Page 4 of Diamond in the Rough

“Lewis was never one of us. Always so nervous, I knew there was something off with him.”

“You could’ve shared that insight with the rest of us.”

“Enough,” Maddox said. “He’s dead.”

“What’s the plan now, Boss?” Tom asked.

Maddox scratched idly at his stubbled jaw, then hissed at the bristles. They felt more like needles than hair. Unordered, and uneven. He shuddered.

“I want you to look into Liam Dover.”

“Who?” Amber asked.

“That police sergeant I was talking to. Something feels off about him. He was there that day at Desmond’s place, the fire.”

“I thought he looked familiar. Sam and him almost came to blows.”

“Good old fireman Sam,” Tom muttered.

Amber narrowed her eyes, but Maddox spoke before she did.

“Tom, I want you to find out who Lewis was in contact with, who went to his place, where he went when he wasn’t with us.”

“Got it. Where to now, Boss?” Tom asked.

“Take me to the meat cooler.”

“Why there?”

“Because I asked you to.”

“You sure, Boss—”

“Don’t make me ask again.”

Amber nodded swiftly, and Tom took the next turn off the road.

Maddox looked out the blacked-out window at the door to the cooler. No one spoke in the car, and the layers of tension piled up. Amber breathed silently, but as the air rushed up Tom’s nostrils, a whistling sound left him. As soon as Maddox picked up on it, it started to drive him mad.

Maddox stared accusingly at any vehicle that lingered too long and didn’t climb out until the street was empty.

He stepped out onto the path, went to smooth his lapels, then grimaced when he remembered he wasn’t in his suit. “Go home.”

Amber widened her eyes. “What?”

“Go home—”

“And leave you here.”

“That’s what I’m telling you to do—telling, not asking.”

Amber pressed her lips together in a hard line, and Tom bobbed his head.

“I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

“Yes, Boss,” they said in unison.

Maddox turned and pushed through the metal doors. He flicked the switch on the wall, and the lights buzzed noisily when they first filled the space with their dulled glow. The last time he’d been here, three men had been tied up for he and his people to interrogate. The three chairs were shoved to the side, and the rope that had bound them lay on the floor. They had thought they were free men once Maddox had let them go, but they’d all ended up dead, dragged from the Thames like the drowned rats they were.

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