Page 27 of The Meaning Of You

“Iaman accountant and I do work from home,” I answered. “I just happen to specialise inforensicaccounting, and I do contract work for the police. Before Davis’s accident, I was full time in their Financial Investigation Team. But that meant long hours and I wanted to be able to see more of Davis. So, I resigned and took on fixed-term contracts instead.”

He narrowed his gaze. “So, you’re not a cop?”

I shook my head. “No. Just an accountant.”

He thought about that. “Will you go back full time now that Davis is...” He hesitated.

“Dead?” I offered mildly.

Madigan grimaced. “Sorry. I may or may not have been accused of being blunt on occasion.”

That made me smile, as so much about Madigan did, which was a problem in itself. “No offence taken.”

“So, tell me more about this break-in.”

I sighed and fell back against the cushion. “I had an appointment with our lawyer at one and was back by two thirty, so somewhere in that window they got in. Our lawyer is a friend, and initially he was kind enough to visit me at home regarding Davis’s estate and probate. But there’s still a lot to go through that I’m only just feeling ready to face. Most of it deals with Davis’s writing, his publisher, and his author business. There’s a lot to consider. A lot of decisions to be made going forward.”

Madigan eyed me sympathetically. “I don’t envy you.”

“Tell me about it.” I crossed my leg over my knee and blew out a long sigh. “I put a note in his online author groups and contacted his agent and publisher to let them know he’d passed, but that was all I could manage those first couple of weeks. There are about fifty-million messages and emails I’ll need to go through at some stage.”

“Or not,” Madigan said evenly. “People will understand, Nick. Right now, you come first.”

And of course, he was right. Davis had been missing from his author world for eighteen months already. There was no urgency. But just hearing someone else say it seemed to make a difference.

Madigan’s eyes locked on mine. “What did the police think about the break-in? Teenagers stealing Christmas presents?”

I shrugged. “Possibly. If so, they failed miserably in this place. The detective said there’s been a few robberies in the surrounding suburbs over the last week, but the fact it’s the second time in eighteen months for me truly sucks.”

Madigan gaped. “This isn’t the first time?”

I shook my head. “Nope, although last time it wasn’t like they took anything of value, just made a mess in the kitchen andscrawled some homophobic slurs on the walls. It happened right after Davis’s accident, and I admit it shook me up. Samuel has a security analyst friend who had a whole security system installed when we first moved in, mostly because of my forensic work. But the focus was on my office, which has a high security door and is separately alarmed and monitored.”

“Wow.”

I sighed. “Yeah, the room is literally Fort Knox. And don’t even ask about the rigmarole I have to go through just to login to my computer and keep all the files safe for use as evidence. As for the rest, Davis and I didn’t mind the external cameras, but no matter what we did, Shelby, our cat, was always setting the motion detectors off, so we were never good about using it.”

As if on cue, Shelby strolled into the room and made a beeline for the couch. Madigan immediately bent down to stroke the temperamental silver tabby, and I was about to warn him off when, instead of hissing and spitting, Shelby arched her back approvingly and began rubbing herself against his leg, the little hussy.

“I hate to pop your bubble,” I told him. “But you clearly smell like her favourite cat food. It’s the only explanation.” I extended both arms to show him the scars that criss-crossed the backs of my hands like a tic-tac-toe board. “Shelby was always a one-man cat, and that man had been Davis. After the accident, it took almost six months for her to let me pick her up without suffering grievous bodily harm. And now, she’s positively flirting withyou.” I glared at the cat. “Contrary little madam.”

Shelby cast me a look that screamedentitled little tartin anyone’s book and then leaped onto the couch and cosied up next to Madigan’s thigh.

“What can I say?” Madigan grinned as he continued to stroke Shelby’s back, the cat arching delightedly under his touch. “The lady clearly has excellent taste.”

I threw a cushion, which Madigan nimbly ducked. “She’s no lady,” I scoffed. “I can tell you that much. Then again, I’ve aways been more of a dog guy.”

“Me too, if I’m honest,” he replied, making kissy noises at the cat who was looking up at him adoringly. “But she is kind of cute. Now finish telling me what the police said.”

I sighed and slid down in my chair. “Not much, if I’m honest. They dusted for prints and even tried the dogs for a scent, but this is a busy school and commuter route, so things ran dry pretty quickly.”

Shelby yawned and started to wash, and Madigan let her be. “Did you lose much?”

I shrugged. “My tablet and a few smaller electronics like our Bluetooth speakers. But they left a stack of money and two watches in my bedside drawer, and all the televisions are still here. They also didn’t take any of the jewellery I’d bought for Davis over the years, which was in full view on the tallboy in the bedroom. I’d been going through it just this morning. The fact I was out at all was good luck on their part. I’ve hardly left the house in a month, just in case it’s not obvious.”

Madigan gave a soft huff. “Like I give a fuck about a bit of mess. You’re grieving, Nick. I’d be more worried if the place was spotless. Although to be fair, if you’re going to exist on takeout alone, I could leave you an alphabetised list of healthier options less likely to induce a heart attack. You need to be careful at your age. Just saying.”

I flipped him off. “Jerk. You’re older than I am, remember?”

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