Chapter 29
Harvey watched her fall asleep, for once doing what she was told without argument.
She was learning.
She’d probably be horrified if he said that to her. He’d tell her tomorrow just for her reaction.
Somehow he’d just known that underneath her blank looks when she’d been with Rick, was someone with some fire and sass, and he was more than pleased to see it coming out of her now.
It meant she felt safe with him, which is exactly how she should feel.
He kept watching her sleep. He was buzzing now, unable to fall asleep himself, despite what he’d said to her.
His phone started ringing, and he rolled over to grab it before it could wake her, although she certainly seemed to be deeply asleep.
Sitting up, he frowned as he saw who was calling and walked out onto the landing, shutting the bedroom door behind him so he wouldn’t disturb her.
“Sam, what is it? What’s going on?” he asked. Sam was currently watching the clinic.
“The doctor left the clinic in a rush about an hour ago,” Sam said.
“I followed him back to his house. Then I got curious about what he was doing going home this early, since he hasn’t been going home until two or three in the morning every other day.
The curtains were open so I could see him, and he was throwing his clothes around.
Looks to me like he’s packing to leave, and I don’t think it’s on holiday, with the way he’s rushing. ”
“Fuck, he’s leaving? All right. I’m on my way. Whatever you do, don’t let him leave. Have you called Ronan?”
“Yeah, he’s on his way as well. Paddy too.”
“Good. I’ll be there in fifteen.” There shouldn’t be much traffic on the road at this time of night.
And he didn’t intend to stick to the speed limit.
Harvey snuck back into the room and grabbed some clothes, taking them into the hallway to get dressed. Then he headed out to his car.
Hopefully, he’d be back before Lily woke up.
He just had to hope that she didn’t have a nightmare or anything. It was difficult to leave her. Especially at night when she was more vulnerable.
However, it seemed the doctor was feeling desperate and that meant they might be able to get some information from him.
His phone rang as he was five minutes out, and he answered it. “Sam, the doctor’s still there, right?”
“I pulled back so he didn’t spot me, but his car hasn’t left. However, a woman just turned up in a Bentley. Older lady. Wait, I just spotted Max.”
Max was the man that Ronan had assigned to watch Lily’s mother. Obviously, the older woman was Roberta.
“If either of them tried to leave, stop them. Otherwise, stay well back. I’m two minutes out.”
Suddenly a piercing scream filled the phone, and he actually startled. That was a feminine scream.
“That’s the woman,” Sam said. “What do you want me to do?”
“Fuck,” he said. “Go in with Max. I’ll be right behind you. Be careful.”
As he pulled up in front of the doctor’s house, Ronan pulled in behind him. He and Paddy jumped out of Ronan’s car.
“Where are Max and Sam?” Ronan asked.
“There was a scream from inside,” he explained. “So they’ve gone in. Sounded like it was a woman.”
Ronan nodded and glanced around. “No lights have come on. Let’s go in. Hopefully, nobody’s hiding in the dark calling the cops.”
“Want me to wait out here?” Paddy asked.
Ronan shook his head. “I’ll send Max out to wait. Let’s go see what we’re dealing with first.”
Max greeted them at the door and nodded toward the stairs. “Upstairs in the doctor’s bedroom, it’s not pretty. He’s dead. Throat’s been slit.”
Shit. Who the fuck killed him? Roberta?
“What about Roberta?” Harvey asked. “Was it her? Did she kill him?”
Max shook his head. “I don’t think so. There’s no blood on her, and when we found her, she was just standing there staring at him in shock.
She hadn’t been in there very long and the knife is nowhere to be found.
Not that it’s easy to get a straight answer out of her.
She’s up there with Sam. He’s trying to keep her from leaving.
She’s totally lost her mind. If she had one to begin with. ”
“Go outside, monitor for any neighbors that look like they’re waking up, or if you hear any sirens,” Ronan ordered. “We’ll go figure out what to do.”
They headed upstairs and toward where they could hear Lily’s mother screeching at Sam.
“What do you think you are doing? Let me go this instant. I demand it. I’m going to call the police and have you thrown in jail for what you’ve done.”
Ronan stepped into the bedroom without hesitation. “And what exactly do you think Sam has done?”
Roberta startled and turned toward them. She didn’t look anything like she had the other times he’d seen her. She’d always looked very put together, with not a hair out of place. Her clothes were always expensive and well-pressed.
