Page 91 of Mann Hunt
“Hey,” Declan answered.
“I was just thinking about you. I’m just around the corner. Mind if I come up?”
“Sure. The door’s open.”
A few minutes later the door alarm beeped and Luke walked in. “What are you looking at?” Luke asked.
“I got a hold of the CCTV footage from the party house where Ian Mann was last seen. Justin Neves was definitely there on the night Ian disappeared.”
“He was at the party?”
“No. He was waiting in the bushes for Ian by his car. He had some sort of confrontation with him. And itlooks like he may have had a knife. The interesting thing is, Justin walked away and Ian left the party by himself.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s not involved,” Luke warned.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out. I sent Charlie in undercover to try out for Justin’s hockey team—”
“You did what?”
Declan continued, “He met with Justin this afternoon and discovered a link between him and Ian Mann connected to some photos Ian took.”
Luke leaned towards Declan. “This is a murder investigation, and Charlie’s got no experience. Just because Justin walked away doesn’t mean that he wasn’t working with an accomplice…or he might have seen something. It’s enough to bring him in for questioning. And Charlie could be in danger.”
“Isn’t Airdrie out of your jurisdiction?”
“Given what you’ve told me, my boss’ll back me up on this one. I think I should go now.”
A text arrived from Charlie.
Good news. Justin wants to talk. He’s coming over to the hotel. I’ll let you know what happens.
Declan said, “I’m coming with you.”
* * * *
“I hope you don’t mind. I brought these,” Justin said, pulling a couple of beers out of a plastic bag. “They’re not the best, but it’s what my dad drinks.”
“They’re great. Thanks,” Charlie replied.
Justin opened a beer and sat on the edge of the bed.
“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked as he sat beside him.
“There was more to that story I told you about Ian.”
Charlie looked at Justin. He seemed more like a scared kid than a young adult.
Justin was silent for a moment, then said, “He brought a lot of makeup to our last photo shoot. He said he wanted to recreate some of the early pictures taken of Bowie. The ones where he was made up almost to look like a clown.” Justin took a swig of his beer.
“And you were okay with that?” Charlie asked.
“I didn’t think anything of it. You really lose yourself when you’re totally made up, like when I used to wear masks at Halloween.”
“What do you mean?”
Justin turned to face Charlie. “You’re not afraid to be whoever you want to be, even the real you.”
Charlie took a sip of beer.
