Page 28 of Miki

She noticed.

“Everything all right?” she asked.

“Yes. I was just wondering how you made your lasagne, and if you’d teach me sometime?” I said quickly to cover my real thoughts.

“Sure, I will, sweetie. Next time you come over, come early, and we’ll make it together,” she replied, beaming at me.

“Great,” I said, avoiding her eyes as a sense of shame washed over me.

Maisie might have her flaws, but she was kind and always happy to help. She’d been good to me and my dad over the years. Despite her heavy drinking, she was a good person. Too good to have been complicit in Roy’s actions. She couldn’t know.

Another pang of guilt assaulted me, making me feel nauseous as it finally dawned on me that my investigations were going to have a severe impact on Maisie and the rest of her family.

How would she feel when she found out that Roy was corrupt and that he had killed my dad? It could break her. Their sons were successful businessmen now, too. I’d no idea what a scandal involving their dad would do to them.

Damn, Roy! How could he do this to us all? Anger replaced my guilt as I thought of the man we’d all loved and how he’d betrayed us. It was his fault, and he needed to pay for everything he’d done. Bringing Roy to justice was the right thing to do and I would do it, no matter the consequences. I couldn’t let any feelings of remorse get in the way.

Pushing aside the lingering guilt, I forced myself to focus on the task at hand. Getting the evidence that I was here for was crucial to my plans and so I refilled Maisie’s glass and forced myself to make small talk with her as we ate dinner.

Even when she was under the influence of alcohol, Maisie was a superb cook. Dad and I used to love coming over for dinner when I was growing up. However, on this occasion, every bite of food I took tasted like ash in my mouth. But I shovelled it in, chewed and swallowed regardless as we talked.

When her wine was finished, I plied her with gin and tonic while I pretended to sip my glass of wine. She never noticed that I hugged the same glass throughout the meal, never topping it up.

As we filled the dishwasher, she put on some music, and we laughed and danced. She was back to her usual self again, and it was nice to see, but my heart clenched when I considered the possibility that this might be the last time I spent in her company like this.

When everything was finally revealed and Roy went to prison as I intended he would, things would be different between us. I just hoped that when I turned her life upside down, she could forgive me.

My guilt was back, and as the evening wore on, my nerves felt frayed. Eventually, having finally had enough and barely able to stand, she retired for the night.

“Night, sweetie,” she slurred as I helped her remove her shoes and climb into bed.

Maisie assumed I was staying over in the guest room, like I often did when I came to visit. However, I had no intention of sleeping in Roy’s house ever again. The mere thought of it made my stomach churn. Nevertheless, I didn’t tell her that.

A short while later, when Maisie’s light snores told me she was fast asleep, I snuck into Roy’s office.

After a quick look through his desk, where I found nothing, I moved to his safe. I knew he had one as I’d seen it before, and thanks to Joe, I knew exactly what I needed to break into it. Opening my backpack, I took out the little electronic device and got to work. It unlocked with a click, and I grinned.

Who knew illegal stuff could be so much fun? Well, I guess the criminals did! I chuckled at my thoughts, then quickly sobered up when I saw what was inside. Not a game, Eilidh! I reminded myself sternly.

The safe wasn’t any larger than the one Mathieson had in his office, but I couldn’t believe how full it was. It was literally crammed with big brown envelopes, a notebook, a smaller lock box, and a small black holdall full of cash. Shit!

As usual, I took some photos on my phone and then started removing the items. This was going to take a while. Thank God that Maisie was asleep, and Roy was out of town.

Each envelope had a name on the front. Inside were details of the person named and a lot of photographs, showing the person in compromising situations. It seemed like Roy was using the contents of the envelopes to blackmail these people. I went through all the names, which I noted were in alphabetical order. Geez, he was an organised blackmailer.

There were several names I recognised, including two judges, some lawyers, a few businessmen and a reporter. There were also files on the other three officers from my shift. Why would he be blackmailing them? Or maybe he wasn’t. Yet. Maybe some of them were being kept just in case he needed to use them in the future? It was hard to say.

Shaking my head in disgust, I wondered just how long Roy had been collecting all of this stuff. His entire career, by the look of things. He was due to retire soon. I guessed this was his nest egg.

My stomach churned and my dinner threatened to make a comeback as I took in the evidence of his corruption. I’d convinced myself that Roy was simply a bent cop being paid to do someone else’s dirty work. A small fish in a big pond.

However, as I looked at the contents of his safe, I knew without a doubt that I’d been wrong. Roy was no small fish; he was a shark!

There was no way I was going to have time to take photos of everything. So, I decided to just snap photos of the envelopes and some of their contents inside and leave the rest. That would surely be enough.

When the safe was empty, I settled on the floor beside my haul and hesitated, staring at the envelopes.

Did I really want to see all the shit these people got up to? Did I really want to learn their secrets? Because once I knew them, it wasn’t like I could forget them.

---