Sea of Suspicion (16 page)

“Ah, thought I’d catch you both here.” She walked across the green carpet, spick-and-span in her uniform, and held out a file for Nick. “DNA is in.”

Nick reached out to take it, but she sensed the atmosphere and held on to the file for a moment longer than necessary. “Problem?”

“No,” Ewan and Nick said in unison.

There was no problem as long as people kept their nose out of Nick’s business. Ewan sent him a small smile and flashed his brows up in apology. Nick wondered if Ewan had any clue he might one day be in Nick’s shoes.

Of course he did.

That’s why he’d picked an argument in the first place.

Nick flicked open the file. Tracy Good had sperm from two different men in her vaginal vault, neither of whom were Jake Sizemore. Students—Tony Scott, who’d admitted a fling with Tracy, and Rafael Domenici, who hadn’t.

“Bugger.”

“What is it?” The supe asked, watching him carefully.

The feeling that he’d missed something skittered around his mind like a cockroach. “A witness who lied, boss.”

Pam shrugged, her corkscrew curls bouncing on her shoulders. “People lie to the police all the time. Is it relevant?”

Nick was still expecting a call from the Brazilian authorities following up on Rafael Domenici’s background. And the guy had an alibi for the murder he still needed to confirm. “I think I’ll check it out, remind him of the inadvisability of lying to a police officer during an investigation.” He smoothed his expression into one of conscientiousness. Not easy for a coldhearted bastard.

“Right.” The supe shook her head and shot Ewan a smile. “I’m taking an hour for lunch and thought I’d visit Amy. If it’s a good time…?”

“It is.” Ewan nodded and smiled, though his eyes still looked drawn and tired. “You know how much she appreciates your visits, ma’am.”

The supe stood as straight as a soldier on parade. “Are you kidding? I don’t come for Amy. I come for a bit of sanity away from the station.”

Nick looked away. If she hadn’t had his respect before, she had it now. Pamela Richardson was a better human being than he would ever be. He liked Amy, he really liked her. But he hated being trapped in that stifling bedroom prison.

“Right then.” Nick snatched his jacket off the back of a dining chair. Ewan looked at him and raised his brow in question. “You finish the reports, mate. I’m off to the pub. Police business.” He slapped Ewan on the shoulder.

Ewan narrowed his eyes. “Dirty work.”

“Some of us were born to suffer.”

“You’ve got that right.”

Susie was feeling pretty damn good and found it hard to concentrate on work no matter how much she told herself not to moon over Nick Archer. She printed out forms for Lily and Rafael to attend the animal handling course in Dundee next week and decided to walk the paperwork up to the main office for Jake’s signature. She couldn’t believe he was in after his wife had been charged, but maybe staying home was worse. She ducked through the coffee room, smiling at the chief technician who was brewing coffee. She didn’t want to chat because she didn’t want to be grilled or teased regarding her fledgling relationship with the man holding the department head’s wife for murder. It was guaranteed that news of her and Nick kissing outside the lab that morning would have spread like the crown-of-thorns starfish over a coral reef.

She headed up the stairs toward the admin office, paused when she heard raised voices, wondering what she’d got herself into. Marine labs were close-knit communities. But if she wanted to make a life for herself here, and she did, she needed to deal with Candace and her boss.

Steeling herself, she raised her chin and walked into the office where Candace was typing at warp speed. Susie stood quietly waiting until Candace looked up. The woman’s eyes narrowed, but Susie smiled determinedly and handed her the forms.

“I need Jake to sign these ASAP, please, so I can send them off in the afternoon mail.”

Candace tilted her head to one side like a raptor deciding whether or not to eat a mouse. She pursed her scarlet lips and took the forms from Susie with none of her usual banter, but at least she wasn’t hostile.

Jake heard Susie’s voice and came to the door of his office looking like an escaped convict. His clothes were rumpled, hair taking off in all different directions, pudgy lips pressed together as if containing sobs.

Sympathy welled up inside her. The poor man must feel terrible about what had happened.

“Susie. You need to call your mother. My wife is an American citizen. This whole situation is outrageous.”

She kept her voice neutral. “Your wife confessed to two murders.”

“My wife didn’t kill anyone. She was bullied into a confession.” He ran his hands through his hair, sweat staining his shirt. As he turned, Susie caught sight of a young woman in Jake’s office. Jake’s daughter, Callie. Callie was tall and lanky, long bones and perfect skin, mousey-colored hair and big, otherworldly eyes.

“Have you called the embassy?” Susie suggested, looking away from the girl’s intense stare.

“I tried, but no one will take my calls.” Jake’s expression turned ugly, as if the emotions inside him were eating his face from the inside out. “Why did I hire you if you won’t even make one lousy phone call?”

