Joker in the Pack (Romantic Suspense, Completed, Watty Winner)

Chapter 34

Warren. I still didn't know what to believe. Nye had spent most of the night on the phone, asking questions and organising another surveillance team, and I'd barely slept a wink.

The tiredness showed as we ate breakfast. Nye's stubble had gone well past a five o'clock shadow, and I'd been wearing the same pair of leggings for two days.

"Do you think it was Warren who broke in?" I asked.

Nye stared into his coffee—already on his second cup before we'd started work. "Circumstantial evidence suggests it could well be, but until we get something concrete or he admits it, we can't be sure. I've got a team working around the clock on it. We're checking his alibi for each of the incidents, but seeing as he's self-employed, it's hard to pin down his whereabouts at each particular time."

My earlier feelings of guilt came creeping back. "Nye, how much is this costing?"

"Don't worry about that. At Blackwood, we all help each other out, and at some point, I'll have to return a few favours, but it's worth it to see you safe."

"I'd like to do something to thank everyone too. Perhaps I could bake some cakes?"

"I'm sure they'd love that, babe."

The front door slammed, signalling the arrival of today's team of reinforcements. "Did you give everybody keys?"

"Nah, I took the deadbolt off when I came downstairs, so they just pick the lock."

This new life I'd fallen into certainly was different. None of Edward's friends knew how to pick a lock. The one time Edward managed to lock himself out of his house, on a Sunday evening, no less, he'd had to call the emergency locksmith and spent the next week moaning about the cost.

"Hey! We've come to help."

A girl's voice I didn't recognise echoed through the flat, and seconds later, a young brunette bounced into the kitchen. Nye groaned, and she pressed the corners of his mouth into a smile with her fingertips.

"Don't be such a misery guts. Where do we start?"

"We start by leaving me in peace to finish my coffee. I've been up half the night."

"Max said you caught the asshole?" She jerked her head at the man who'd appeared behind her in the doorway, a Chinese guy who would have been handsome if he'd smiled.

"We caught someone. Not sure if it's the right man. Olivia, this is Tia. She's a friend of Emmy's, and she likes to stop by and annoy everyone from time to time."

Tia stepped forward and surprised me with a hug. "I also live in Lower Foxford, so I thought I'd come and give you a hand. Well, I sort of live there. I've mostly moved to the US now." She turned back to Nye. "So, who'd you catch? Do I know them?"

Nye shrugged. "Warren Hannigan."

"The taxi driver?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously? Warren?"

"The surveillance team found him in Olivia's garden last night, plus he's been in trouble over a woman before."

"The Claire Downing thing?"

"You've heard about that?"

"Everybody at my old school knew." She shook her head and tutted. "Claire's such a bitch."

Nye raised an eyebrow. "Really? She made some very serious allegations."

"And it backfired when she realised the police needed, like, you know, evidence."