AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * *
Exactly an hour later, Nico was back in reception, slouched against the wall, eyes trained on Imran’s door. But even while he waited for Lacey to emerge, his mind wouldn’t stop analyzing facts and figures. It’d been a very interesting morning. So much information was now being amassed on Rania’s life it was going to take a while to sort through it all. Calls to the murder hotline that’d been set up straight after her death were running hot.
One call in particular had sparked Nico’s interest. It was from a co-worker of Rania’s at the motor mechanic shop where she worked as the receptionist. The man had said his name was Danny, and he was the head mechanic. He thought they should know that one of the third-year apprentices had been showing an unusual amount of interest in Rania. Had become fixated on her, if Danny was to be believed. Danny said he thought Rania might have even registered a complaint with the police after she’d caught him peering in her kitchen window one evening and had finally had enough of his antics. Nico had one of his team checking the system to see if he could find a record of that complaint. Danny had seemed almost keen to rat out this apprentice, and it made Nico wonder why. Was there some sort of personal vendetta going on there?
It’d take some time and digging to figure out the dynamics of the mechanic shop, but in the meantime, Nico had requested this apprentice, Floyd Hamilton was his name, come in for an interview first thing tomorrow morning.
Just then, Lacey emerged, and his eyes locked onto her face, forcing his rumination on the investigation into the background as he tried to gauge her mood instead. She saw him immediately and offered a bright smile, and his heart lifted. Which was odd and a little alarming. That her smile could have such an effect.
Today, her long, straight hair was left loose, tucked behind her ears to stop it falling in her face. She was wearing pretty much the same outfit as she had for the past few days, minus the sheepskin jacket—which they’d dropped in to be dry-cleaned this morning—jeans, and a blue woolen sweater, with boots. No-nonsense, warm, and casual attire. She moved to drape her rain jacket over one arm as she turned and shook Imran’s hand. While the clothes were her everyday wear, somehow she managed to look sexy in them. Her long legs looked great in her well-worn jeans, and the sweater barely skimmed her hips, accentuating her flat stomach and nicely proportioned breasts. Not too big, and not too small.
He dragged his gaze away from her. What was he doing? Documenting this woman’s desirable features while she was talking to a psych helping her come to terms with watching a woman die yesterday. Was he some kind of sick pervert?
“You’re here.” Gabriel’s voice sounded from behind and Nico turned, grateful for the distraction. “Ah, and here comes Lacey,” Gabriel added, looking over Nico’s shoulder. “Just in time.”
Lacey joined them, and Nico wanted to ask her how it’d gone. But he didn’t want to put her on the spot in front of Gabriel, so he merely smiled down at her and said, “Gabe has asked us to join him for lunch. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Lacey replied. “I’m actually starving. Even though I wonder how I can be hungry at a time like this,” she added quietly.
“Don’t be silly,” Gabriel said, taking Lacey by the arm and leading her down the hallway, leaving Nico to trail behind, feeling a little out of sorts as Lacey laughed at something Gabriel said. He shouldn’t begrudge his friend; he and Lacey had gone through something horrendous yesterday. They now had an enduring connection.
They walked the short distance to The Foreshore Restaurant, located farther down the main road on the West Beach Waterfront, with a first-class view out over the ocean—which was still stormy, with whitecaps dotting the waves as far as the eye could see. Gabriel hung onto Lacey’s arm the whole way.
The waitress ushered them to a premium table next to the large windows looking directly out at the view. The restaurant was only half-full, reminding Nico it was getting late for lunch.
Lacey ordered the spicy prawns with Asian salad and he ordered the buttermilk chicken burger, while Gabe ordered the Cajun salmon, just as he’d mentioned earlier.
They admired the view for a few moments before Lacey excused herself to go to the powder room. Both men watched her go, but when Nico looked back, he saw Gabriel’s eyes fixed on his face, watching him watching her. Damn, had he been caught staring at Lacey? Gabe raised an inquiring eyebrow and gave a knowing smile, but said nothing for which Nico was forever grateful.
A quick change in subject was required, and he asked Gabe if he was up for a game of squash in the next few days. A few fast rounds in the courts would help get rid of some of this pent-up energy. Help him to loosen that itch between his shoulder blades that meant he was storing too much stress.
They were still talking about squash—Gabriel was thinking of buying a new racquet—when Lacey reappeared at the table. Almost at the same time, their meals arrived and conversation ceased as they all tucked into their food, making the odd appreciative noise.
