Chapter 9
Bumbling fool. The words floated around Emma’s head as she watched Jamie Sinclair disappear round the side of the house. Taking a deep breath, she tried calling Sergeant Brodie to update him and wasn’t overly disappointed when he didn’t answer.
He’d no doubt call her back quickly, but she should have time for a personal call in between.
To make certain she was out of earshot of the uniforms, she walked to the front of the house and crossed the road. Farther along, a couple of dog walkers stared at the house with their heads close together, clearly speculating about what had happened. She turned away and put the phone to her ear.
Cal answered after a few rings.
“Something weird is going on,” she said, not bothering with a greeting.
“Aye. The café was full of chatter about it just now. Poor Mrs Langford.”
“Did you know her?”
“No. Never met her, but I’ve heard about her from Moira.”
She debated asking how the information had spread so quickly, then decided against it. Why was she even surprised at the speed of gossip? “That’s not what’s weird,” she said.
“Sorry, I forgot. Death in the morning isn’t anything out of the ordinary for you. For us mere mortals it causes a bit of a stir.”
“I met him,” Emma said, ignoring Cal’s blethering.
“Ooh, now why didn’t you say so? That’s way more exciting than dead bodies. At least if my assumption is correct that the him you’re referring to is the love of your life?”
She squeezed the bridge of her nose. “What the heck are you talking about?”
“What other him would you be talking about if not your soulmate? Have you really met your life partner just this morning?”
“I bloody hope not,” she muttered. “Can you be serious for a minute? I met the guy staying in Moira’s house. And there’s something really odd about him.”
“Jamie? No. He’s sound.”
“You’ve met him?”
“Not yet. I’m basing my opinion on his food choices. I really can’t fault his selection of cereals. Meat eater too, so that’s a bonus. He had an excellent steak in the fridge.”
“Oh my god, Cal!” She dropped her chin to her chest. “Have you been in the house when he wasn’t there?”
“I knocked first. Wanted to introduce myself but he was out.”
“So you let yourself in?”
“It’s more our house than his.”
“Cal! You can’t let yourself in when he’s not there.”
His laughter rumbled in her ear. “Next you’ll be telling me I can’t help myself to his cereal.”
“You did not!”
“I stayed away from his steak, so I thought that was very controlled of me. Mostly because Skye insisted that stealing his steak would be too obvious. His cereal going down quickly will just make him question his sanity.”
“You had Skye with you?” She sighed heavily and paced along the road.
“We wanted to say hello to Misty.”
She shrugged. That was fair.
“What’s so odd about him?” Cal asked.
“He’s an adult, for one thing.”
“What were you expecting, a toddler? Because I’m not sure a small child would manage to lug a toolbox around.”
“I was expecting a messed-up teenager. But he’s our age, and he seems . . . cheerful.”
“That doesn’t sound like a massive concern.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” she said impatiently. “When has one of Moira’s projects not been an emotional mess and in serious need of psychiatric care?”
“Right. I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but you’re on speaker. Skye’s with me.”
Emma winced. “Hi, Skye!”
“Hi, Emma.” Her voice sounded close to the phone.
“I didn’t mean you.” Actually, she had, but she’d also been referring to herself and Cal. And a fair few others too.
“It’s all right,” Skye said. “Probably a fair assessment.”
She took a deep breath. “Anyway, apart from the fact that this guy might have killed a woman with some dodgy repair work, he doesn’t seem like someone with issues.”
Silence hung for a moment.
“He might have done what?” Cal asked. “Wait, where did you meet him? Where are you?”
“At Mrs Langford’s house. He was the one who found her. Lying dead beside a broken banister rail which he was supposed to have fixed yesterday.”
“Woah. I thought she just fell down the stairs.”
“No. She fell from the upstairs landing. A straight drop down to the floor below. At the moment it’s not clear exactly how or why the rail gave way, but a few things aren’t adding up.”
“You think someone killed her?”
“We’re looking into the possibility that it wasn’t a straightforward accident.”
“And is Jamie a suspect?”
“Officially, he’s a person of interest.”
“And unofficially?”
A small smile lifted her lips. “There’s no way he intentionally had anything to do with it. The guy’s a wet blanket.”
“I feel as though you’re being harsh.”
“He also can’t take a joke. He’s got no sense of humour.”
Cal’s amusement was clear in the lilt of his voice. “You realise it’s not always clear when you’re joking. That might be a you problem and not him.”
“It’s definitely him. I cracked some great jokes.”
“Your delivery was probably off.”
“Shut up.”
“Based on his food choices, I have high hopes for the two of us becoming friends.”
“I suggest you rethink that.”
“We’ll find out soon enough. I’m almost at Moira’s house.”
“He won’t be there yet. He only just left here.”
“I’ll try not to eat his steak before he gets back.”
She closed her eyes briefly. “You’re going to wait inside, aren’t you?”
“Aye. It’s chilly out.”
“You can’t . . .” She paused, thinking. “On second thoughts, I wish I could be there to see his face when he arrives home to you in the house. He’s probably going to wet himself.”
The thought made her smile for the second time that morning – which might just be a record.