Page 83 of Between the Lies

Robert knew who it was before he lifted his head. Dickheadson’s wrinkles appeared more defined than the last time Robert had seen him, the scowl on his face as dark as if it had been etched with charcoal.

Robert’s legs almost gave in when he pushed off his seat. Christ, his arse hurt.

Seeing Robert’s grimace of discomfort brought a smile to Dickheadson’s face. ‘You don’t look fit to take your warrant card back.’

‘We both know, sir, you don’t want me to rejoin the force. You’d rather I quit.’

Dickheadson’s smile widened. ‘And now that she’s murdered her third, well, you’ll be going down with her.’ He poked Robert in the chest. ‘You’ll be out on your arse before you can even think of speaking back to me again.’

Robert watched the man turn and clomp down the corridor, his warrant card held up. ‘I’m here to talk to the patient who was brought in earlier with multiple wounds or whatever. Nina Banerjee. No one else gets to see her, talk to her, contact her. Got it.’ When a nurse nodded at Dickheadson, he pointed at Robert – it wasthe same finger he’d poked him with. ‘Especially that eejit.’

Robert hadn’t been expecting sympathy from the man. Hell, he hadn’t even had the decency to break the news of Anne’s death with care. Why would he change his ways for… what had he called Nina right there? Aye, a rebound.

‘Arsehole.’

‘That he is.’

Robert whipped round to find the owner of that voice. Cheryl stood there, her hair combed back in a high ponytail and her suit ironed like a military uniform, the blue shirt underneath equally professional.

‘You look dapper.’

She crossed her arms. ‘When I stopped worrying about two baboons, it gave me more time for myself.’

‘Why’re you here?’

While they hadn’t had an all-out fight, when Robert had walked away from Cheryl and Joshua, he’d known Cheryl hadn’t appreciated his line of thought or his belief in Nina.

‘Well, Robert, when someone dies of a gunshot wound, you need a full-blown police response. It makes people feel safe, and it also means we get the perp off the streets.’

Oh fuck! Neither Dickheadson nor she were here to ask questions. They were here to arrest Nina. ‘Oh no, there’s no way Nina shot someone. No one would tell me what’s happened?—’

‘Unless you eloped, I don’t think you’re married to Ms Banerjee, so we’re under no obligation to tell you anything.’

‘You know it’s more than that. Nina was with me until this morning. She left to visit the shop. There’s no way she has a gun or the training to use it. It’s hard to gain access to a gun, let alone the means to learn to use one. We would have known if?—’

‘Just like you know Nina is innocent?’ Cheryl raised an eyebrow. If she’d meant to mock him, it had certainly worked. ‘You’re a cop. What evidence? What happened to following facts?’

Robert opened his mouth to speak, but Cheryl threw her hands up. ‘You know what, I told you I wouldn’t be there to wipe your arse after you took a shit, so I’m not going to be. You take care of yourself.’

Robert reached out and held her arm. ‘She did not do this. She’s being framed, clearly. Have you taken a moment to consider why else those thugs would be after her?’

That had Cheryl pausing in her tracks. ‘She burned down Shah’s club. He wanted revenge. Not everything needs to be complicated, Robert.’ Then she rounded on him, caging him until Robert’s thighs hit the chair and he plopped back down. ‘Your girlfriend went up to the shop to confront Shah. Did you know that? They had an altercation. And then Shah died.’

So it was Shah that had been shot. Robert shook his head. ‘Nina doesn’t own a firearm. I have her backpack too. Cheryl you have to believe me. Shah was after her. And we thought… Hell.’ Robert ran a hand over his face. Their entire theory had been based on Shah. ‘Come on, you have to believe me– Nina is no killer.’

Cheryl stepped away from Robert, her eyes watching the people in the room. Everyone was busy – the staff trying their best to reduce the queues, and patients focused on their ailments.

She sat down next to Robert. ‘A few years ago, I met someone. Someone like Nina.’

Robert frowned. ‘A woman?’

‘Anthony Ricci.’ Cheryl looked down at her fingers. ‘He said the perfect things, made me feel incredible. Only, he was a Ricci.’

Wait? Cheryl in love. What the hell? ‘Ricci as in the gang family?’

When Cheryl looked up, her eyes had lost their sharpness. Instead, they were two watery pools. ‘Aye, that same family, although they weren’t close. At least estranged enough for me to… fall for him.’

In the entire while Robert had known Cheryl she had never been in a relationship and certainly hadn’t mentioned this Ricci fellow. Robert reached out and held her hand. ‘What happened?’

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