“I’m counting on it.” Josiah placed a black coffee in front of his data tech. “By the way – I’ve sent Baumann out to check ona few things, if anyone asks for her.” Reed nodded absently, his eyes fixed on his screen.
Josiah strode along the hallway, then jogged up the stairs to Esther’s office, with Alex following along behind, his silent shadow.
Esther didn’t even spare him a smile when he entered. Josiah nodded to Alex to take a seat in the corner, which he did without a murmur. Then Josiah faced the music.
“I’ve had the lawyers look at the document you sent. It seems legit. Lytton’s contract still belongs to Tyler, even if the paperwork is a little irregular,” Esther said with no preamble.
“He’s not listed as Alex’s owner with the IS agency,” Josiah pointed out.
“Sometimes that happens. Big companies sometimes rent indies out to smaller ones, and the smaller one takes the responsibility while the indie is with them. It’s not common, and the lawyers think it’s odd in this case, but it’s not technically illegal.”
“I’m not handing Alex to him,” Josiah said firmly. “If you’re saying that’s our only option, then I’m walking out of here with him right now.”
“I haven’t decided what our options are yet,” she snapped. “I want to see what Tyler has to say first, but you’ve put me in a weak position and on shaky ground, Joe, so don’t expect me to automatically take your side on this.”
“You usually back me,” he said quietly.
“You usually don’t start investigations and interview potential witnesses without my authorisation first,” she retorted.
“Tyler broke into my house last night and tried to take Alex by force. Why would he do that unless he had something to hide?”
“Maybe he does, but it might not be murder. He might also be irritated by what he sees as your pursuit of him when he’s done nothing wrong.”
“Don’t automatically assume he’s innocent just because he’s powerful and I’ve pissed you off,” Josiah said. “All I ask is that you keep an open mind.”
She shot him a dark glance. “I always do.”
Tyler arrived, accompanied by three lawyers this time. Clearly, he’d brought out the big guns. He looked smooth and urbane, every inch the reasonable, successful businessman.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble, Director Lomax,” he told Esther pleasantly as he took the seat she offered. “I just want Alexander returned to me, and then I’ll leave.”
“I’ve reviewed the paperwork you sent – it’s an unusual arrangement,” she said, gazing at him sharply. “To all intents and purposes, it looked like Lytton’s contract belonged to Dacre.”
“I know.” Tyler shrugged. “It was expedient at the time. Dacre came to me with a business proposition. He was already a famous holophotographer, although his star had somewhat faded of late. He wanted Alex – he said he needed a muse, and Alex fit the bill – but he couldn’t afford him. He assured me that with Alex as his model, his star would rise again, and when his fortunes recovered, he’d pay me ten per cent more than Alex was worth.”
“That’s quite a gamble.”
“I didn’t get to be one of the wealthiest men in the country without taking risks.” Tyler smiled.
“A sale price is registered, but you’re saying he didn’t pay you?”
“Oh yes, he did. I simply lent him the money, and he used it to pay for Alex. That way it was all above board. Neat and tidy. Just a private loan that would be repaid as and when Elliot’s fortunes picked up.”
“It’s still odd.” Esther frowned. “Why didn’t you tell Investigator Raine that you still owned Alex when he visited your house a few days ago? You told him that you sold him because you needed money. Are you saying that was a lie?”
“A white one, maybe.” Tyler shrugged.
“I see.” She gave him a sharp look. “Then why did you sell him if not for the money?”
Tyler shifted uncomfortably. “I had personal reasons.”
“You lied to my senior investigator during a murder investigation,” Esther said briskly. “Come now, Mr Tyler, you must do better than that.
Tyler glanced at Alex. “Fine. If you must know… I was in love with him,” he said quietly, taking Josiah by surprise. “I wanted Elliot to take him away so I wouldn’t be tempted by him anymore. That’s a hard thing to admit to a stranger – that you fell in love with an indie half your age and had to send him away because your feelings for him were so intense.”
Tyler spoke with a kind of quiet sincerity that Josiah found convincing. He glanced at Alex for confirmation, but found his mask firmly in place, his face unreadable.
“And now you want him back?” Esther raised an eyebrow.
