Page 149 of Joker in the Pack

“You hacked into it?”

“Of course not. That would have been illegal. Anyway, Fenton got back from the pub one night and found Helena dead on the floor and Tate sitting on the sofa, watching an episode ofAntiques Roadshow.”

“That’s…that’s…”

“Sick? Warped? Freaky? All of the above?”

“Yes, all of them. I can’t believe I went out with that man. Why didn’t I see he was a psychopath?”

Janelle patted my hand. “Sociopath. It’s different. Half of the people I work with have psychopathic tendencies and they’re not all bad. You met Emmy?”

“I did.”

“There you go. Her husband’s a Grade A candidate too.”

“Did you do a degree in psychology or something?”

“A masters. Helps with working at Blackwood, let me tell you. Plenty of quirky personalities there. But to answer your question, Tate was good at hiding his true character. Money and looks blind a lot of people, and it can be difficult to see through that veneer. You had a lucky escape, girl.”

It sickened me to think just how close I’d come to getting sucked into Tate’s insane world. Instead of making crêpes, I could have been wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave. Those damn prickles made my eyes itch again.

“Hey, hey.” Janelle wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t cry. In fact, don’t even give that fruitcake another thought. Is there any maple syrup to go with these pancakes?”

More news came after Nye arrived home. Janelle had arranged a car for us to go to the hospital at ten, but he walked through the door at nine with a tired smile and a bag of pills.

“They let you out early?”

“Not exactly.”

“Oh, Nye. You discharged yourself?”

“I left a note. Are those pancakes?”

Good grief. I was dating a twenty-seven-year-old child. “For goodness’ sakes, sit down. You should be resting.”

Before I could form another thought, he’d pinned me against the wall, my arms trapped over my head as he kissed me thoroughly. It seemed several parts of his anatomy didn’t agree with my suggestion, but as his fingers walked over my bare stomach, Janelle appeared, phone in hand.

“Oh, you’re back. I’ll cancel the car. Did you hear the latest?”

“Define latest.”

“Zander found Larry Hazell.”

“News to me.”

Janelle grinned. “I love it when I know more than the boss.”

“Just spill it, Jannie.”

“Fine. Well, Zander tracked down a couple of the girls in Larry’s photo album and put them under surveillance. One of the teams spotted him last night rifling through the bins behind Susie Marsden’s house. When they got to him, he was sniffing a sanitary towel.”

A little bit of sick came into my mouth, and I was glad I hadn’t gone for that fourth crêpe.

“Bloody freak,” Nye muttered.

“Right. Susie said the bins had been tampered with a few times before, but she thought it was foxes.”

“What have we done with him?”

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