Page 69 of No Rules

“It’s just a lead,” I continue, shrugging my shoulders.

He doesn’t even listen to me. But you never know. No lead is to be ignored. Talking with Harrison will surely not bring us anything new and our first impression, namely Mikael Larey’s guilt, is probably the right one.

A silence answers me. The little bastard isn’t listening to me anymore. I’m pretty sure he’s talking to some buddies… or a girl?

“Tell me if I’m bothering you,” I say, while he’s still typing on his screen.

“Put your claws away, redhead,” he retorts, holding his phone to my nose.

I frown, staring at the screen. What the…?

“Whose number is this?” I ask, unsure.

“Bob Harrison,” he proudly announces. “You wanted to talk to him, now’s your chance.”

So he was just looking for his number?

“How did you get his number?” I ask him as my heart pounds in my chest.

“The net is our best ally in these things. Come on,” he urges me, shaking the phone in my face. “Don’t you want to call him and hear what Bob has to say about Mikael?”

“Of course, I do, but…hey, stop!” I order him as he dials the number. “You’re crazy!” I exclaim. “Who says he’s going to talk? He’s going to screw us over! Come on, hang up.”

He puts his index finger over his mouth, telling me to shut up. I can hear the ringing through the receiver.

But, my God, what are we doing?

After three rings, Bob picks up. “Hello?”

Tucker hands me his state-of-the-art cell phone, eyebrows raised. I glare at him and pick up the phone, racking my brains.

“Hello?” Bob repeats a little more loudly as I put the phone to my ear.

“Hello,” I say after a few seconds.

“Who’s this?” asks Mikael Larey’s ex-colleague in a tired voice.

I consider hanging up, but the gleam in Tucker’s eyes pushes me to go through with it. After all, I want answers. So I shove my way through the lie, determined to get them.

“I’m Sonia Dallson,” I claim. “I work for the Brighton Independent newspaper, and I was wondering if you could answer some questions about Mikael Larey?”

A silence answers me. I hear a heavy sigh coming from Bob Harrison’s mouth. “Listen…I would like to get this story out of my head once and for all. I’m as shocked as everyone else by his arrest and what he is accused of. I’m waiting for the trial.”

“Look, it’ll only take a few minutes, I just want to understand. Please.”

A new sigh answers me. “I’m on break, you have five minutes.”

Tucker seems to be as attentive as I am and comes closer, focused.

“Great! So,” I begin, pulling out a pen to take notes, “the day Mikael Larey’s wife and daughter were found dead…that afternoon, your colleague was at work. Did you notice anything strange about his behavior?”

“Are you a cop or something?” the guy asks me bluntly.

He’s not supposed to know that I’m a student and that our professor has given us access to a complete file, including police statements. But I don’t have time to deny it when he finally resumes on his own, “Mikael looked exhausted that day. He was slow in all his movements, as if he hadn’t slept the night before. But he continued to work perfectly. You know, Mikael never allowed himself to be late for work. He liked everything to be in its place, every task to be completed on time. When I left the company that night, he was still working there.”

I try to write everything down as quickly as I can. In order to listen to the conversation as well, the demon with the different colored eyes moves closer to me, his ear almost glued to the phone.

“Was Mikael a good colleague? I mean…could his behavior have been a sign that—”

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