by Sibel Hodge
Her hands flew to her cheeks, knowing something was wrong. ‘Omigod, what’s happened now?’
‘Brad’s been charged with murder.’ Tears pricked my eyes.
Do not cry, Amber. You’re no good to anyone if you fall apart.
I sniffed and wiped my eyes on the back of my hand as Tia came round the desk and hugged me. ‘What can I do to help? I’ve already done the spell, and things should be back…’ She trailed off when she caught my look.
‘Don’t mention the S-word ever again. Ever! I’m never doing one of your spells as long as I live.’
‘OK, what else can I do to help?’ she said sadly.
‘Stake out Aleesha’s house and let me know when the police and Nathan leave. I need to check the place for evidence myself. It’s obvious Romeo’s not looking at any other suspects apart from Brad, and I’m hoping the police might’ve overlooked something that leads to Nathan. If I can find proof Brad’s not involved, Romeo will have to do something about it.’
‘Okily dokily.’ She nodded vigorously. ‘You can trust me.’ She looked at her watch. ‘What time do you have?’
I shrugged. ‘Hacker said it was half-three, why?’
Tia tapped her watch. ‘We need to synchronize, Red Fox.’
I rolled my eyes.
‘Come on.’ Hacker tugged my arm, and we made our way out to my Toyota. ‘Do you want to drive?’
‘I don’t think I could without crashing into something.’ I tossed him my keys.
As we pulled up in the car park at Dr Spork’s flat, he hurried down the stairs for his appointment with Suzy. We watched until he’d walked down the road before we got out of the car. I saw Dad’s car in the car park, but he wasn’t in it. Knowing Dad, he was probably dressed as a tramp or a tree doing a stakeout of Curtis’s place. I phoned him to let him know he could stand down from his stakeout.
‘Curtis is off the suspect list,’ I told Dad.
‘OK. What next, then?’
I pursed my lips, thinking. I’d discounted Steve and Jessie before, but what if one of them was involved? Both could’ve had access to Aleesha’s keys and Nathan’s tea at the studio, if Nathan’s story was even true. It seemed far-fetched to me, but it wouldn’t hurt just to double check. I rattled off Steve’s details. ‘Search his place and see what you can find. He might still be at the studio now, so hopefully his place will be empty.’
‘Received and understood.’ Dad hung up.
Hacker and I walked to Dr Spork’s apartment. We took one glance around to make sure no one was looking and pulled on some latex gloves. Hacker got out his lock-picking device and was through the flimsy lock in a no time.
We stepped inside. Hacker’s gaze rested on the painting of Planet Spork.
‘Wow, this is one weird guy.’
‘I know.’ I eyed the dirty washing pile on the sofa. ‘Well, I don’t think he’s been doing any laundry lately. Picking up dirty T-shirts and smelly jeans, I went through everything carefully as Hacker searched the bedroom and bathroom. Luckily, his flat was small. Hopefully we would get done and dusted before he left his appointment with Suzy.
Forty-five minutes later, Hacker reappeared at my side with five packets of chocolate knickers in his hand. ‘I found these, but no clothes or surfaces or anything else with traces of glitter and chocolate stains on them.’
‘Me neither.’ I stared at the packets of knickers, the cogs of my brain turning. ‘I think the chocolate knickers are too convenient. It was plastered all over the press when Dr Spork stalked Aleesha with them, and Felicia must’ve got the idea from him to copy so it would look like he was at it again and get blamed.’
‘He is at it again.’
‘Yeah, but this time with me.’ I curled up my lip.
I took the knickers out of the box and examined them. Strong nylon covered the elastic parts around the rims. You could easily strangle someone with them if you had the strength. ‘As a choice of murder weapon, chocolate knickers would be pretty low on my list. There are easier ways to kill someone.’ And that’s when it really hit me. Brad couldn’t have done this. ‘Brad’s trained to kill with his bare hands. There’s no way he’d strangle someone with a pair of knickers. Not when he could snap her neck in one quick move.’
‘And he wouldn’t leave any evidence.’
How could I have doubted Brad? I mentally kicked myself. What kind of a fiancée was I? I didn’t have time to feel yet more guilt, though; I had a murderer to find.
