Page 56 of Secrets of the Forgotten Heir

‘I don’t know.’ Pei’s easy manner was fading and it was clear she was no longer enjoying our chat. ‘I’m telling you what I saw. That’s all.’

‘Thank you, Pei.’ Yanni said and gave me a small nod to indicate that we’d got as much as we were going to get.

‘Yes, thank you. What you’ve told us has been very useful,’ I added.

As Pei stood up to leave, Yanni asked, ‘Just to check, what time would you say Toby left here?’

‘It was before closing.’ Pei replied. ‘Probably around half-ten.’

Yanni glanced at me and I knew we were thinking the same thing. If Toby was last seen here at ten-thirty and hismother didn’t notice he was missing until the morning, then he could have gone anywhere in that time.

Our search for Toby Brown had just got a whole lot wider.

Yanni’s phone buzzed loudly. She frowned at screen before standing abruptly. ‘Excuse me, I need to take this.’ She moved across the room to answer the call.

As Pei disappeared, my attention remained on Yanni. I didn’t need to lower my shields to feel the wave of emotion rolling off her; dismay and guilt struck me like a truck. Whatever she’d been told, it wasn’t good news.

As she hung up the phone, I hurried towards her – only for Fraser to step out from the bar. He caught my eye but I shook my head, trying to convey it wasn’t a good time. Thankfully he understood and stayed where he was, leaving me to speak to Yanni alone.

‘That was a shifter,’ Yanni said, her voice trembling as she looked at me. ‘They were out for a run in the forest when they found them.’

‘Found who?’ I asked, already feeling dread in my stomach.

‘There’s been another murder,’ she said grimly. ‘And it looks like a double one.’

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Dove had cordoned off the area by the time we arrived. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I said. ‘You were supposed to have the evening off after taking my shift.’

‘It’s okay,’ she replied. ‘Shit happens, and Sam understands. It’s the nature of the job. I was closest and we needed someone here as soon as possible.’

‘It’s definitely two bodies?’ Yanni said. Dove nodded grimly in reply.

‘Is it a double murder?’ I asked hesitantly.

‘I’m not sure,’ Dove replied. ‘It’s two bodies, but… ’ She glanced at Yanni. ‘I’ll let you see for yourself. You can decide what you think.’

I turned to Eva. ‘Come on, girl. You need to go on your lead for this.’ She stood still whilst I snapped on her lead. The last thing I wanted was for her to go trampling over any evidence, but at the same time I knew she might pickup something with her nose that we couldn’t see. I didn’t want to leave her in the car when she could be the one to find us vital clues.

As we followed Dove deeper into the forest, my stomach twisted into knots. I wasn’t sure what we were about to find, but I had a sinking feeling I already knew who one of the victims was. I desperately didn’t want to be right, not when I’d already seen how upset Toby’s mother was about him not coming home.

As I stepped into the clearing, the first thing I saw was a red plaid shirt. It was identical to the one Toby had been wearing in the photo. ‘Oh my God,’ I whispered. ‘Poor Mrs Brown… ’

The guilt that struck had me resting my weight on my knees. Twelve hours ago, I’d been talking to Yanni, saying how Toby was obviously Warren’s killer. I’dwantedhim to be Warren’s killer. And while I knew my stupid thoughts had absolutely no bearing on what had happened here, I still felt guilty that I’d had them.

‘Will you be okay?’ Yanni asked gently. ‘If you can’t deal with this, you don’t have to—’

‘No, I’ll be fine.’ I straightened up. My voice was steadier than I felt. ‘Where’s the other body?’

‘Just over there.’ Dove pointed to a thicket a few feet away from Toby’s body.

The grass was tall and thick. I held Eva close to me on a short lead, partly to stop her walking too far ahead but also because I wanted her near me to stop me being overwhelmed. The emotions filling the air were tense: fear and guilt prevailed. Yanni and Dove felt bad that they hadn’t caught Warren’s killer in time to stop this – and they were also worried that this wasn’t the end. I needed Eva’s steadying presence.

As we approached the thicket, the first thing I noticed was a shock of white hair with blue streaks running through it. ‘Is that… ?’

‘Angelica Loren.’ Yanni said solemnly.

‘What the hell?’ I didn’t know who I’d expected the other body to be, but if Warren’s murderer wasn’t Toby then it had to be Angelica, right? Seeing her there, lying on her back, threw that theory straight out the window. If they were both dead, who the hell had killed themandWarren?

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