Page 24 of Diamond in the Rough

Carl glanced behind them, then gestured to his car. “Get in.”

Jake slid into the passenger seat and waited for Carl to climb inside. He looked pointedly at Jake’s seatbelt, and Jake clipped it into place.

“Well?”

“They showed me some CCTV.”

“Of what?”

“Me, you idiot.”

“Shit.”

“Relax, I knew they would. They wanted to know why I was around Ashdown Forest the afternoon of Lewis’s murder.”

“What did you tell them?”

Carl smiled. “There was this diner, and I’d heard good things about it. I was hungry and thought, what the hell.”

“And they bought that?”

“I went to it, didn’t I?”

“You drove miles out of town for a burger.”

Carl gestured to himself. “Does that really seem that unbelievable?”

“No, but that’s because I know you.”

“Point is I’m on CCTV driving that way, and on CCTV at the diner.”

“So there was reason for you eating while I was locked in the trunk?”

Carl tapped his nose. “Not just a pretty face, and it was a bloody good burger.”

“If they link you to Maddox…”

“Any link will be a coincidence. I happened to be in the neighbourhood the night his place went up in flames, and I happened to drive past the woods Lewis died in. Our phone records are clean, untraceable, and the last time we saw each other I was in disguise.”

“Disguise?”

“You’re not the only one who can pull off a maintenance man.”

Jake smirked. “So we’re good?”

“We’re good. They asked their questions, and I played oblivious. They might keep me under observation, but all we need to do is carry on as normal.”

Jake slumped in his seat. “What about Maddox?”

“I heard on the news he admitted the killings.”

“Why the hell would he do that?”

“Something must’ve happened. Someone’s forced his hand.”

Jake bit his lip. “How can someone force Maddox to do anything?”

“At a guess, they threatened something he wasn’t prepared to lose.”

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