Page 43 of Miki

However, despite my constant distraction, I’d spent my free time spying on the corrupt members of my team and slowly gathering more information against them.

Although I only harboured suspicions about Roy having an affair with a young woman, I’d discovered for a fact that my married sergeant was doing the dirty deed with his neighbour who was half his age.

Dirty prick! I felt sorry for his wife.

What was bloody frustrating, however, was that while I had observed more dodgy behaviour by my colleagues, I had discovered nothing I could use to link their corruption to Mathieson, or my dad’s murder, beyond the photographs I got from John Aldridge. And they would be too easy to explain away, without more evidence to back them up.

The information I had found during my illegal activities wouldn’t be enough because it was inadmissible in court. I’d simply needed to know what I was dealing with and get an idea of what I should look for, so that I could find something that could prompt the police to investigate further.

Sending anonymous photos of the contents of the safes I’d broken into would get me nowhere. No procurator fiscal would touch them and no judge would grant a warrant to search premises based on them because again, they could be easily explained away or be deemed a set up.

After days of snooping around and doing everything I could think of to find out what I needed, I had nothing, and I’d run out of ideas.

Rubbing at the tension in my forehead, I puffed out an exasperated breath.

Of course, there could be something worthwhile on Mathieson’s computer. Perhaps it was time to pay a visit to Mr Sexy Lips.

Sighing heavily, I pulled my hair back and tied it up.

I’d need to think about that later, as I was back at work today.

Dread filled me as I finished getting dressed. It had been hard enough working with these guys before, but after investigating them, the very thought of them sickened me.

The drive to the station only made me feel sicker the closer I got.

My feet dragged as I walked through the doors of the police station and my legs felt like lead as I climbed the stairs to the CID office.

Pull yourself together, Eilidh!

It was time to get my game face on again, otherwise I would set off their alarm bells, and that was definitely not something I wanted to do.

Being back on duty with Martin was a nightmare, and I didn’t know how long I could keep acting as if nothing was wrong. Thankfully, we were kept busy with various appointments, but every second with him dragged out, making it feel like one heck of a long day.

Especially since Martin kept making jokes about us getting together outside of work in his usual flirty way. He was a handsome guy, but he knew it. A real ladies’ man who liked to have a new woman on his arm every time he went out. That kind of man wasn’t my type. So, even before I’d become obsessed with my silver eyed Russian, I’d never have gone out with Martin, but I had found his flirting flattering and a bit of fun. Now it just made my skin crawl, and I didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

However, something I discovered early on about my partner was that he liked the sound of his own voice. Once Martin started talking, he could keep doing so for a long time, with little input from anyone else. I quickly surmised he preferred it that way.

So, in between appointments, and desperately fighting back my revulsion, I kept him talking with a few strategically placed questions.

Normally, he wasn’t concerned by my lack of response. His oversized ego meant that typically he assumed everyone was hanging off his every word. Truth be known, often they were. Martin was a charmer, and with his good looks, he was usually the centre of attention. He was the sort of man that many men wanted to be, and many women wanted to have.

Usually, I only had to smile, nod, chuckle occasionally, or make some non-committal noises during one of his long monologues to keep him happy. So, I hadn’t expected him to notice when I zoned out, thinking of how to deal with Miki and my rising feelings for him.

“You seem really distracted today, Eilidh. Is something wrong?” His voice broke through my thoughts.

Turning towards him, I couldn’t suppress my shiver as his eyes drilled into me while he waited for my answer.

Oh, no!

Unease crept along my spine, and my gut churned.

Was he suspicious of me? Did he suspect what I was up to? Or worse, did he know?

There was no way to be sure. It could just be that for once he’d noticed my distraction, but my gut told me there was more to his question than that.

My heart pounded in my chest, and I gulped nervously as sweat broke out all over my body.

Calm, Eilidh, stay calm! I pleaded with myself.

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