Gabe laid his fork down and dabbed at the corner of his mouth. “I was wondering if the coroner has come back with cause of death yet?” He asked, then held up a hand as Nico frowned at him. “I know you wouldn’t normally give those kinds of details away, but this time I have a vested interest, and I was hoping you might loosen your protocol just a little. I’d like to know for sure there was nothing else I could’ve done to save her,” he added with a tight grimace.
Lacey looked up, a question mark in her raised eyebrow as she, too, waited for Nico’s answer. Even though, with her experience on the force, she probably already knew what he was going to say. His friend certainly was right, Nico always kept the particulars of any investigation close to his chest. It was the first time Gabriel had ever asked him directly about the specifics of a case.
“No, it’s too early for that,” Nico replied, placing his fork carefully on the table. Of course Gabe would want to know if he could’ve done more to help Rania. He’d probably always feel a little responsible, no matter the coroner’s findings.
“I’m assuming she went into hypovolemic shock,” Gabriel mused, then seeing both Nico’s and Lacey’s confused glances, he added, “It’s when the organs start to shut down due to loss of blood or other fluids. I pumped her full of epinephrine to try and increase her blood pressure, and then put her on a saline drip, hoping to force more liquids into her, but it wasn’t enough. Usually the heart is the last organ to shut down, but if there isn’t enough blood to pump around the body, the blood pressure drops and… Well, you saw what happened.”
“Yes, we did,” Lacey replied, also putting down her fork, as if she’d suddenly lost her appetite.
“People are already pointing the finger at the boyfriend, you know,” Gabriel said conversationally. “It’s all some of my patients are talking about. This is the biggest mystery to happen in this neck of the woods for a long time.”
For some reason, Nico bristled at this throwaway comment. Of course people wanted to accuse the boyfriend. It was the easy answer. But he knew there was a lot more to this case; a lot more digging to do. Nico’s team needed to wade through the backstory of Rania’s young life first, to find anyone who might hold a grudge against her, or want to hurt her for whatever reason. Her family were refugees from Syria, as were Karim’s. Could they have brought some sinister secrets with them when they fled the country? Maybe it wasn’t Rania the killer had been after. Perhaps they were trying to send a message to her family, or to Karim. There were so many components to sort through when starting a murder investigation. And there were a lot more suspects high on Nico’s list than just Karim. This Floyd fellow was definitely on his list now, but Nico was also keeping the idea of a serial killer in the area on his radar. He was sure the list would get much longer before he could start eliminating people.
And you couldn’t just go around pointing the finger. It was dangerous. Especially if the media got hold of the rumor, which they no doubt already had. Shit, he hated this side of the investigation, the innuendos and the amateur sleuths who thought they had the case already tied up in a pretty bow. The media, who Nico often referred to as a pack of vultures—in private, of course—were already baying at the door, demanding answers. He’d had to station a cop out the front of Rania’s place to keep away the rubberneckers, as well as the overeager reporters hanging around outside hoping to get a juicy tidbit from one of the neighbors. One zealous reporter had been found snooping in the back garden, about to break into the house, so he could video the inside of the victim’s place and get the scoop on the other stations. It wasn’t going to get any easier anytime soon.
Gabriel took another bite and then turned to face Lacey. “Was she still conscious when you got there? Or did she ever regain consciousness while you were with her?” he asked, his gaze fixed intently on Lacey’s face.
Lacey cocked her head to one side. “No. Why?” There was a sudden gleam in her eye. Like the cogs of her cop brain were beginning to whir inside her head.
“I was just wondering if she said anything that could identify her killer, that’s all.” He shrugged and then gave a self-deprecating laugh. “But I guess Nico has already asked you that. And I guess if it was Karim who stabbed her, then the truth will come out sooner or later.”
Lacey narrowed her eyes, but before she could respond, Nico said, “Karim is no more a suspect than anyone else in this investigation.” He didn’t bother to keep the warning note out of his voice. Gabriel was going too far. Listening to gossip was one thing, it was inevitable in a case like this, but actively engaging in that gossip was another thing altogether. It really sounded like Gabriel had decided Karim was guilty. And while the evidence might be running in that direction, nothing was set in stone. Nico needed cold, hard facts before he’d consider someone a definite suspect. “Perhaps you need to remind your gossiping patients that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Or at least that’s what the Covenant of Civil Rights says.”
Gabriel looked up at Nico’s sharp tone. “Oh, yes, I completely agree. Sorry, I was being insensitive. It’s just that this thing has occupied my entire mind for the past twenty-four hours and it’s hard not to keep from getting sucked in. I apologize if I overstepped the mark.” Gabriel smiled and Nico felt a trickle of shame run down his spine. He shouldn’t be getting angry at his friend. He was only human, just like everyone else. And of course, he wanted answers too.