Susie blinked at the unexpected attack.
Okay
. “I seem to recall an entire committee hiring me, not just you, Jake. And you hired me because I’m good at my job.”

“You and plenty of others,” he jeered.

“Are you telling me I was hired because my mother is a politician?” Susie needed to know she’d gotten this job on merit, but Jake Sizemore wasn’t in the mood to assuage her ego.

He said nothing, but Callie spoke up, her voice as thin as her body. “Don’t trust her, Daddy. She’s screwing that detective.”

Susie’s jaw dropped. Why would this young woman be so rude? Susie wasn’t the one who’d admitted to killing two of Jake’s students and neither was Nick.

“My private life is none of your business and that policeman is just doing his job.” Susie took a step into Jake’s office and lowered her voice. “Maybe you should examine your own behavior.” She looked straight at Jake. “If you hadn’t acted inappropriately with students, maybe your wife wouldn’t have killed anyone.”

Jake’s eyes glittered and he stepped toward her. She smelled the testosterone in his sweat and felt the heat of his anger.

“Watch your mouth, Dr. Cooper. The university has given me its full support in this matter and those allegations are unfounded. Repeating them will earn you an official reprimand and a slander suit in court.”

Even though everyone knew it was true? Why would the university support this man?

She drew a tight breath. She thought she’d escaped politics. “What about the dead girls? Who’s supporting them?”

“Who cares?” Callie’s eyes were hard as flint. Her dad put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “They were both lying sluts.”

Outside the sky was blue, the sun blinding, the cathedral sitting high on the hill like a ruined temple. But the perfection was ruined and the balance of Susie’s world shifted, revealing a malevolent shadow.

“Where’s Niall?” Nick asked a young woman working behind the bar. She was pretty. Midnight hair, young, slim, with a smile that should have moved his blood and didn’t. He glanced at his watch and considered calling Susie. But what would he say?
I’m looking at a pretty girl and thinking of you?

“He’s in the back. I’ll go get him for you.” Her eyes lingered with interest, but he shifted his gaze away.

“Get us a pint of 80, first, would you, love?” Nick needed a drink, needed to wash away the taste of slow death and friendship. He looked around. The pub wasn’t busy, just a couple of barflies and one table of students.

The silence of his phone was beginning to piss him off. He was waiting for a return call from the Brazilian Consulate in Edinburgh. He pulled it out of his pocket, made sure he had a signal and put it away again.

“Hiya, Nick.” Niall came out of the back room. “Don’t see you in here very often.”

They played on the same Sunday league football team and Niall had worked in this bar even when Nick was an undergraduate. Niall started stacking beer bottles on low shelves, and let the pretty girl deal with the customers.

“I hear you’ve arrested someone for that murder.” Niall pulled a face. “Gave me a fright when I heard about it, what with Lily working there.”

Nick nodded. It had given him a fright too and he still couldn’t shift the apprehension.

“Lily worked here on Saturday night, right?” She’d said Rafael was with her on Saturday night which meant the guy had to have been here too.

Niall hesitated. “She did. I put her in a cab around two.”

“What about a Brazilian bloke? Tall, blue eyes and black curly hair.” Nick tapped his beer-mat on the bar. “Was he here?”

Niall’s mouth tightened and he hefted a crate up onto the granite surface. “There was a guy like that in here talking to her.”

Nick released a deep breath. Shit. He’d been sure he was onto something. He didn’t trust Rafael Domenici’s smart mouth or pretty face.

“I found him in the back room with her around eleven. I kicked him out of there and he left. I’m not even sure he bought a drink, come to think of it.” Niall took up a cloth and started wiping the bar, a frown of concentration on his face.

Nick felt a current of excitement zip along his nerves, but he was confused. “So Lily left with him? Or he came back later?”

“No, no.” Niall shook his head. “She never left the bar and that nancy-boy never came back.”

Shock rocked Nick. The world spun even as he stood motionless. Lily had lied to him. Even after everything he’d done and experienced, he’d never expected Lily to lie to him. His mobile rang and he nodded to Niall, leaving the bar to take the call. It was the Brazilian Consulate. And although the charges had been dropped, Rafael Domenici had once been arrested for rape.

By lunchtime, Susie was still too disconcerted to get any work done. She steadied her hand on the wooden banister, pressing her temple to the cool plaster wall. Should she believe her whole career had been shaped by the fact her mother was a politician? Why even bother to turn up and put in the hours if that was all that mattered? She should just put her feet up and ride the nepotistic wave. Angry tears blurred her vision as she hurried to the ladies’ room in the basement. Passing her CT room she heard bangs and crashes from inside.
Hell
. She was hanging on to her professional credibility by ragged fingernails—the last thing she needed was one of her students causing trouble.

