Dannel joined him by the monitor. He stared at the slightly pixelated face. “I don’t recognise her. She’s not one of our cosplay group. Maybe you helped her as a paramedic?”
“Maybe.” Osian didn’t sound convinced.
They spent another hour watching and rewatching video clips. Dannel had a feeling they’d be replaying in his sleep whenever he closed his eyes. From what they had available, they weren’t able to determine who’d entered the room with Gemma.
“We’ll reach out to the community again. I’m sure there’s more than this,” Osian promised. “They all want to help any way they can. Gemma meant a lot to them.”
“Home?” Dannel had been slowly shutting down. He’d pushed so far outside of his usual comfort zone for the last few weeks. His usual buffer zone had been eroded away entirely. “Let’s go home.”
Osian got to his feet immediately. “We’ll let you know if we hear about any additional footage.”
The detectives were surprisingly understanding. They didn’t try to force them to stay longer. Dannel had his earbuds in and the Hamilton soundtrack playing before he and Osian had even stepped out of the building.
Yet another constable appeared to give them a lift home, despite their protests. The police obviously considered the threat to their lives to be real. He did appreciate the thought.
When they arrived at their building, Dannel fled inside up to their bedroom. He slipped under the duvet. With the volume turned up, he managed to slowly bleed off the stress to the strains of his favourite soundtrack.
“Fancy dinner?” Osian poked his head into the room a few hours later. “Ian brought over half a pizza. They apparently got his order wrong and gave him a second one for free. Evie had some, and we get the rest.”
“Sure.” Dannel didn’t move from underneath the blanket. He did ease his earbuds out. “What kind of pizza?”
“No idea. It’s free. It’s pizza.”
“Your favourite kind.” Dannel chuckled wryly. “Pizza it is. Any word about Noah?”
“Doubt we’re the first ones the detectives will call. We could always—”
“Ossie.”
“Yes, love?” Osian smiled sweetly at him.
“Not sure we should stick our noses in any further.” Dannel hadn’t been able to shake the fear from waking up in the hospital. It made him angry. “Then again, I want to stop whoever is doing this.”
Anger always made him brave. Noah might be more willing to answer questions, given they’d seen him arguing with Gemma. Dannel supposed he could’ve lied to avoid seeming suspicious.
Lying only served to make him more suspicious, not less. Dannel wondered if Noah was capable of murder. The former couple had definitely been arguing, but did that mean he’d committed the crime?
“Pizza first.” Osian flopped onto the bed, draping himself across Dannel’s legs. “We’ll scarf down dinner and track down the glamour model when we’re done.”
25
Osian
Pulling Dannel out of his quiet zone always worried Osian. He preferred to leave him in his musical silence as long as possible. He didn’t want Dannel to forget to eat, though.
Dannel was not ready to go outside again. He needed more than a few hours of downtime to decompress completely. Osian knew his shutdown tells well enough by now.
He watched Dannel through their late supper. They finished up the remains of the pizza easily enough. He thought maybe they should put off going out until the morning.
“Don’t say it.” Dannel set his bottle of beer down by his empty plate. “You should go.”
“What’s the rush? We can track Noah down tomorrow. We know how to find him.” Osian had no doubts the man would post his whereabouts on Instagram as he’d done before. “It’s after midnight. I’m going to hazard a guess the detectives won’t appreciate us running out into the night to investigate on our own.”
“Fine.”
Osian didn’t take the curt word to heart. He could see the way Dannel’s shoulders dropped with relief. “Do you want to watch something on the telly, or maybe another evening of listening to playlists?”
Dannel shrugged.
Music it is.
Opting for their carefully curated video game soundtrack playlist, Osian left Dannel to make himself comfortable. He cleaned up the kitchen. His mind drifted to the woman in the video.
She’d seemed so familiar. He couldn’t place her. And of the two of them, he definitely did better at recognising people.
With Dannel hidden under his weighted blanket, Osian decided to check their podcast email. He was disheartened but not surprised to find yet another threatening message. Why couldn’t they leave him alone?
He considered sending the messages to the detectives. It’s probably just another internet troll. People can be such wankers.
Would the detectives even take it seriously? Osian wondered if the emails were connected to everything that happened. Maybe I should send them over then. What’s the worst they can say?
Moving the new email into a folder, Osian cleared out the rest of his inbox. He’d already made notes for their next podcast. They didn’t want to get too far behind in their schedule.
He could make decisions about the stalker emails tomorrow. Maybe the answer would come to him while he slept. Stranger things had happened, especially lately.
“Ossie?”
Osian glanced up from the script he’d been writing on his laptop to find Dannel had emerged from hiding. “You okay?”
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Osian had been so focused on putting together the podcast, he’d tuned everything out.
Dannel shook his head, moving quickly over to the window. He lifted it and leaned out. “Oi. What’re you doing?”
Osian grabbed his mobile from the table and rushed over to peer outside. He spotted a man throwing something at their building. “I’m calling the police.”
Broken glass, dripping paint, and splattered eggs greeted Osian when he got downstairs. Several windows had already been broken. The man was winding up for another throw when he caught up to him.