Chapter 14
‘I’ve got some bummer news,’ Tia told me down the phone as we left Dr Spork’s. ‘I don’t think you’ve got any chance of getting into Aleesha’s house. The media are camped out at the gates, waiting to get a comment about Aleesha’s death from Nathan. It’s swarming down here. Ten-four, Red Fox?’
I rubbed my forehead, trying to get rid of the headache that now felt like a hammer drill in my head, knock, knock, knocking to get out. ‘Great,’ I groaned. ‘We need some other kind of distraction to get them away from there. Let me have a think and call you back.’
‘Roger that, Red Fox! Penelope Pitstop over and out.’
‘It’s got to be Nathan,’ I said to Hacker. ‘He had the opportunity and a big motive to kill her for the inheritance. And the drugged tea just doesn’t sit right with me.’
‘Lots of other people have got a motive, too. Or maybe it was someone we haven’t even figured into the equation yet. Someone who took the opportunity to kill her so it would get blamed on the stalker sending her the death threats and knickers.’
I didn’t want to admit what Hacker said might be true, because how could I investigate someone I didn’t even know existed?
‘How can we get the press away from Aleesha’s house and get Nathan out of the way?’ I said.
‘The only way you’ll get the paparazzi away is if there’s a bigger story elsewhere.’
‘I’ve got an idea. Let’s go back to the office.’
Half an hour later, we arrived at Hi-Tec. With no Brad or Tia, the place felt empty and very quiet. Deathly quiet. Thoughts of Brad locked up in a cell jumped into my head, and my stomach swirled with anxiety. I pictured him on death row, taking the final walk of his life down an empty corridor with stark grey walls, heading towards a bed where they’d give him a lethal injection. The doctor filled a syringe with clear liquid. He released the plunger a little, and the poison squirted out the end of the syringe. Then he looked over his shoulder and laughed maniacally. OK, so we didn’t have the death penalty in the UK, but my mind was working overtime.
I shook my head to clear the chilling image. When this was over, I was so going to make it up to Brad for doubting him.
If it was over. What if he got convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment? Plenty of people had been convicted on less, and the only evidence so far pointed to Brad’s hands having been in very close contact with Aleesha’s neck.
‘Oh, God,’ I said, feeling sick, my breath coming out in ragged gasps.
‘Put your head between your legs.’ Hacker gently guided me to a chair and pressed on my back, pushing my head down.
‘What if I never see Brad again? What if he’s locked up forever?’
He rubbed my back. ‘We’ll get whoever the killer is. You always solve a case, and there’s no way I’m letting Brad get convicted of something he didn’t do. He saved my life on more than one occasion. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to save his.’
I didn’t say anything because for once, I didn’t know what to say.
‘What’s your plan?’ Hacker stopped rubbing.
I shot up, and all the blood rushed to my head, making me woozy. I waited for the black and white stars behind my eyeballs to disappear before saying, ‘I have to find a way to get Nathan out of the house.’ I leaned forward on my desk, head in my hands.
Think, Amber!
The only thing I could come up with under short notice and a lot of stress was bringing Nathan into Hi-Tec to answer more questions abou
t the circumstances surrounding Aleesha’s death. But it was a long shot. Would he even come? Nathan was probably the murderer, so he wouldn’t want to put himself under scrutiny. And he could use the excuse that since Brad had been charged with Aleesha’s murder, he wouldn’t want to assist the killer’s colleagues in trying to set him free. Romeo would be tied up with paperwork for hours, so he wouldn’t have time to give Nathan an update yet. Could I convince Nathan that the police were having second thoughts about Brad and would turn their attention towards him soon, unless he could convince everyone it wasn’t an inside job and he was innocent of any involvement?
Only one way to find out.
I reached for the phone and dialled his mobile.
It rang and rang. Just as I was giving up hope he would answer, he picked up.
‘Hi, Nathan, it’s Amber.’
He let out an almighty sniff. ‘What do you want? I don’t want to be associating with someone who’s tied to my sister’s killer.’
