Chapter 8 #2
Nell poured hot water into the tea pot. “That’d make the bees happy.”
“I’m all for saving bees.”
Nell recognised that Mattie was trying to put her at ease, just as Nell was used to doing with crime victims whilst also coaxing them to talk.
Mattie winning the various press and media awards Nell had read about last night had been no fluke.
She was skilled at deflecting the conversation, while her relaxed body language, alongside those compelling eyes of hers, charmed and persuaded.
Nell’s skin tingled. Admit it. You’re attracted to her.
You want to trust Mattie the journalist and bed Mattie the woman.
Boiling water splashed on the counter instead of the mug. “Bloody hell.”
“You okay?” asked Mattie.
“Fine.” Her cheeks were as warm as the mugs. She set them on the island and sat on a stool next to Mattie. “What did you want to show me?”
Mattie opened the photo app on her phone. “You have to see the photos in context because of the timing.”
Nell quelled a desire to snatch the phone and instead looked dutifully at a photo of Mattie’s feet clad in walking boots.
“I took that without realising while I was ringing 999. Look at the three others I also took unintentionally.” There was a blurred picture of a wheelie bin next to a wooden fence, another of the sky, and one of a man climbing over a fence with the burning house in the background.
Mattie pointed at the last one. “I took it at 10:58 a.m. I checked my phone call listings and it shows I rang 999 at the same time. So it had to have been taken at the scene.”
Nell frowned. “Who is he?”
“Good question.” Mattie zoomed in on the picture. “I interviewed a lot of the local residents, and he wasn’t one of them. Nor is it the neighbour who helped to rescue the mum and her kid.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Thoughts raced through Nell’s mind as she worked through myriad possibilities. “Can I look at all your photos and video footage from the fire in sequence?”
“Sure.” Mattie handed her the phone.
Nell flicked through them. The stranger was turning away from the fire and was clearly anxious to get away.
Could he be the arsonist? There were dark smudges across his high forehead and cheeks.
It was possible that they were flashback wounds caused when he’d used petrol or some other kind of accelerant.
If only the photo was clearer. Her heart sped up.
Having evidence of a suspect at the scene of the crime was invaluable.
Even if there was an innocent explanation, they needed to speak to him as part of the investigation.
“Are you sure you didn’t see him at any other time? ”
Mattie frowned. “Not that I can remember.”
Nell honed in on the tremor in Mattie’s voice. “Are you doubting yourself?”
“There was so much going on and the smoke... It was...triggering.” Mattie shuddered, her eyes darting away from Nell.
Nell’s heart contracted at the sudden look of fear on Mattie’s face. Clearly the traumatic events in Kenya still affected her. She wanted to hug Mattie but reminded herself she was on duty, and physical touch might not be welcomed. “These photos have the metadata attached to them, I presume?”
“Yes. I always keep the time and location switched on.” An element of certainty returned to Mattie’s tone, and she lifted her chin.
“I’m going to need to do this officially, of course. I’ll get all of your footage and a witness statement from you, but for now, could you email me the photo of our mystery man, please? I need to share it with my colleagues in CID as soon as possible.”
“Sure.” Mattie typed out Nell’s email address and attached the photo. “Done.”
“Thank you.” Nell forwarded the email to the head of the CID team and highlighted her suspicions about the black smudges on the potential suspect’s face.
“Could you keep me in the loop as to whether the photo is useful and how the investigation is progressing as a whole?”
Nell’s jubilant mood from the possibility that Mattie’s inadvertent photo might be the highly prized breakthrough came crashing down. Mattie was a journalist: of course she wanted something in return. “I thought this wasn’t your story anymore.”
“Yes and no.”
Nell failed to keep impatience out of her tone. “Care to explain?”
“I’m keeping tabs on events. My gut instinct tells me there’s a better story behind the story.”
“Ah, a journalist with a theory.” Nell couldn’t prevent the irritation from bleaching into her voice. “I’m struggling to understand why a journalist of your calibre is interested in a non-fatal house fire in a seaside town, which many of your viewers would struggle to find on a map.”
“You do our viewers a disservice.” Mattie folded her arms over her chest in a move that shrieked defiance. “I’m intrigued as to why you’re involved.”
Nell clenched her jaw. “Excuse me?”
“As you said yourself, it was, thankfully, a non-fatal house fire. Nothing to see here, move along. So why send in the cavalry with someone of your high rank? That intrigues me.”
“Because?” Nell asked, her voice intentionally sharp.
“Because it’s what you’re not saying. Truths are often found in the words that people leave out.
I’m going to take a punt that this wasn’t just a block of bedsits.
It was a safe house. Witness protection?
Domestic violence shelter? Most likely the latter, as it appears the residents were women and children.
” Mattie gestured at the photo. “There’s a strong chance of him being the arsonist. And if I’m right about the house being a refuge, then I’d say there’s a huge likelihood of there being a link between him and a woman who was living there. ”
“You’re making an assumption,” Nell said. Mattie spoke with far too much conviction, and her accuracy grated.