Osian managed to grab his arm before another window was broken. “What do you think you’re doing?”
They struggled briefly over the brick. Osian managed to get it away from him. The hood fell away from the man’s face, revealing Joel Brown.
The fight ended quickly once Dannel joined them. He managed to pin Joel to the ground. Osian sat back on his heels to catch his breath.
“Will you stop wiggling around?” Dannel grumbled. He glanced over at Osian. “Stanley and Ian both called the police. Evie’s called my uncle. He’s going to have to get someone out to fix the windows.”
“What the devil were you thinking?” Osian bent forward toward Joel’s head. “Why are you tossing bricks through our windows? What’s it going to solve? You’re just going to get yourself arrested, you numpty.”
Several constables responded to the multiple calls made. Osian wasn’t surprised when Detective Inspector Khan showed up not long after. He immediately went over to speak with Joel Brown, who now sat in the back seat of a police vehicle.
Osian stood beside Dannel with an arm around his back. “What an absolute mess. Your uncle’s going to be furious.”
“Not our fault.”
Osian stared at the husband of the woman who’d died under his watch. He appeared an almost tragic figure. “I suppose not.”
No matter how hard Osian tried, that day always came back to haunt him in some way or another. It was like an out-of-control train that kept picking up speed.
“Was anyone hurt?” Detective Inspector Khan stepped over to them after the car with Joel eased away from the kerb. “Do you need to be checked out by paramedics?”
“We’re fine.” Osian peered around at the trashed front of their building. “Our place? Not so much. Uncle Danny’s going to be so hacked off about this.”
“DI Powell and I will be sitti
ng down with Joel Brown. We've got a few questions for him about this incident and the murder investigation as well.” Detective Inspector Khan nodded at them both. “I’ll reach out if we learn anything or make any charges aside from the obvious for vandalism.”
It was only after the detective had gotten into his car and driven off that Osian remembered the emails from the stalker. He scrubbed his face tiredly with his fingers. The messages would have to wait.
“Fancy cleaning up?” Evie held up several brooms. “Borrowed these from Adelle.”
Osian took the broom she handed to him. “Who needs three—”
“Don’t ask.” Evie cut him off. “Dan? Be a love and grab the rubbish bin from around the corner? We can sweep up the glass into it. Not sure how we’re going to get all this paint off. Might have to wait until morning.”
“I’m more worried about the broken shop windows.” Osian rested his arms on the top of the broom handle. “This is going to take forever. How does one bloke cause such destruction?”
“Be glad it was only one. Remember the rioting?” Evie nudged him with her broom, getting him back to sweeping up. “I don’t think we slept for three days, going out to one fire call after the other.”
When Dannel’s uncle and auntie arrived, they joined in the cleaning up team. They’d brought Roland with them. It didn’t take much to get the glass cleared up.
The paint would require a different solution. Roland suggested renting a power washer and using water mixed with bicarbonate of soda. It should work to clear the paint off the pavement at the least.
While Roland and his dad figured out the rental, the rest of them used a water hose, buckets, and mops to handle the broken eggs. Osian knew the last thing they wanted was cemented egg yolk sticking up and becoming more difficult than paint to remove. They were all exhausted.
By two in the morning, they decided to call it a night and start over after resting. Osian slept restlessly. He was up with the sun, heading out to find Roland and Dannel’s uncle already at work.
Stanley and Adelle had gone out for their usual morning walk. They’d had the foresight to pick up pastries and coffees for everyone. Osian could’ve kissed their feet.
Nothing seemed quite so awful with a sweet, gooey pastry to nosh on. He sat on the kerb with Dannel, who’d joined them, and pretended they were on the worst picnic in history. Or maybe it was the least romantic date, with family and neighbours joining them.
“We’ve had breakfast in stranger places.” Dannel snagged a second pastry when Evie passed the box around. “And we’ve definitely stayed up for weirder reasons.”
“I find none of that comforting,” Adelle interjected into the conversation. “What are you young people up to these days?”
Osian winked at Dannel, who rolled his eyes. “Sweeping glass off the street. Dangerous business.”
“You behave yourself.” Adelle shot the three of them a stern look before laughing cheerfully. “Be sure to finish up the pastries.”
26
Dannel
Dannel had become a firefighter for two reasons. First, he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and make him proud. Second, more importantly, he’d longed to help people—to make a difference in their lives.
Being unable to help Osian through his guilt and depression over the last year or so had hurt Dannel. He’d been pleased when the podcast rejuvenated Osian. And it bothered him that all of the progress might be stolen away by one angry man.
To distract himself, Dannel had left Osian upstairs catching up on sleep after their night of unrest. He’d helped his uncle finish cleaning up. The window repairman had shown up as they cleared off the last of the paint.
“Your handsome face will be horribly wrinkled if you continue frowning so dramatically.” Ian strolled over to stand beside Dannel. “I see they’ve rushed the repairs. Good. I’m not fond of the plebeian appearance boarded windows give.”
“Hello, Ian.” Dannel kept his gaze focused on the contractors. “Wrinkles happen to everyone. You’ve got them. I’m going to have them.”
