand over my erection, just in case she still didn’t get the message.
She shot me an irritated glance and reclaimed her hand. “Try and think with your other head for a while and tell me what the hell’s going on.”
“Okay, okay.” I knew when I was beaten. “Jillian Slater is a graduate who was fast-tracked into a position she was ill-equipped to handle. She’s brilliant at manipulating the brass but a bloody awful copper. She was a detective inspector, the same rank as me, when she came to Brighton. I tried to help her out but she misinterpreted my friendly overtures.”
“Oh dear!” She covered her mouth with her hand, presumably to try and stifle the giggle that escaped anyway. “You repulsed her advances. No wonder she’s so pissed with you.”
“I don’t mix business with pleasure. Ever. Besides, I was still married at the time.”
“But she forced you out of the force?” Cleo rolled her eyes at her clumsy choice of words.
“She was one of the reasons I got out, certainly, but not the only one.”
“Because she was promoted above you?”
I took a moment to consider the question. “If you’re implying that I resented having a woman boss, you’re dead right. But only because it was her and she was promoted for all the wrong reasons.” I stretched my arms above my head, trying to decide whether I ought to say more. In the end I chose to get it over with so we could turn our attention to more pressing matters. “My marriage broke up, I inherited this boat, Slater was compensating for her own inadequacies by throwing her weight around and making life difficult for me. Who needs it?”
“You obviously didn’t.” She kissed me gently and quickly pulled away again before I could take advantage of the situation. “But why were you at Miller’s place again?”
“Has it occurred to you that other people besides Miller live in that block?”
“Well obviously they do.” She furled her brow, her index finger absently plucking at her lower lip as she thought about it. “But you have to admit that it’s a bit of a coincidence, you being there to see Miller one day and someone else another. Even I can see why Slater would be having a hard time with that.”
“That’s because she doesn’t know my stepbrother lives there and I went to see him.”
Her concerned expression evaporated. “So he can vouch for you?”
“No, because he wasn’t in.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh indeed.” I pulled her to her feet. “Come on, we’re taking Gil for a run.”
“Tell me more about the horrible Inspector Slater,” she said as we strolled along together. “I didn’t have much to do with her when Dad went down. I flew beneath her radar because I was never a suspect.”
“She’s the face of a modern force that’s not afraid to promote women and people from ethnic minorities into positions of authority at a young age,” I said succinctly.
“But she can’t hack it?”
“Nope. She’s intelligent but that’s not necessarily helpful when it comes to outwitting your modern-day criminal. All the talk you hear about a copper’s nose is right on the button.” I lifted one shoulder. “You need street smarts. An inbuilt sixth sense that will tell you who’s feeding you a line—which would be ninety-five percent of the people you talk to, in case you’re wondering—and when to cut them some slack. Slater does everything by the book, which is why I know she’ll cross the t’s and dot all the i’s before she comes back for me.”
Cleo gasped. “You think she’ll be back?”
“Oh yeah, but not until she’s sure she’s covered her own arse.”
“Then why aren’t you more concerned?” Cleo was frowning again, like I wasn’t taking this seriously enough for her liking. “You ought to talk to your lawyer.”
“What, and really give her a reason to suspect me?”
“Everyone has a right to legal representation.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” I said, wishing I felt as confident as I sounded.
“It can’t have been easy for Slater, not if everyone knows why she’s in the position she’s in. How long has she been in Brighton?”
“She was promoted to inspector by the Met and moved down here just before your dad’s case came up.”
“You think they wanted rid of her in London?”
&nbs
p; I flexed one brow. “The possibility did occur to me.”
“Is that why she was so keen to prosecute Dad then? To make her mark.”
“I always thought so.”
Cleo’s expression reflected her disgust. “Will she survive in the force?”
“Her sort always do.” I snorted. “She’s a useless thief-taker but bloody good at sucking up to the right people. The paperwork always shows her in a good light. She makes sure of that.”
“But the antagonism? The sparks flying between the two of you. What’s that all about?”
“Like I said, she hit on me and made something of a fool of herself in the process. The lads in the squad room got wind of it and she became a laughingstock for a while.”
“That can’t have been pleasant for her.”
“In our line of work you have to be able to take it as well as dish it out. Sometimes the banter is the only thing that gets you through. Anyway, I guess you can say that Inspector Slater doesn’t take rejection well.”
“She’s very attractive.”
I tried for an innocent expression. “Is she?”
“Like you’ve never noticed.”
“Nothing gets in the way of her ambition, that’s something I have noticed. But I’ve just learned tonight that she never forgets a slight either.”
“Is that why you asked me to stay?”
“I didn’t see why she should force you out.”
“Oh, Charlie, that’s so sweet!”
“Yeah well, I was already thinking about quitting the day job, and having her around made the decision that much easier. She’s younger than me but she’ll be promoted again and inflicted upon some other unsuspecting division before too long, especially if she can pin this murder on me.”
“But she can’t, can she?”
I wished I shared Cleo’s optimism. “There won’t be any evidence but, jaded old cynic that I am, I guarantee that won’t stop her from trying.”
She offered me a lilting smile. “I could describe you as many things, Charlie, but cynical…” She shook her head. “I don’t see it.”
“Perhaps that’s because you don’t know me too well.”
“We can easily put that situation to rights.”
“Ah, at last! The lady gets the message.”
She bashed me playfully on the arm as we went back to the boat and did precisely that.
Cleo was an aggressive lover who knew what she liked and wasn’t afraid to go after it. None of the reticence she displayed in her daily life was evidenced between the sheets. She shed her inhibitions along with her clothes, vociferously making demands that didn’t have me complaining.
We were in the shower together the following morning when Slater came for me, earlier than I’d anticipated. She could hardly keep the glee out of her expression when she requested that I accompany her to the station.
