Page 100 of Between the Lies

Nina smiled at the person sitting next to Finn then wedged herself in the space between Finn and them. ‘Robert’s gone missing. I need you to track him down.’

‘Track a cop?’ Finn snorted, flashing his teeth. ‘Never thought I’d be asked to do that.’

Nina reached out and covered the man’s hand. Damn, even his wrists had some serious muscles – how the hell did he exercise them? ‘Look, we had a breakthrough yesterday afternoon that didn’t end up being good news for Robert. He left Billy’s distraught and never came back. We can’t find him, and we must.’

‘He’s a cop.’

Not this again! Nina ran a hand through her hair, disturbing the bob. She’d been doing that a lot in the last twenty-four hours. ‘Look, I know he’s a cop. But you’ve met him. Has he ever rubbed you the wrong way? Besides, if you help us, you’ll play a part in bringing down a bent police officer. How many of them hassle you on the regular?’

Finn’s eyes narrowed, then he lifted his laptop’s screen. ‘I don’t deal with cops.’ Then he began typing again as if Nina didn’t exist.

When she’d come in here, Nina hadn’t expected Finn to be so averse to helping out. After all, his attitude should have thawed towards them by now. She took a deep breath, fighting for patience. ‘He’s a good man. If he were such a stickler for rules, do you think he would’ve broken laws to help me out? That he’d have helped Daisy or Billy?’

Finn’s fingers danced over the keyboard, his eyes focused on the screen. Suddenly, the cursor blinked, and the image of a phone screen popped up. ‘As a blanket rule, I’m not a fan of cops, so I installed a screen-mirroring app on Robert’s phone. I wanted to know if he contacted any of his colleagues about me. This morning, he texted the number he’d saved under Anne Muller.’

Finn toggled over to his photos. ‘With a screen-mirroring app, I can’t access his device, only watch what he’s doing. So I took a screenshot when I saw what he was up to. Texting a dead woman is fucking suspicious. And?—’

‘What did he say, Finn?’ Nina’s fingers gripped the bar so hard she lost all feeling in her ring finger. ‘We don’t have time to?—’

Finn pulled up the message so she could read it.

‘Fuck!’ Nina’s profanity whipped throughout the coffee shop like a bullet. Heads turned to shoot her a look, most uncaring but some unamused. ‘Fuck!’ Nina certainly didn’t care.

Robert had just double-crossed her. What the hell? After everything, this was what he chose to do – run back to a wife that had betrayed him? Aye, he was a kind man, but she’d never taken him for a fucking coward.

‘Thanks.’ Nina pushed away from the bar, thinking of all the ways she’d kick not only Anne’s arse but Robert’s too. Maybe Robert deserved more of her ire. After all, he’d fucked her, said those sweet things to her; he’d conned her.

A hand clasped around her elbow and yanked her back. Finn shook his head when she opened her mouth to scream at him, then he deposited her onto the stool he’d been sitting on. ‘You’re going to need coffee for this. And… damn it! Where did those cops come from?’

The door to the café had jingled, and Nina looked over to see a scowling Cheryl enter, a helpless Joshua rushing in behind her.

‘They’re that fucking eejit’s pals,’ Nina snarled. If she said his name, she’d snap something in half.

‘Oh good, more cops, just what I fucking needed.’ Finn snapped his laptop shut, picked it up then deposited it on a table for four. The family sitting there had packed up and left after Nina’s wee outburst. He picked up his mouse, mousemat, and drink and arranged them on the table.

Nina slid from the stool and muttered, ‘I’m going to get us coffees.’

Cheryl had taken up a spot at the till, arms crossed and glaring at Nina.

‘What happened to fifteen minutes?’ Nina hissed. Why did the woman find it so hard to work in a team?

Cheryl eyed Finn. ‘He doesn’t look like a tech genius.’

‘And you look like you love taking orders.’ Nina sidestepped the DI and smiled at the barista. ‘Could we please have three long blacks and?—’

‘Hot chocolate. That’s what he likes at this hour,’ the barista smiled, her eyes twinkling at Finn. Of course she’d drool over those Superman-like muscles and that face.

‘Aye, that.’ Nina dug into her pocket and withdrew two tenners.

‘Er, could you make it a latte for me, please?’ Joshua peeked over Cheryl’s shoulder. ‘I’m not so bitter.’

After paying their bill, Nina waited for the barista to prepare their drinks. Cheryl still glared at Finn, though Joshua leaned in and muttered something in her ear that had the tension deflating from her shoulders.

Nina rolled her eyes. Robert and his pals were literally like a box of fruit jellies – sweet and sour mixed together. Cheryl liked her things just so, Robert didn’t mind bending the rules if he thought he could genuinely help someone and Joshua… well, he seemed to be the mediator, someone who appeared to be a joker on the surface, though her journalist’s instincts, still very much kicking inside her, said the man hid a lot underneath that costume.

‘Here you go.’ The barista placed all their drinks on a tray, then shot a smile at Finn. But the man had his head down, once more engrossed in his work.

‘Thanks.’ Nina shuffled forward like a stork, ensuring she didn’t tumble over bags, askew chairs or feet and spill their drinks. After setting their tray on the table, she slid in beside Finn.

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