Chapter 23 #2
“You watch what you say!” I hissed. Tears pressed against my throat, but I didn’t try to swallow them down.
They weren’t tears of grief but tears of rage.
They didn’t make me weak—they made me strong.
“My sister is dead, and you’re doing nothing.
Nothing! Because some rich wanker has slipped you money to make sure the case disappears into a drawer somewhere, unsolved.
How much did they pay you? How much is my sister’s life worth?
Enough to buy you a fancy new suit, by the looks of it.
” I brushed my hand over Detective Carter’s shoulder as if to remove a piece of lint.
She took a step back. “Miss Claymore! I must warn you.”
“What?” I barked, not caring who noticed.
We were still in the police station lobby, but why not let Detective Carter’s colleagues find out that she was corrupt?
“I’m only telling the truth. You won’t get away with taking a bribe.
I will find out who killed my sister, and afterwards I’ll find evidence that you accepted a payoff! ”
“Miss Claymore!” Detective Carter hissed again. Her face was red with rage. “Please leave, otherwise I’m afraid I’ll have to arrest you.”
“Do it,” I provoked. Lava flowed under my skin, waking an urge in me to hit something. Someone. Detective Carter. I clenched my fists. “Go on, then. I’m not afraid of you!”
“Grace,” Ethan intervened. He stepped beside me and placed a soothing hand on my shoulder. I could feel its warmth through my coat. “Let’s go. There’s no point. Getting locked up won’t help Amy either.”
Detective Carter nodded. “You should listen to your friend.”
I didn’t want to leave. I wanted a confession.
I wanted to keep pressing Detective Carter until my accusations brought down her wall of lies and the truth came to light.
But Ethan was right. Ending up in a police cell wouldn’t get us anywhere.
It would only cause damage. Detective Carter would probably never speak to me again, but that was hardly a loss.
Her lips had been sealed with money anyway.
“Come on,” Ethan said calmly.
He took my hand and led me to the exit. We didn’t stop until we were out of sight of the police station.
When Ethan turned to me, I realised my view was still blurred with tears of rage.
I tried to blink them away, but it didn’t work.
Ethan pulled a tissue from his jacket pocket and handed it to me.
I dabbed at my eyes, but it was pointless—fresh tears kept coming.
I was still too angry. My stomach ached from all the built-up resentment.
“Take a deep breath in.”
I filled my lungs with air.
“And out.”
I obeyed and repeated the process.
“Better?” he asked, squeezing my hand, which he still held firmly.
I shook my head.
He gave a dry laugh. “Fair enough. That didn’t exactly go to plan.”
It was a complete understatement. I couldn’t believe I’d lost my composure like that. But I found it even harder to believe that someone who had sworn to enforce law and order would stand on the side of injustice. “I can’t wrap my head around how brazenly she lied to us.”
“That’s the magic of bribery.”
“Isn’t she ashamed?”
“Probably not. You have no idea how flexible people’s morals can become when money’s involved.”
Money mattered, especially if you didn’t have it—I knew that.
Kate had told me about her time living on the streets, how she’d had to fight to survive every single day.
But I was certain Detective Carter earned a decent enough salary without having to resort to bribery.
Still, some people always wanted more. I hoped she’d choke on her greed one day.
“What do we do now?”
“We keep going,” Ethan said with a shrug, as if it were the only logical answer. “That was a setback, but we won’t let it beat us. We still have my list of suspects. I’ll bet a hundred pounds we’ll solve this case ourselves by May.”
I frowned. “Only a hundred pounds? Are you broke?”
“A thousand.”
I looked at him sceptically.
He rolled his eyes playfully. “Fine. Ten thousand.”
Thanks to him, the anger that had been burning so fiercely in me just moments before shrank to a tiny flame. A flame that motivated rather than destroyed. Because Ethan was right. There was no reason to give up just because this lead was a dead-end.
“Sounds good,” I said, even though he must have known I was only joking and would never take his money, even if he wouldn’t miss it. “But what if we really do make it by May, and I lose? I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Then you can work off your debt to me.”
“Let me guess—you’d want me naked and on my knees for that?”
He put a hand to his chest. “Aw, you know me so well.”
I didn’t mean to laugh, but I couldn’t help it. He was just so ridiculous.
He looked at me with a sparkle in his eyes, gently stroking the back of my hand with his thumb. The touch made me want to throw my arms around his neck and hold him close. But when Ethan’s phone vibrated in his jacket pocket, I suppressed the urge.
He reached for his phone, tearing his eyes off me to read the message that had just come in. A furrow appeared between his eyebrows, and I watched the smile gradually slip from his face.
“What is it?”
He raised his head, and this time, when he looked at me, there was no hint of confidence in his expression—only concern. “I need to get back to the hotel immediately.”