Page 52 of Between the Lies

Robert pushed off the counter. He was so burly that he towered over Dickheadson. His sudden move had Dickheadson flinching. It gave Nina a modicum of satisfaction to see the man was afraid of Robert.

‘Who did she kill?’ Robert asked so softly it shouldn’t have had the resonance it did. But the question sent a chill zinging up her back. Her heart stammered, waiting for the answer.

Dickheadson’s lost smirk resurfaced. He too crossed his arms, his jacket pulling at the shoulders. ‘Playing coy, are we? I don’t care. You’re going down with her. John saw you escape with her.’ Dickheadson jerked a thumb at one of the police constables.

It was the same officer who’d stalled them in the alley. He now bobbed his head. ‘I saw you both escaping. And you got away from the DI and from me.’

Dickheadson shook his head. ‘Cheryl, you were a part of this?’

Cheryl raised an eyebrow. ‘You can’t pin anything on me. Tell Robert what you’ve found.’

‘He’s suspended and this is none of his business.’ Dickheadson jerked his head at Nina. ‘Nina Banerjee, I’m arresting you on suspicion of assault, arson, two counts of murder, several counts of disturbing public peace, fraud and breaking and entering. You do not have to say anything…’

Nina stood rooted to the spot, letting the words she’d struggled so much to keep at bay wash over her. Two counts of murder?

Her eyes drifted to Robert’s. He studied her, as if the answers to what she’d done were inked all over her face.

When Dickheadson was finally done, and a police constable cuffed her, Nina stuttered out a long breath. ‘Ro-Robert – I didn’t… Two counts of murder?’

Dickheadson snorted out a laugh. ‘Lover boy can’t do anything for you. If there was one thing he was right about, it was that Anne Muller’s death wasn’t an accident. You killed her, and then your camera guy. And all because you wanted the fame for yourself, Ms Investigative Journalist.’

Two people? She’d killed two people. For fame? No way in hell was that possible. What she’d told Robert was true. She’d become an investigative journalist to tell the truth. Not for the fame or to spin a tale.

Nina peered over the police constable’s shoulder to look at Robert. Even when they tugged at her cuffs to lead her out, she fought, whimpering, ‘Robert, please, you have to believe me.’

But her lover boy was gone. Hell, even her partner was gone. In the place of the man Billy had described asone of the good oneswas a man of steel. And he wore a smile, a tilt of his lips that was a thousand times worse than what Dickheadson sported.

Right before they dragged her away, Robert finally spoke. ‘As you said, Nina, humans drift in and out of each other’s lives. This is where we part. Only, you’ll get what’s due to you, and I finally got what I wanted: justice for my wife.’

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

The door shut and Robert let out a sigh. Keeping a stoic expression on his face had been the hardest thing to do. However, they still weren’t alone. The police constable, John, said something, though to Robert’s ears it sounded garbled, as if someone had shouted from the other end of a tunnel.

All he could hear were Nina’s sobs as she’d cried on his shoulder, telling him how her world had turned on its head the night of the arson-murder.

Her stricken face joined the album of memories he was slowly building up on Nina. She’d told him everything, confessed, spent a wonderful night with him and he’d done nothing to save her. For once, it hadn’t been because he’d been unaware, or he hadn’t been there. No, he had watched and let it happen.

Cheryl came into his line of vision. She said something to the police constable, who nodded and left.

Why hadn’t Robert intervened when Dickheadson had marched Nina out in handcuffs? Robert touched his chest, right where his heart thudded.

He knew why. Dickheadson had accused Nina of killing two people.

Aye, she’d confessed to probably killing her camera man but had refused to acknowledge she had anything to do with Anne’s death. His logic said evidence never lied. And Dickheadson had found evidence proving what Robert had originally thought: Nina was the killer.

A hand landed on his shoulder. ‘Robert?’

He jerked as if pulled from a nightmare. ‘Aye, um, sorry. What were you saying?’

Cheryl frowned then looked at Joshua. ‘I’m going to take him home. Can you wait for them to get back?’

Joshua fixed a bag on his shoulder. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to go. I’ve, er, I’ve got something that can’t wait.’

Robert faced his pal. Joshua’s demeanour held something rigid to it, his usual taking-life-as-it-comes air gone. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Gotta go – I’m sorry.’ Joshua patted Robert’s back, gave Cheryl a nod and left.

Cheryl wasted no time getting into Robert’s face. ‘What were you thinking? Your first instinct was spot on. Why did you allow her pretty face to make you doubt yourself? You’ve never been like this. Perhaps Dickinson is right and you need to take some time off.’

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