She raised her face to the heavens and paused with her hand on the door handle of the restroom. The metal latch was worn smooth beneath her fingers, polished by a thousand female hands. Women in science had always fought discrimination. She wasn’t the only one trying to balance life and work. Life was lonely, work was hard, but she was damn well doing it.

She took a deep breath, turned and opened the door of the CT room to deal with another situation she didn’t need. But she stopped, stunned by the scene that confronted her.

Jake was demolishing her plumbing, throwing pipes on the floor, twisting PVC joints violently until they split or cracked. Pipes her hard-won research grants had paid for.

“What are you
doing?
” she yelled, rushing into the room.

He whirled. “I just got a phone call from the principal. He told me he’d received a complaint about my conduct from one of my staff.” He snapped another gray pipe over his thigh.

“I never made a complaint!”

“I want your equipment out of this room now. You had no right to move into this space.”

“Are you
nuts?
” From the dull glitter in his eyes she was afraid he might be.

He glanced over her shoulder and lowered his voice. “You got this job because I thought you might be useful, and if that failed at least I might get a good fuck.” His eyes raked her body as he advanced a step. “But you aren’t worth the effort.”

Fear hit first and she backed up a step. His eyes catalogued her reaction and satisfaction flared in their depths.

Son. Of. A. Gun. He enjoyed frightening her. She had been warned.

“Break one more piece of equipment and I will file a complaint.” Susie was known for her calm temperament, relied on for her tactful diplomacy, but right now her emotions were being trampled and she was done with being nice, composed or tactful. “I will not tolerate this sort of threatening behavior from someone who should know better.”

He bared his over-bleached teeth. “You’ll never get anywhere at this university. No secretarial support, no space, no funds, no promotion, no tenure.” He ticked the list off his fingers. “And once your two years are up I’m going to bury you so deep in teaching and admin you’ll never get another paper written. Better start looking for another job, bitch.”

Everything inside her crystallized as she drew in a quick breath and squared her shoulders. She was sick of being treated as if she was a worthless piece of trash. She advanced on her boss, drilled her finger into his chest. “I have had it with your over-inflated male ego and bullying tactics.”

He shoved her and she stumbled. Rage ruptured inside her, obliterating her logical temperament. Her fist started low, traveling in a wide arc as she swung from the hip and carried it through to his nose, pain exploding through her knuckles as she connected. But it was worth it.

Jake cupped his bleeding nose, looking more startled than wounded.

“Aye, aye, what do we have here then?” Nick blocked the doorway, smiling dangerously. The chief technician stood behind him, interest flashing across his face.

Susie’s chest heaved as fury slowly settled into a pool of horror. Had she really just assaulted her boss—in front of witnesses? Nick’s eyes narrowed in critical assessment.

“Are you all right, Susie?” He moved to stand beside her, picked up her hand, blew the skin of her knuckles to soothe the sting. Then he raised them for a kiss.

It helped.

“Do you want to press charges?”

“Yes,” Jake spluttered through blood.

“Not you, asshole.” Nick touched her face. “Are you okay?”

She hid her face in her hands, extremely embarrassed she’d used violence on another human being.

The technician came in with a mop and bucket of water to clean up the blood. Jake ripped off a bunch of tissue from a blue roll and tipped back his head, a crimson moustache staining his upper lip. “You’re ruined. I have witnesses.”

What the hell had she done?

“I didn’t see anything.” One side of Nick’s lips tugged into a cold grin.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t see anything either, boss.” The technician shrugged his shoulders in apology, but when she caught his gaze the amused gleam connected to something deep inside her and she remembered to breathe. The passionate nature she’d forced into a box as a teenager had again exploded out of control, and the usual chaos had resulted. But the results weren’t terrible or heartbreaking. Somehow, despite everything, she’d handled herself and possibly made an ally.

Jake stormed out, muttering obscenities. She looked around to assess the damage.

Nick stepped away. Gone was the concern. His eyes turned hard and flat. “I need to talk to Rafael Domenici and Lily. Any idea where I can find them?”

“Lily’s working at home, looking after her mother.” Susie thought for a moment. “I think Rafael is in his office. Want me to get him for you?”

Nick shook his head, pressed his lips into an uncompromising line that closed off all communication. “I’ll find him. Thanks.”

There was a distance about him she recognized as cop mode. He hesitated for a moment at the doorway, but didn’t turn back. The new assertive Susie decided she wasn’t going to give a damn that Nick hadn’t said goodbye.

But why was a cop looking for her students?

She started picking up pipes and reassembling the jigsaw that was her aquarium. After a few moments the technician started to help.

