“I already have. That’s precisely what it says.”
“Yet you believe this proven liar over a respected businessman?”
“Why would he make it up?”
“That’s obvious. His houder was murdered and he’s in your custody. You’re a homicide investigator. What better way to appeal to your curiosity than to invent a murder?”
“There were other witnesses.”
“All Alex’s former lovers, no doubt?” Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Like I said, he’s a manipulator.”
Josiah thought back to the affection both Ted and, more surprisingly, Mick had displayed towards Alex, but he dismissed that thought in an instant. Neither of those men had been Alex’s lovers, he was sure of that.
“And did Alexander say who killed this poor young woman?” Tyler demanded.
“Oh, yes.” Josiah stared at him intently. “He was very clear about that. He said it was you.”
“That’swhat he told you?” Tyler shook his head in exaggerated disbelief. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but that’s low, even by his standards. It’s nonsense, of course. There is no dead woman, just more of his manipulation, because itismanipulation. All of it.”
“To what end?”
“To stop you from finding out the truth about Elliot Dacre’s murder. Distraction, obfuscation, a deliberate ‘look over there’to stop you from seeing what’s right in front of you. If he ruins you in the process, so be it, he doesn’t care.”
“Oh, I don’t think Alex is the liar in this room,” Josiah stated firmly. He glanced at Alex, who was still standing beside him, his head bowed and his face pale, but his mask well and truly in place. “We’re done here.”
“Not quite.” Tyler leaned forward. “You’re a talented man, Raine. I admire you. In fact, you have precisely the qualities I’m looking for. I’ve been trying to recruit a new head of security for months, but nobody I’ve seen is quite right. You would be perfect for the job. How much does Director Lomax pay you? I’d triple it. You’d have your own helicopter and a team of dedicated indies at your disposal – some of them just as pretty as Alex.” He gave a conspiratorial wink.
Josiah snorted. “If Alex is lying, then why are you trying to buy me off, Tyler?”
“I’m not. I genuinely like you.”
“The feeling isn’t mutual, and I’m not for sale. Now, please leave.”
Tyler’s expression changed in an instant, and Josiah saw the plan. That had been the carrot, and now the stick was about to come out.
Tyler took out his holopad and clicked, and a holovid instantly hovered in the room. Josiah gave a grunt of recognition as he watched himself and Alex, walking hand in hand along the street outside Ted’s shop earlier that day. That was his fault. He’d told Alex to keep up a façade outside the house but had failed to follow his own advice. He should have known that Tyler would be watching him. Suddenly, he remembered the footprints he’d seen in the back garden earlier; had they belonged to one of Tyler’s men, too, spying on the house?
“I wonder, does Director Lomax know you’re romantically involved with your prime suspect?” Tyler asked.
“You think you can get me fired?” Josiah was genuinely amused.
“I’ve had my investigators look into you since you showed up so unexpectedly at my house. I have quite the dossier on you, Investigator Raine. You must find that annoying. You’re so used to being the one doing the investigating.”
Josiah shrugged. “I have nothing to hide.”
“Really?” Tyler clicked, and a picture of Elsie suddenly took the place of the holovid.
“Elsie’s an old friend of my late husband.” Josiah snorted. “She’s hardly blackmail material, Tyler.” He didn’t give anything away, but all the same, he felt a shiver of apprehension. Elsie would be leaving the country first thing tomorrow, but maybe that was already too late.
“Hmm.” Tyler was watching him carefully. “I wonder why you took Alex to visit her this morning when you were supposed to be working? What was so urgent? It surely couldn’t have been a social visit.”
“Like I said, she’s an old friend, but she’s a bit slow and doddery these days. She had a fall, so I was checking in on her. I took Alex because I’m concerned about his safety and want to keep him with me at all times. That seems even more like a wise precaution, given the fact you broke in here tonight.”
Tyler had clearly hoped for a juicier reaction, which made Josiah suspect he didn’t know about the Kathleen Line. Tyler clicked again, and Josiah gave a startled gasp. A holopic of Peter filled one corner of the living room – and not just any holopic: it was taken from the coroner’s file, and it showed Peter lying on the mortuary slab.
“For God’s sake, man,” Josiah snapped, looking away. “Have some decency!”
Tyler deactivated the holopic, much to Josiah’s relief. “My apologies. I’m sure it can’t have been easy to see that, especiallyas there are still so many unanswered questions surrounding your husband’s murder. How convenient that his so-called killer turned up dead, so we could never ask him whatactuallyhappened that night.”
