Page 40 of Between the Lies
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Robert strode through the doorway, his shoulders brushing across the doorframe. A few people shot a glance his way, then turned away to hide their faces.
The people here could smell his warrant card, even if he hadn’t carried one for a while now. And whatever they thought of him dwindled tenfold when they caught sight of Robert’s companion.
Nina had her hair tied up and wore tight trousers paired with a black distressed-leather jacket. Appreciative eyes lingered on her. And it did not sit well with Robert. He didn’t like the primal animal inside him that wanted to place an arm around Nina. That same animal had kept him up last night, begging him to get off the sofa and climb into Nina’s bed.
If he’d done that or tried now to stake a claim on her, he knew she’d chop his manhood off. Hell, he’d never felt such an urge before, even when he’d been married.
And Anne with her blond hair and blue eyes had been beautiful, yet he’d felt secure with her. Not that he was dating Nina. Not by a long shot.
Besides, Nina could be lying to him. They’d had a long conversation about what had happened to her, and everything she’d told him made sense. Unless it was all a big fat lie…
She’d been chasing up a lead and had gone to that building as she’d been instructed to. They’d asked her to head to the back door of the building. She had, and the next thing she knew, she’d woken up next to a dead man – Jonas, her camera guy.
Despite the shock, she’d escaped, leaving Jonas’s body behind. Only, on her way back home, Shah had chased her, so Nina had disappeared.
Her explanation fit – he had to admit that much. If she’d been inside that building during the fire, on the top floor no less, she wouldn’t have escaped.
Or the fire services would have found her.
It occurred to him that she might’ve set the fire and escaped before it took hold. Fire did a great job of burning through evidence. But the look in her eyes when she recalled finding her camera guy dead…
Robert hadn’t yet allowed himself time to let it all sink in; he’d just willed his brain to move on. They’d paired up and were now looking for Anne’s killer.
‘Robert!’
The bellow rang out in the room, cutting off all conversation. Only the TV buzzed in the background, its voice at a low murmur.
The man who’d called out his name emerged from behind the bar, his arms wide and the grin on his face large enough to light the entire room. The man waddled, thanks to arthritis and a couple of heart attacks caused by his affection for regular chippy dinners. His grin showed off his yellow teeth, reminiscent of a past life spent with drugs.
Robert returned the man’s grin and embraced him. Billy Burns barely reached Robert’s chest, but the man wound his arms around Robert and thumped him on the back.
‘Oh, the big man’s here, eh? It’s been ages. I’m sorry about your missus – what a tragedy it was.’
Another thump and Billy released Robert. Then his gaze moved to Nina, and a sly grin appeared on his face. ‘A smooth operator, are you? Not the best place to bring a nice lady on a date, if I say so myself.’
Nina’s eyes were wide.
To a stranger, this welcome might seem very weird, Robert supposed, given that most patrons at Billy’s bar had a record with the police, including the owner himself.
He wound an arm round Billy’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze. ‘This is Billy. He runs this place.’
Billy bobbed his head, his chest puffing out a wee bit. ‘Aye, all this is mine, aye. All above board and all that.’ He thumbed Robert’s chest. ‘This man saw to it. A heart of gold, he has. You chose well.’
‘I-I…’ Nina glanced at Robert. ‘We aren’t together.’
Robert’s heart twisted painfully at those words. He cleared his throat. ‘That’s right. That’s Nina. We have a few questions regarding the fire.’
Billy understood at once what fire Robert was referring to. The sparkle in his eyes dimmed, and Billy patted Robert’s arm. ‘It’s fucking shite, it is. Sometimes, I don’t understand why it’s the good ones that suffer. But aye, Joshua said as much to me, so he did. He said yous would pop by. He comes over from time to time just to check up on me. I asked him about you, and he said you wanted answers, and that shite prick of a boss of yours won’t let yous get them.’
Robert nodded. ‘I’m on leave at the moment. Well, you know how the boss can be. I trust when I do end up jobless, there’s a job for me here.’
The tense lines on Billy’s face dissolved, and he cackled. ‘Ah, lad, for you, always. You’re one o’ the good ones. But you dinnae need a job. You should be a PI, like… like that big man… Eh, I cannae remember his name, but aye, lots of good you’ll do for Glasgow.’
Nina took a step forward, closer to Billy, and stuck her hand out. ‘I’m Nina, and, well, we are kind of working as PIs at the moment, investigating the fire. It is all, of course, on the down-low.’
Billy’s eyes darted around the place. The pub was dark on the inside, the walls leaden with smoke gathered in the years before the government banned the use of cigarettes indoors, and the floor sucked at your shoes. If you stood in one spot for too long, you’d probably get stuck to the floor. And the people in here – many slumped over pints at 4 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon – might spend the night in custody…