‘Well, that’s why I’m ringing you. The police aren’t convinced Brad is the real killer.’ OK, an eensy weensy lie there, but it wasn’t like I had any choice. ‘They already suspect it’s an inside job, and it won’t be long before they start turning their attention to you.’
He gasped. ‘Me? I would never kill her. I loved her! I just don’t understand how it happened. I don’t know what to do. I’m stuck in this big house all on my own, and the paparazzi won’t leave me alone.’ The wailing started again.
He was going pretty overboard with the fake distraught brother routine.
‘Please, you have to help me,’ he said breathlessly. ‘I didn’t have anything to do with her death. How can I convince the police not to put me away?’ Humongous sniff. ‘I don’t want to get attacked in prison. They like boys like me, and I don’t want to get hurt,’ he shrieked. ‘I broke my little toe once, and the pain was excruciating. Imagine what those big bullies would do to me in there!’
‘I want to help you, Nathan,’ I said sympathetically. I could be as good an actor as he could if I wanted. ‘There is a way you can help to clear this up and get the police off your back…’ I trailed off, waiting for him to take the bait.
‘What? What? I’ll do anything,’ he said when I didn’t continue.
‘I’ll need you to come into Hi-Tec offices and meet with my assistant, Tia. She’ll go through with you everything that happened on the day Aleesha was killed in minute detail, and she’ll try and find some clue as to who the real killer could be.’
‘Absolutely. Anything you say. As long as the police don’t arrest me and take me to prison. When do you want me to come in?’
‘Now would be good.’
‘OK. Right away. I’m leaving now.’ He paused. ‘Amber?’
‘Yes?’
‘Promise you won’t let them take me away?’
I crossed my fingers. ‘I promise.’ Oops, I was going to lying hell for that one.
I hung up and looked over at Hacker. ‘Right, so that sorts Nathan out. Some of the paparazzi will probably follow him here, but we need to get rid of the stragglers who might hang around outside the house waiting for him to come back.’ I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to think of something that would work.
My eyes met Hacker’s as an idea formed. ‘Brad Pitt’s just arrived at Stansted Airport with Angelina Jolie,’ I said.
‘Have they?’ He frowned.
I rolled my eyes. ‘No, but if they did, the press would be down there like a shot.’ Stansted Airport was only half an hour away. No way would the paparazzi want to miss that. A dead glamour girl’s brother could wait if Brangelina turned up. ‘So, we need to put it over all the social media that hundreds of fans are waiting for them at the airport, and their private jet’s just arrived. I want you to make up fake tweets and Facebook messages and leak it to the paparazzi. Now.’ I nodded towards Hacker’s bank of computers and made urgent hurry up motions with my hands.
His lips curled into a grin. ‘No problem.’ He cracked his knuckles.
I called Tia as Hacker got to work.
‘Hey, Red Fox!’ she squealed down the phone.
‘Tia, listen very carefully, because I don’t have time for spy talk, OK?’
‘Yes, Amber. Listening carefully.’
‘Nathan is going to leave the house soon and come to Hi-Tec to meet with you. Follow him back here and then take him into the conference room. He’s going to try to convince you that he’s innocent of killing Aleesha. I want you to go through with him every single thing that happened yesterday, from the minute they got up in the morning until the minute he allegedly found her murdered. When he’s gone through it once, go over it again. And again. And again. I need you to keep him here as long as you can so we can search the house. Say whatever you need to that convinces him you’re trying to help him get the police off his back because they’re going to start suspecting him. I’ll text you when we’ve finished and it’s OK to let him leave. Got that?’
‘Affirmative.’
‘Pretend that you believe he has nothing to do with Aleesha’s death. Put him at ease, and just keep him talking.’
‘Gotcha.’
‘I’ll make sure some of the underwriting staff stays in the office in case of any problems, OK?’
‘Okily dokily.’
Wow, this was good. Tia was actually listening to me for once.
‘Brad’s life depends on you doing this right. Can I trust you, Tia?’
‘Absolutely. One hundred percento. I’ll prove to you just what a good assistant I can be. You don’t have to worry about a thing.’
I sent up a silent prayer, desperately hoping that was true. ‘Great.’
