Page 76 of So Wild

“My bedside table.”

Scott shot Sam a sidelong look. Her face remained impassive and once again he wished they were alone. If they were alone, he could tell her she needed to stop covering for Nicole and tell the truth. That way the cops would be able to check the right windowsill and they could find the arsehole who’d done this.

When the cops first came to the house for an informal chat, they’d showed him the photos he’d been accused of stealing and he’d had to bite the insides of his cheeks to stop himself from blurting ‘that’s Nicole, you idiots.’ How no one else had noticed, was beyond him. The pictures didn’t look like Sam. Well, theytechnicallydid, but Nicole’s shyness shone through like a lighthouse beam on a foggy night. Sam was never shy, she would have sneered into the camera, her dark blue eyes saying‘you love it, don’t you, pervert? Go on, beg me for more.’

Samantha was taking the shame wrap for her twin and while she did, the person who’d taken the photos was getting away with it.

“So,” the skinny cop said. “Time to be wrapping this up?”

“Just about.” S/Sgt Worthington gave Sam a hard stare. “Ms DaSilva, while I can appreciate your anger at having your personal photographs stolen, the fact remains building that website was impulsive and childish. If your neighbor had been a few weeks younger he would have been underage and you could be accused of child sex offense charges.”

“But I didn’t even put up any sexy pictures,” Sam protested. “Besides, those Polaroids are of me and I’m underage. Why don’t you say something about punishing Scott?”

Scott couldn’t stand the bitterness in her voice. He turned to her again. “Sam, I didn’t do it! I don’t want to hurt you, I’veneverwanted to hurt you and—”

“That’s enough.” S/Sgt Worthington glared at him. “Mate, we’ve said all we need to say about the incident, we need to get into the nuts and bolts. Now, normally we’d proceed by compiling a brief about the incident so it could go to magistrate’s court—”

Scott swallowed. Court. No way could he keep going to court from his dad.

“So,” S/Sgt Worthington said comfortably. “Mr Sanderson, you’re eighteen and a legal adult. Do you want to pursue charges against Ms DaSilva for her defamatory website?”

“No.”

The Sergeant’s moustache quivered menacingly. “You want to take a minute to think about that?”

“No. The website’s down and that’s all that matters.”

S/Sgt Worthington bared his teeth. “Mate, you’re clearly not taking this in. Give your dad a call and—”

“No! The last thing this situation needs is my father! I’ve told you I don’t want to press charges and I bloody mean it. The website was a joke Sam made because she was upset. I don’t care about it.”

“Your reputation—”

“I don’t give a shit about my reputation. My mum just died. I don’t want any more pain or revenge. All I want is a cup of soup and to go to sleep for a long, long time.”

There was a silence around the table and Scott had the sense that he’d pulled a trump card none of them could combat—the dead mother card. He felt both vindicated and sickeningly guilty. He couldn’t look at Samantha. He just wanted this all to be over.

“Okay,” the skinny cop said. “If that’s how you want to play it, we’ll order a caution and drop the matter until further notice.”

He looked disappointed. Maybe he’d been hoping to say ‘buy­scott­sanderson­aroot.com’ in court.

“Great,” Scott said, rising out of his chair.

“Not so fast.” S/Sgt Worthington’s expression was stony. “In incidents like these—well, usually idiot couples who can’t decide if they love each other or hate each other—the police can put an intervention order in place. That’s what I’m going to do today.”

Samantha gaped at him. “You mean like a restraining order? But we’re neighbors.”

“I won’t put in a distance restriction, but considering the history between the two of you, I think it’s best if the two of you have no more communication from now on.”

Panic spoke for him. “But I’m leaving! I’m going to London this weekend for university.”

The skinny cop frowned. “Exams aren’t over, yet.”

“Mine are. Besides, I got an early admission into business law at Cambridge.”

“University in the UK doesn’t start for a while. Not until next October, if I’m remembering correctly.”

“I’m a dual citizen. I’m going to stay with family until I find a place of my own.”

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