Page 154 of Dream On, Liar

“Me, or through a private investigator?”

“The latter.”

Silence.

Then a slow exhale. “That’s not the kind of favours you usually ask of me.”

“I know.”

“Who?”

“His name is Roland. Should be about 24-25. You can get a full description from Maeve’s social media, or something. I’m not sure—”

Dev's voice sharpened as he interrupted. “Maeve as in Maeve Knox?”

I looked towards the guest room. “Yeah.”

“What happened?”

“He’s her ex. He broke into her flat to get some cash, but he had a knife,” I replied. “He threatened that she couldn’t do shit because he had friends in the police force. But he’d shoved her hard enough for it to hurt, broke her phone so she couldn’t call for help. She’s got bruises up and down her arm. I haven’t had a chance to look at her back, but I’m pretty sure it’s covered too.”

The words still tasted wrong in my mouth.

Saying them made the scene sharper again.

The broken phone.

Her against the wall.

The fear in her eyes.

Dev swore quietly. “She doesn’t even to try and report it?”

“No.” I looked down at my hands. “She isn't ready.”

Dev was quiet for a moment. “So what exactly do you want from me?”

“Someone good. Someone discreet. I want a proper background check. Everything that can be found legally. Roland’s history. His connections. His friend's connection to the police. Anything that might explain why she’d be worried about reporting him.”

“You want leverage.”

“I want information.”

“Those are not always different things.”

I didn’t answer.

Dev sighed. “Are you trying to threaten him?”

“No.” I turned towards the window. Rain moved down the glass in thin, uneven trails, blurring the darkness beyond it.

“But it should look like I could.”

Dev gave a short laugh. “That is a very specific distinction.”

“I don’t want him thinking he’s untouchable. So when she is ready to take action, she can do it without fear of nothing happening, and him retaliating.”

“And what happens when he realises you’ve been digging into him? Surely if he’s got friends in the force, someone might get flagged when we look into him.”