“Almost certainly the correct one.” Mattie gave her a small smile. “How’s Lexi doing?”
Nell steeled her gaze and willed her face not to betray her shock that Mattie knew Lexi’s name.
“I was there, Nell. I saw it happen. I heard one of the women shouting to Lexi when she was trapped by the flames. You were very careful not to name her, so I chose not to either.”
Damn. Nell had to put a stop to this. “Does your news editor know about this photo?”
“I’ve told them, yes.”
That triggered alarm bells. “This is potentially incriminating evidence, and you can’t splash it all over your news bulletins–”
“I’m not some kid fresh out of university like Rosie. I know how it works.”
“It’d be remiss of me not to check.” Nell inclined her head. “The last thing we need is trial by media, especially social media. It can be a massive thorn in our sides in cases like these.”
“Cases like these being what, specifically?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.” No way was Nell going to veer from the script.
Mattie huffed. “Don’t look at me so suspiciously.
You can trust me, you know? I told you about knowing Lexi’s name not to show off but to prove that I can be discreet.
I’m not a gossip columnist. I’m an established and respected journalist. I’ve kept more secrets and confidences than you could imagine.
You don’t have to treat me like one of those thorns in your side.
” She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been burned by a journalist before, haven’t you?
What did they do? Include off-the-record information in their story? Reveal you as their source?”
She was so scarily close to the truth that Nell only just managed to hold in the gasp rising in her throat, but she wouldn’t be cowed.
“We’re not going to swap notes, if that’s what you’re after.
There’s certain information that I cannot share, because it might have a detrimental effect on the investigation.
Nor is it good practice to socialise with witnesses. ”
“Yet here we are. I think you’ll find the waters are already muddied, Chief Inspector.” Mattie’s lips twitched, and she arched her eyebrows.
Nell recognised it as an obvious attempt to lighten the tension, but she’d had enough.
Seeing both sides of Mattie juxtaposed like this was too much for her tired but wired brain to process.
Before she could retort, the kitchen door swung open, and Graham walked in, followed by Rosie.
She wore a red vest and cycling shorts that showed off a lot of tanned thigh.
She recalled Angie saying something about a puncture and Graham going to Rosie’s rescue.
Rosie directed a full-wattage grin at Mattie. “Mum said we’d find you here.”
“Thanks for saving us from plumbing hell, Mattie.” Graham scratched his salt and pepper beard. “You’re not getting much of a relaxing holiday, are you? Dreadful business, that fire in Paignton. I saw your report on TV.”
Rosie coughed over-dramatically. “And read the front-page splash written by your daughter?”
“Of course I did, sweetie.” He ruffled Rosie’s hair like she was a toddler, and she pushed him away playfully.
“It helped that I got to interview you as an eyewitness, Mattie.” Rosie beamed at her. “My editor was very pleased.”
“And I was very pleased that you managed to quote me verbatim,” said Mattie.
Rosie widened her eyes. “You read my story?”
“Of course.”
Nell exchanged a knowing look with Graham at Rosie’s doe-eyed gaze. Talk about hero-worship. Rosie never had been any good at keeping a poker face. It was part of her girlish charm, even if she was twenty-three now and not the exuberant nine-year-old Nell had regularly babysat.
Graham went upstairs to investigate the plumbing crisis, but Rosie loitered in the kitchen, making it impossible for Nell to continue the conversation with Mattie. Considering that Mattie was an expert at talking anyone into a corner, that wasn’t a bad thing.
Rosie grinned. “There’s a group of us going to an LGBTQ night at a cocktail bar tomorrow. Would you like to come, Mattie? Everyone would love to meet you.” She smiled coyly. “You’d make me super popular too.”
Mattie laughed. “I’m sure you don’t need my help to get noticed.”
Rosie leaned on the kitchen island in a pose that showed off her athletic body. “So, are you up for it?”
Nell gripped the handle of her mug so tightly, her fingers almost cramped.
Since when had Rosie become such an outrageous flirt?
Nell pushed her stool back, and the metal legs scraped against the floor.
“You’ll have to excuse me. I need to get back to the station.
” She gave Mattie a pointed look. “I’d appreciate your discretion. ”
Mattie nodded. “Could you at least keep me in the loop?”
“Operational demands always take priority. I won’t promise anything.
” She stalked out of the kitchen in full chief-inspector-in-charge mode.
Her uniform gave her the mental strength to at least give an impression she was in control, but once in the car, the professional front she’d put up gave way, and she slumped in the seat.
Bloody hell. She was jealous of Rosie, of all people.
Why? Because she’d made a play for Mattie.
What did that say about Nell? Somehow, Mattie’s vulnerability in the wake of her faint had caused a breach in the wall Nell surrounded herself with.
That mustn’t happen again. Work came first, and she needed her life to be calm and without complications.
Except Mattie was a complication she couldn’t stop thinking about. Try harder. Or face the consequences.