Page 35 of Between the Lies

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

This woman rattled him far more than he’d ever thought someone could. What had he been thinking in that car park?

But that was the issue: Robert hadn’t been thinking.

Somewhere in those hours he’d spent chatting with her in the pub and the time he’d spent hunting her, he’d lost his actual mind, logic and sense.

Robert wiped his palm over his mouth. And now he was shacking up with her in this one-bedroom flat to find answers. God help him.

Anne was gone. But with each passing day, the ache of deep loss lessened. His mind cleared and focused on tasks; the petrified sorrow in him ebbed and left his body. He unfroze, and Nina… she melted that sorrow and burned a zest in him to do something. To move on.

And that was so fucked. She’d killed his wife. And he was here to get a confession out of her.

Robert shook his head. First up, he had to see to her wound. ‘Do you have a first aid kit?’

‘Huh?’ She still stared at the flat, as if she hadn’t ever seen it before.

Cheryl and Joshua had been by, looking for clues. Cheryl’s arrival in that alley had been his signal that the checks were done and they could proceed to the flat. His plan hadn’t counted on someone chasing Nina or trying to threaten her, though.

Robert walked over to the windows and gazed out. It was a stunning view of the city centre especially when bathed in golden light. He’d patrolled this street several times, even gone to Merchant Square for a few pints with friends. He could see the City Halls connected to the Merchant Square from here.

Robert whistled. Nina liked living fancy, apparently. The front door led to a cosy living area with a sofa, a coffee table and a spot for a desk. On the other side of the living room stood a counter and, behind it, the kitchen – small but modern.

‘What are we doing here?’ Nina distracted him from his perusal.

Robert stalked over to the counter and set her backpack down. In all fairness, his declaration before, of this flat being apt for what he had in mind, had indeed been ambiguous. Besides, if he expected to extract answers and later leave with his sanity intact, he’d best get a move on.

But first, he needed tea. Robert headed towards the kitchen when Nina interrupted. ‘No shoes inside the house, and certainly not in the kitchen.’

Robert held his hands up and followed Nina to the front door to remove his shoes. What kind of abductor let the abductee order them around? Him, apparently.

When his shoes slid off, showcasing his hastily pulled on socks – one brown with a parade of cheese slices and the other black with footballs on it – he sighed. He really should turn the light on before he dressed in the mornings.

As he padded into the kitchen past Nina, who was wringing her hands together, he raised an eyebrow. ‘Tea?’

She startled, then nodded.

Robert rinsed out the kettle – Nina hadn’t been back here for a while – then filled it up and set the water to boil. Then he went hunting for the tea.

Nina had a spice cabinet – or a pantry that had more spices in it than raw items – her utensils, cutlery, rice and pasta… and then Robert located the tea shelf. He pulled out the loose-leaf tea packet, then herbal tea packets, followed by a pouch of ground coffee. That was all she had. ‘Where are your teabags?’

The kettle flicked off, the patter of the water boiling dying out.

Nina jerked out of her deep thoughts. ‘You’ve got tea right there.’

‘That’s loose-leaf tea. Do you have a tea kettle for me to brew it in?’

‘A tea kettle?’ Nina’s face turned incredulous, like he’d asked her why she was on the run instead of reaching out to the police for help. ‘I don’t have that.’

She slid open a drawer then pulled out a small utensil and a mug. ‘Kettle tea is weak.’

Nina filled the utensil with water – measured from the mug – then turned on her induction to set the water to boil. ‘Do you do ginger?’

‘What?’ It was Robert’s turn to blink at her. ‘Ginger? As in chai tea?’

Nina froze. ‘I have half a mind to smack you.’ Then she reached into a basket beside the kettle and brought out ginger. ‘Tea with spices in it is masala chai. Not chai tea. It literally means tea tea. I heard you once, thank you.’

Nina grated the ginger directly into the simmering water. Robert grimaced. That was going to be one spicy tea.

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