Ian shuddered violently and made a sign of the cross. “What a terrible thing to say.”
Dannel peered over at Ian, trying to decide if he was joking or not. He waited until the older man laughed before chuckling as well. “Are you off to the theatre this morning?”
“I have a coffee date.” Ian smiled. “And I’m off. I wouldn’t want to be anything but bordering on fashionably late.”
Osian slipped out the front door just as Ian sauntered off with a jaunty wave at both of them. “He’s all dressed up.”
“He’s got a date.” Dannel gratefully accepted the mug of tea Osian offered to him. “Windows are almost all up.”
“I see.” Osian held up his phone, waving it at Dannel. “Noah’s apparently going to be at the paramedic panel this morning.”
“Ossie.” Dannel was beginning to think their investigation had only put them into more danger. “Maybe we should wait for the detectives to approach him? They’ll have a better chance of getting him to cooperate than we will by stalking him across the city.”
Osian watched Dannel for a second and then shrugged. “Okay. How about we head down to the police station? I know the detectives received additional video footage from Comic Con. We can go through it to see if we find Noah.”
Dannel knew Osian had reached the point where he had to be proactive. “How are we getting there?”
“Rolly’s giving us a lift.”
“You already called my brother?” Dannel blew on his tea to cool it further. He wanted to finish it up before Roland showed up. His brother got tetchy if anyone tried to eat or drink in his vehicle. “Of course you did. You probably knew I’d say no to hunting Noah down.”
“It was a safe bet. But you might’ve surprised me.” Osian threw his arm around Dannel’s shoulders. “Let’s get these mugs upstairs. Rolly hates being made to wait.”
“He’s on shift. And you hate waiting as well.”
“We’re all impatient prats.” Osian made an excellent point while they trudged up the stairs to their flat. His phone beeped a second later. “Rolly’s here.”
They dumped their mugs into the sink and rushed out of the flat. Dannel made sure their door was locked. He double-checked three times, until Osian clambered back up the stairs to drag him away.
“It’s locked.”
“But—”
“I watched you close the door, love.” Osian continued down the stairs with him. “I promise it’s locked.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Osian squeezed his hand and gently pulled Dannel along with him out of their flat. “I am a hundred per cent confident.”
Silencing the what-ifs in his head, Dannel allowed himself to be led over to Roland’s vehicle. They slipped into the back seat, teasing his brother about being their chauffeur. He wasn’t impressed.
“Can you two try not to get yourselves killed? Do you know how many times Mum’s called me to badger me about taking care of my brother?” Roland deftly drove his patrol vehicle through traffic. “She worries. And her concern leads to me being pestered constantly.”
Osian nudged Dannel with his elbow. “Is your baby brother whining again? Did we interrupt a date with Wayne perhaps?”
Dannel rested his head against the seat and ignored both his brother and his boyfriend. “Are you sure I locked the door?”
“Maybe we should’ve gotten the electronic locks so you could check on your phone.” Osian sighed. “The flat’s going to be fine. It’s always okay when you’re stressed. If you like, why don’t I text Evie to ask her to check for sure? She should still be home.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I’ll text her.” Osian already had his phone out. “Plus, she can make sure your uncle Danny’s double-checked the contractor’s work.”
The detectives seemed pleased to see them. Dannel was distracted by a woman in a hoodie hanging out by the receptionist’
s desk. He pointed her out to Osian, but she’d disappeared.
The constable at the desk hadn’t caught the woman’s name. She’d been asking about Joel Brown, a fact even the detectives found to be out of the ordinary; Haider Khan made sure he’d be notified if she showed up again.
The detectives set them up once again in the same room. They even brought coffees and stale biscuits. Dannel chose to ignore the latter.
After two hours of scanning through cell phone footage, Dannel didn’t think he’d ever recognise anyone ever again. Faces had all begun to blur together into an unidentifiable mess. He rested his head against the table with a groan.
“Why don’t you take a break?”
Dannel grunted in response.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Osian chuckled. He reached out to massage Dannel’s head. “Why don’t you head home to rest? I can finish the last however many videos there are.”
“Millions.”
“Inside voice. The detectives might come back.” Osian continued to gently massage his head. “I doubt it’s millions.”
Dannel sighed. He tilted his head to the side to glance at Osian. “I’m going to be useless. I can’t pick out faces anymore. Not sure I’d even recognise you in the crowd.”
“Why don’t you take a walk? I’ll finish up, and we can head out.” Osian returned to scanning through the footage on the laptop. “Wait. Is that Chris?”
He sat up to lean closer to the screen. “Maybe? Who’s he talking to?”
“Someone in a hoodie.”
“Describes half the people in London.” Dannel sat up again. “We need to talk to Chris.”
“Maybe if we surprise him at work? He’s not answering my calls.” Osian grabbed his mug and chugged down the last of his cold coffee. “Why don’t we see if we can track him down?”
“I doubt the security office will simply let us talk to him.” He wondered why Chris had suddenly disappeared on them. He didn’t want to think the worst of their friend. “Maybe you should take Abra instead of me? She might convince him to talk more easily than we would alone.”
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