Page 67 of Between the Lies

‘I thought you’d said everything you needed to say when you let your dear boss drag me away?’

Robert winced, giving Nina a slight glimpse into his real self. ‘I…’ His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. ‘I’m sorry. After what we shared, and our conversation the previous night, I shouldn’t have listened to Dickheadson… I fucked up. And I’m sorry.’

Nina set her phone down. ‘You believed him. You thought I killed your wife.’

Robert nodded. ‘I’m ashamed to say I did. I was thinking about evidence and facts.’

‘If it were about evidence, I’d be behind bars.’

The server came up to their table and set down a sandwich. ‘Enjoy.’

Robert passed the plate to Nina. ‘I got it for you. It’s a chicken masala toastie. Reminded me of your tea.’

Oh aye, the bastard was a sweet talker without even realising it. But Nina had been busting liars since she started her career. ‘Masala chai tastes and looks nothing like this sandwich.’

All he gave her was a small, shy smile. The cheek. ‘I’m truly sorry. It wasn’t until you left and I started to think things through that I realised I was wrong. You’re not in prison because Dickheadson can’t prove anything concrete, and he knows his motive for the murder is equally shite.’

Nina narrowed her eyes. Was this some elaborate ploy to get her to confess? Robert had all but thrown her to a pack of starving wild dogs. And now he was apologising?

‘He’s a lauded member of the police force. Why would he be wrong when it comes to me?’ Nina leaned over the table and dropped her voice. ‘What if I have a tendency to black out and go on murderous sprees?’

Robert hooted out a laugh. The woman working on her laptop at an adjacent table startled, then smirked at Robert, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Of course.

Robert’s attention zeroed back in on Nina. ‘I find that more believable than Dickheadson’s theory that you did it.’

‘Why did you say I c-conned you, Robert?’ Nina hated that slight twinge of vulnerability in her voice. If Robert was here for the police, a slight hitch was all he’d need to take her down. And God knew, when it came to this man, she lost all sense.

‘It wasn’t my finest moment. The more I blamed you, the more I realised I was lying to myself. Well, if you look at the facts and think about it, you fooled me. You killed two people and made me believe you hadn’t.’

Nina opened her mouth to shut him down, but he held up his hand. ‘Please, let me share my side. After you left, I walked home, thinking. And later, after I’d blamed it all on you and shut myself in my flat again, Joshua came by and reminded me of what I’m good at. Dickheadson is good, but he believes in facts, evidence, and logic. But I rely on intuition, feelings and emotions. While the head takes you round in circles, leaving room for interpretation, intuition and feelings take you right to the heart of the matter, and there are no two ways about it.’

When he stopped speaking and took a sip of his coffee, Nina eyed the man. ‘How are you going to prove someone killed your wife without evidence?’

Another grin came over his face. ‘I’m not a detective. I want answers and to find justice for my wife. No one said I need to go through the chain of evidence or, hell, even legal streams to get it. You, Nina, work like Dickheadson. On the other hand, I know people, and I know what they’re really saying. If we join forces, we’d make a hell of a team.’

Nina snorted. ‘We tried it once, and it didn’t work; why should we partner up again?’

She leaned down to fetch her tote, then stood up. Robert followed her lead. Only he didn’t pick up a tote – he picked up a black canvas backpack. Her backpack.

‘I thought the police had it.’

Robert tilted his head. ‘What did I say about illegal activities? Let’s just say Joshua nudged me to break free.’

Shaking her head, Nina sat down in her chair and picked up the sandwich. Their previous attempt at teaming up had blown up in her face, but Robert’s point had weight to it. Together, they could get this done and dusted in half the time. Plus, she’d get to admire that fantastic arse.

Shite! No – that was out of the question.

‘I have ground rules,’ Nina blurted. ‘No matter what happens between us, we’re not a couple. You don’t have any rights when it comes to me. You don’t tell me what to do, how to do it, when to do it. We are not friends.’ She shoved the sandwich back at him. ‘I don’t trust you.’

Robert nodded. ‘I deserve that. I, on the other hand, trust you. And I’m at your service.’

Even if her heart all but lay at his feet with moony eyes, she wasn’t so easily fooled. ‘I don’t buy that you’re suddenly so eager to team up with me. What happened to your pals?’

‘It’s a hectic time for them. And no one has a high stake in the game like we do.’ Robert reached into his trouser pocket and laid down a key. ‘I was cleaning out Anne’s things and found this. It’s for a storage locker in a wee hole-in-the-wall kind of place. I inserted the key to unlock the locker, and the door swung open. But if I’d been paying attention, I’d have realised that someone had already forced it open.’

Nina pulled the key towards her and studied the laminated card attached to it. ‘Let me guess: they’d forced the locker open and stolen what was inside?’

Robert nodded. ‘The locker was empty, and the grump at the counter said he didn’t know who could’ve done that.’

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