But not now. Today, her hair was down in wispy waves. She didn’t have an ounce of makeup on, and she looked even older than her years. She was wearing a pair of wrinkly pants and an oversized sweater that hung on her thin frame.
She looked like hell.
“You,” she said, pointing at Harvey. “This is all your fault.”
He raised his eyebrows and glanced over at the doctor, who lay on the floor, bleeding out from his neck.
“Yep, someone definitely slit his throat,” Ronan said, walking over and glancing along the body. “Question is, who?”
They all turned to Roberta.
“You think I did this? Of course I didn’t do this. Why would I slit David’s throat? How would I even do it?”
That was actually a good point. She was far smaller than David, and probably not used to wielding a knife.
“Somebody who’s pissed off, maybe? Doesn’t look like he interrupted a robbery.”
On the bed was an open suitcase with several items of clothing already packed, and next to him was a pair of trousers and a shirt.
He had definitely been leaving town, but the question is, why now?
And who killed him?
“Did either of you see anyone?” Ronan asked Sam and Roberta.
Sam shook his head. “No, I didn’t see anyone.
The doctor left the clinic a few hours earlier than he usually does, so I followed him back here.
I was curious about why he’d come home so early.
I came closer and saw him moving frantically back and forth in front of the window.
That’s when I decided to call Harvey in case something was going on. ”
“I was about five minutes out when Sam called me to let me know that Roberta had turned up with Max following her,” Harvey explained.
Ronan nodded. Then he stood and moved toward Roberta. “And you? Did you see anyone?”
She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “And why would I tell you anything? We should call the police. A man was murdered here tonight.”
“Yes, a man who I’m guessing you conspired with in order to drug your daughter.”
Her eyes widened, and she gaped at Ronan, swallowing heavily.
“I’m sure the police would be very interested to hear that, wouldn’t they? Paddy, why don’t you give them a call?” Ronan suggested.
“No, no,” she cried. “Stop. Don’t call them.”
“Then you’re going to have to cooperate, aren’t you?” Ronan said. “Unless you want to find yourself in a world of trouble. Do you know who I am?”
“You’re Ronan Gallagher. So what?”
“So you should know that there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my family. You’ve messed with the wrong family, Mrs. St. Clary. Your only option now is to come fully clean, and maybe we will show some leniency.”
“I don’t know what you mean. I haven’t messed with your family at all. I have nothing to do with them. He is the one who stole my daughter. He kidnapped her, so perhaps you need to speak with him.” She pointed at Harvey.
“Your daughter is now part of my family.”
Her mouth opened and closed several times. Apparently, she wasn’t expecting him to say that.
“What are you talking about? No, she isn’t.”
“Lily is mine,” Harvey stated. “She’s been mine since the moment I met her, but now she’s officially mine. She’s part of our family, and the two of you wronged her.”
“You have no proof that we’ve done anything to her,” Roberta rallied.
“We’ll soon find out everything,” Ronan promised. “And when I do, you’ll wish that you had come clean. Because I hate having my time wasted, and I hate people who don’t immediately give me what I want.”
Lily’s mother looked nervously around, then down to the doctor, and back up. “Someone murdered David.”
“They did,” Ronan replied. “Do you have any idea who or why?”
She shook her head. “I mean, I suppose, with what he was up to, he’d made a number of enemies.”
Harvey wanted to take over the questioning, but he knew Ronan would have a better chance of getting answers out of her. She seemed to fear him. She just got angry with Harvey.
She really was a stupid bitch. Because Harvey was more likely to strangle her to death than Ronan was.
“We know what was in the pills that the doctor prescribed Lily. We also know that Lily spent time in Doctor Wallace’s clinic at least once a fortnight for some sort of checkup.
I talked to one of the doctor’s nurses tonight.
But she said that she only saw Lily a few times over the last ten months. Why is that?”
Wait, what? He hadn’t told Harvey that. They really needed to have a chat about Ronan going off on his own, without speaking to him first.
“It happened suddenly,” Paddy said to him quietly. “We just got the opportunity and seized it. We were about to call you when we got the call from Max.”
Harvey nodded. Fine. He could understand that.
“She also told us that the few interactions she’s had with Lily, she was practically comatose, unable to do anything for herself.
But when she left, she was walking, moving around by herself and seemed fine.
This woman thought it was odd, but she was paid well to keep her mouth shut.
Until recently, that is, when the payments stopped.
Why did the doctor stop paying his staff, I wonder? Is it something to do with Lily?”