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The two cops exchanged a heavy glance.
Tacey's heart sank. Whatever they knew that she didn't, it wasn't good.
She wet her lips. "Is it my house? Did he burn down Bell House?"
A long moment passed, before the male one said, "Miss Bell, Mr Masters drove off the Mount Henry Bridge last night. From what we can determine from the traffic cameras, he was driving erratically, nearly hitting several other cars and the concrete barrier, before he suddenly swerved and drove off the bridge. We found his body in the river this morning."
Tacey could barely believe it. Sure, she'd thought about something bad happening to Matt, but she hadn't seriously considered... "Matt's dead?"
Both of them nodded. "And we believe your daughter is his sole heir."
Rory owned Matt's parents' mansion in Salter Point? Christine's pristine lawns? Oh, Christine would roll over in her grave if she knew.
"Rory's too young to be owning property. She's only just started to learn to read, and certainly not well enough to be signing contracts any time soon."
The male officer coughed. "Well, as her legal guardian, you'd be responsible for things until she turns eighteen. Of course, the lawyers have to go through all the paperwork, which might take months, but when it's all sorted, I think you'll find that before Mr Masters tragically took his own life, he knew his daughter would be provided for."
Matt? Suicide? Never. Driving drunk or on his phone and not paying attention to the road, maybe. But whatever had made Matt drive off that bridge, for her and Rory, it was more like a miracle.
"Thank you for letting me know. Can I get you a coffee, or a muffin, maybe?" Tacey offered.
The police officers declined, then left, with a promise that Matt's lawyer would be in touch. Oh, Tacey was really looking forward to that meeting. Dominic Lamont was going to kiss her arse.
FORTY
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Customers came and went, and Octavia wanted to work on her super secret project upstairs tonight, so she'd offered to man the counter until the café closed, so when the sunset streaked the sky orange, Tacey hung up her apron, and took Rory home.
They stopped for pizza on the way, so the house was dark by the time they arrived. The security lights on the veranda activated as soon as they pulled up, revealing a shadowy form sitting in the chair beside the door.
A huge, hulking shadow.
Tacey's heart leaped, but Rory got there first.
"Mr Monster!" she cried, leaping out of the car to run to Wystan.
Tacey followed at a slower pace, carrying the pizza box, but she was in time to hear Wystan say, "It's all right, you're safe now, Miss Rory. The monster can't hurt you ever again."
He knew Matt was dead.
Which he couldn't possibly know unless he'd been in the café when the police came, or if he'd been responsible for it.
But Tacey couldn't ask him that in front of Rory.
"You should come in," she told him instead, leading the way.
"What about the rule about no monsters allowed in the house?" Wystan asked.
Tacey took a deep breath. "That only applies to monsters who might want to harm us. Are you a danger to Rory and me?"
Wystan shook his head. "I'm sworn to protect you, now and always."
Which didn't explain why he'd been missing when she needed him most, unless he'd been with Matt. Killing Matt.
"Then you can come in."
Rory cheered, grabbing Wystan's hand to pull him through the door. If she knew he'd actually killed a man for her, Rory wouldn't be so trusting.
Then again, he might not have done it. Matt really might have killed himself, however accidentally. But Tacey didn't believe it.