Nick took the steps up the spiral staircase two at a time, the structure creaking under his weight. Heads turned, students visible in the open-plan offices and desks, but he ignored everyone, searching for a mop of curly black hair. Posters of marine life were blue-tacked to the walls and embarrassing photos were pinned to a message board; a new generation of students, the same old goofy humor. He strode across the platform, found what he was looking for flirting in the middle cubicle.

“You.” He pointed his finger at Domenici then hiked his thumb over his shoulder. “Outside, now.”

The girl’s eyes widened at Nick’s tone. Rafael flashed her a reassuring smile, but there was a tenseness about him, as if he knew what was coming. Lying little tosser.

Nick led the way, shoving out the front door, glancing into Susie’s office windows. Christ, what was he doing with a woman like Susie Cooper? The guilt of using her warred with an attraction that just wouldn’t dissipate. She was going to get hurt and he was the one who was going to do it. But he couldn’t help grinning remembering how she’d punched Sizemore on the nose. Who’d have thought it?

The day was bright, a nice sunny October day, the sea a dark rippling blue. But it wasn’t dark enough to match his mood. He jumped onto the beach, all thoughts of Susie wiped away by what was to come. Lily was his family and she’d lied to him. He needed to know why.

Rafael thudded onto the sand behind him and stopped twenty yards from where they’d found Tracy Good’s battered body.

The boy lit a cigarette right-handed. “What can I do for you, Detective?”

“You lied to me.” Nick wanted to punch the insolence off his face.

Rafael rolled one muscular shoulder. “
Talvez
. Maybe,” he corrected.

“You were shagging Tracy Good.” Nick controlled his temper because he wanted to shred skin and that never looked good in a police report.

Rafael looked away and expelled a deep breath. Shrugged again as though it didn’t matter. “
Sim
. We had sex if that’s what
shagging
is.” He looked back at Nick, his face carefully blank of expression. Too blank, too controlled. “She like sex. I like sex.”

“You lied during a police investigation, Romeo. That’s obstruction of justice and I can bust your balls onto the next flight to Rio just for that.”

Rafael’s face bleached beneath his tan and a nerve ticked in his jaw. “I didn’t hurt her. I just want no trouble with the
polícia
.” He appealed to Nick with those pretty eyes, but they didn’t work on him. Nick knew what hid behind the shiny façade. A rapist. It must have shown on his face because Rafael’s expression closed up as he looked away.

“Ah, you’ve found out my
mau
past.” The words were punctuated with a hard expulsion of air. The Brazilian crushed the cigarette beneath his sneakers and picked up the butt, staring up at the sky like a martyr. Nick hoped a seagull shat on his face, but neither of them was
that
lucky.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Nick invited.

Rafael’s lip thinned and he didn’t look so pretty now. “I no care to discuss it.”

“Then you’d better pack your bags, sunshine, because I don’t have time to fuck around.” With feigned indifference Nick started back up the beach. “I’ll have your case file in half an hour anyway. Go say goodbye to your boss because—”

“
Não!
” Rafael stood rigid, his eyes burning with what looked like tears.

Poor baby
. Nick stopped walking and stared at the young man, waiting.

“I had sex with the wrong girl!” Rafael’s fingers constricted into fists as if to contain his emotions. “I was nineteen and stupid.” He stared at the sand, then back at Nick, his eyes a curious mixture of beseeching and pissed. “I picked up a girl in Copacabana and we went dancing and had sex.” He closed his eyes and raised his face to the sky. “I was drunk.”

He muttered something in Portuguese that sounded like a prayer, opened his eyes and looked straight into Nick’s eyes. “She was fourteen and the authorities would have done nothing except the little
puta
found out my family was rich and cried rape.”

Anger settled low in Nick’s stomach. “You had sex with a fourteen-year-old and expect me to feel sorry for
you?
”

Rafael spat. “Feel sorry for her if you want, she said she was legal, and I was drunk enough to believe her.” Rafael peered down his arrogant nose. “I didn’t ask her to
chupar meu pau
.”

Nick didn’t know what
chupar meu pau
was, but figured it wasn’t a peck on the cheek. “The charges were dropped?”

Silently Rafael drew a line in the sand, stood looking down at it. The wind was getting up, cooling the temperature, cooling Nick’s temper.

“My father paid her off.” The self-loathing on the boy’s face made Nick pause.

“There is a saying in Brazil. Prisons are for BPPs—black people, poor people and prostitutes.” Rafael’s lip twisted. “My father was proud of me that day.”

“So you came over here to screw older girls?”

Rafael laughed, his eyes traveling slowly down Nick’s length as if to disconcert him, but Nick was too old for that crap. “Perhaps. I like sex, but I am not a violent man, Detective.”