‘Ooh, the paparazzi are all getting in their cars and shooting off. Maybe there’s a bigger story happening at the moment.’
I gave Hacker a grin and a thumbs up. Whatever he’d done had worked.
‘Nathan’s coming out of the drive now. I’ll follow him back to the office. Gotta go!’
Next, I phoned Dad. ‘I need all hands on deck. We have to search Aleesha’s house before Nathan gets back.’
‘Well, Steve’s still at home, so I’m not doing much anyway except hanging around. Do you want me to swing by and pick up your mum to help?’
I pictured Mum rifling through Aleesha’s sex toy drawer and making notes so she could try things out on Dad later. Still, an extra pair of hands would be helpful. ‘We’ll meet you both at your house.’
It was dark when Hacker and I pulled up on my parents’ drive. Mum and Dad were dressed covertly head to toe in black. Mum wore the leather Catwoman suit I’d seen in Lace. She was even wearing black eye shadow and black lipstick. God knows where she’d got that from.
‘This is so exciting!’ Mum said. ‘Staking out shops, following people, breaking into a house to gather evidence. It’s so James Bond. And when we get back, let’s all have a martini to celebrate, shaken not stirred. I’ve even painted my toenails black to be colour coordinated!’
When would this day ever end?
‘Let me just check on Sabre quickly,’ Dad said.
I followed him to the doors in the lounge and looked out over his shoulder into the garden. Sabre lay on his back, all four legs in the air, having a peaceful snooze. The neighbours’ cat lay on Sabre’s stomach, licking his face. Interspecies love. How cute.
‘OK, let’s go,’ Dad said.
We all piled into Hacker’s Range Rover and drove off. ‘It’s a go, go, go!’ Mum cried out.
I turned round and raised an eyebrow at her.
‘What? That’s what the police always say when I’ve watched the Police, Camera, Action! chases on TV.’ She paused for breath, only a slight one, mind you. ‘Now I understand why you and your father are workaholics. All this catching criminals and going undercover is just fascinating.’ She glanced at Dad. ‘We can be a crime fighting duo from now on. Like Batman and Robin. No, Catwoman and…’ She paused for another slight breath, thinking. ‘Who goes wit
h Catwoman?’
‘Tom cat?’ I muttered, just for something to say to take my mind off the drivel.
‘Or, I know! I can buy a Wonder Woman outfit,’ Mum prattled on.
I started to count to ten before I answered. I only got to six before my phoned buzzed with a text, which was quite lucky, because I might’ve sworn at Mum by that point. All this amateur sleuthing and spy talk with Mum and Tia was doing my head in. And anyway, being Wonder Woman was my job. I had the knickers and everything.
The text was from Tia.
‘Followed Nathan to Hi-Tec with no problems. Will go and meet him. Don’t worry. You can trust me. Penelope Pitstop will save the day! Xx’
I seriously hoped I could trust her. Despite her airhead exterior, she was a sharp cookie with an underlying determination and strength. I crossed my fingers she would be able to pull it off and keep Nathan there until we’d finished.
The rest of the drive passed by in silence, thank God, or I might’ve strangled Mum.
‘So, we all know what we’re looking for?’ I said to everyone as we arrived at the bottom of the country lane where Aleesha’s house was. ‘Anything belonging to Nathan that has glitter or chocolate. Clothes, surfaces, bathrooms, or anything else that might have traces. I know there will obviously be some in Aleesha’s bedroom and bathroom, but if you find any elsewhere in the house, I’m hoping it points to him. Look to see if any recent laundry has been done, too. He may have tried to wash the evidence away.’
‘Message received and understood, Red Fox,’ Mum said.
Hacker parked the Range Rover in a field so the vehicle wouldn’t be seen from the road and strapped on a black backpack as he exited the car. ‘Let’s do this.’
Aleesha’s house backed onto acres of farmer’s fields. We crept through the dark night and approached the house from the rear.
Mum glanced up at the ten-foot wall. ‘How am I going to get up there? I’m not as young and supple as I used to be.’
‘I bet Wonder Woman wouldn’t say that,’ I said. ‘And she must be the same age as you now.’