“Walk Gil, if you don’t mind,” I said to Cleo calmly, “and hang on here until I get back. I shouldn’t be long.”
“Don’t count on it,” Slater said, walking into the cabin where Cleo and I were having this conversation and casting a scathing eye over the dishevelled bed.
“Do I need to call you a lawyer?” Cleo asked.
“No need for that.” I led the way back to the salon and out onto the pontoon. Slater had ostentatiously posted two uniforms there, presumably in the hope of embarrassing me. “Oh, and Cleo,” I called over my shoulder. “If anyone tries to search this boat, don’t let them on board.”
“Got it.”
And I knew she had. With her father’s background she’d be well aware of the grounds necessary to issue a warrant. But I wouldn’t put it past Slater to try and get her people on board, implying that I’d given permission. It was just the sort of stunt she’d pull because no magistrate would issue a warrant on the flimsy evidence she possessed. Slater glowered at me, which told me I’d guessed right but said nothing as we walked away from the boat.
I travelled in the backseat of the car driven by Jimmy. Slater occupied the passenger seat and no one spoke for the duration of the journey to the nick. Slater took great delight in walking me through the squad room. Since it was almost the end of a shift it was especially full. A coincidence? Somehow I didn’t think so. Old colleagues recognised me and raised hands in greeting, only to drop them with uncertainty when it became apparent that I wasn’t making a social call. Their friendliness turned to disbelief as I traversed the room, and I could imagine the sorts of rumours that would be doing the rounds before I’d even made it to the interview room. All part of Slater’s petty revenge.
“Do you want a brief?” Slater asked, sitting herself next to Jimmy opposite me.
I leaned back, deliberately casual, and made myself as comfortable as I could on the uncomfortable metal chair. “Why, am I under arrest?”
“Not yet.”
“Then I don’t.”
“Okay, you know the drill.” She switched on a tape recorder, went through the usual rigmarole of introducing all the people present and got straight down to business. “You are Charles William Hunter and live on a boat called No Comment in Brighton Marina.” I confirmed that I was. “What can you tell me about your recent visit to a solicitor called Jason Miller?”
“You just said all there is to say about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“No comment.”
Jimmy stifled a chuckle, which earned him a reproving look from his boss.
“That’s hardly helpful.”
“Why do you need my help?” I settled as comfortably as I could in the uncomfortable chair, hoping to convey the impression of being totally unconcerned about her allegations. “You obviously think you know it all already. Bring out the handcuffs, why don’t you?”
“I’d like to hear your version.”
“I’m sure you would but I’m equally sure that anything I said to a solicitor is privileged.”
“Not if it impinges upon his death.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Allow me to be the judge of that.”
I actually laughed aloud at that one. “Oh, I’m sure you’d love that.”
“Come on, Charlie.” She leaned toward me, predictably allowing her impatience to show. One of her many shortcomings was a lack of finesse when interviewing suspects. “Why did you visit Miller on the day he died?”
I half smiled at her, almost enjoying myself, tapped the side of my nose and asked Jimmy for a coffee.
“Later,” she said when Jimmy nodded and stood up. “You were about to tell me why you went to see Miller.”
“Was I?”
I made my voice come out all croaky, grasping my throat in a dramatic parody of a man dying of thirst. Jimmy snickered but when Slater glowered at him he realigned his features into a passive expression and slid a little further down in his chair. He knew as well as I did that this whole thing was a crock of shit. We both waited in silence for Slater’s next move. With a protracted sigh she suspended the interview, turned off the tape and nodded toward the door.
“Get me one too,” she said to Jimmy as he left to fetch my coffee.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I wondered if she could hear the sarcasm in his tone but figured that even if she could, Jimmy was too far down the food chain for her to care what he thought of her.
“Okay,” she said as soon as the door closed behind him, “we’re alone now and off the record so you might as well tell me what’s what.”
“I’m not sure about that.” I stroked my chin as I tried to decide how much help to give her.
“Humour me.”
“All right. I went to see Miller a couple of days ago. You know that because my name’s in his appointment book, right?”
“Yes, and you
saw him on the day he died too.”
I let out a long breath and tried to remain patient, never my strong point when dealing with idiots. “Did I?”
“Nice try, Charlie, but I’ve got you squarely in the frame for this one. If you had an innocent reason for being there, why not help us out and save yourself a lot of grief.”
“Really, Slate.” I waggled my brows at her, using the station’s nickname for her to her face. “Let’s see if I’ve got this right. I’m an experienced ex-detective who’s decided to swap sides and kill someone I barely know and have had few dealings with. But I’m daft enough not to notice the CCTV camera that’s in plain view.” I paused, waiting to see if she’d realise how impossible that sounded. It quickly became apparent that she was so anxious to pin this on me that the tiny logical part of her brain was closed for business today.
“It’s how it looks from where I’m sitting, given the overwhelming evidence.”
“Okay, let’s look at your so-called evidence.” I shifted my position and pinioned her with a direct look. “I was in that building for less than five minutes on the day in question. Not only was it not long enough to stab someone to death but it didn’t give me nearly enough time to get the blood off my clothing.”
“It could have been enough time and you might have overlooked the camera. People have done dafter things.”
“What room was he killed in?”
“His bedroom.”
“And I’ve never set foot in there.”
“Well, I hardly thought you’d leave prints. Even you would think to wear gloves.”
“But you thought I’d forget the camera.” I rolled my eyes. “Really, I’m flattered that I still figure so prominently in your thought process, but I’ve left the force now so you don’t have to feel threatened by me.”
Colour spread across her cheeks. “You really think you’re something, don’t you?”
I winked at her. “Just telling it like it is.”
Jimmy returned with the coffee and the tape was turned back on. She carried on for half an hour, trying to get me to say something incriminating.
