Page 44 of Her Deadly Promise

She shrugged. ‘I’m not any more.’ She went to walk past him.

‘Gina, please.’

‘What?’ she snapped.

He pushed the kitchen door closed. ‘I’m sorry for how I went about everything. I screwed up and I should have been more sensitive to how you’d feel. Please don’t hate me.’

She shook her head. ‘I don’t hate you.’ She turned to face him. ‘I hate that I’m so screwed up and I couldn’t be what you wanted. Don’t you see? I hate myself. About what I said last night. I was just a bit emotional and it’s no secret, a bit menopausal and, no, I’m not embarrassed, it’s a fact of life. What I said, forget it. I’m sorry I went on about Rosemary, too. I misread a situation and I’m an idiot.’ She knew what she’d seen Rosemary doing but this atmosphere between them had to end. Briggs would find out in his own time. ‘I’m okay now.’ A burning sensation prickled up her neck. Not now, please. She opened the fridge and leaned into it, just like O’Connor had and she took a few deep breaths. The pricking subsided. Saved by the fridge.

‘So, are we friends?’

She caught a whiff of cinnamon bun and felt her mouth watering up at the thought of sugar swilling around her mouth. ‘One step at a time, hey.’ She slammed the fridge door.

‘I err, spoke to Rosemary, about what you said you saw. She was pretty upset and thinks you’re spying on her like some crazy person. She went on and on at me for even listening to you. I guess I had to ask the question but now, I wish I hadn’t. It’s all so hard as I know you’re not those things.’

‘You’re finding it hard?’ She wanted to yell at him. Gina knew what she saw, and she was trying to bite her tongue.

‘I said I’m sorry. I did a shitty thing.’

‘Stuff this. I don’t care what your girlfriend said. That man was not her brother. Take from that what you will but I’m sick of pleasing everyone.’

She left, hurrying to the interview room where Anderson would be patiently waiting. She had it up to the brim with Briggs and Rosemary. From now on, she was going to put her feelings first. She stopped in the corridor, fanning herself with her paperwork as heat began to climb up her neck. What had she done? That total loss of control was out of character. She couldn’t go in and interview Anderson with shaking hands and a quivering voice.

As she approached the door, she listened to the man moaning from outside. ‘I’ve got a business to run. I call in and we arrange an appointment, and you aren’t ready to interview me. That’s not my fault. I’m giving it five minutes then I swear, if we haven’t started, I’m leaving. You’ll have to contact my secretary to rebook, and I tell you something, my diary is full for the next few weeks, so it’ll be your loss.’

What she wanted to do was to barge in, tell him to shut the hell up and to stop lying. Billie had been murdered and it was as if no one cared. If they all cared, they’d tell the truth and they’d find the culprit. With clenched fists, she banged the door open.

THIRTY

Gina watched as Jacob leaned back in his chair, sighing as the man went on at him. She went to open her mouth, then stopped. Calm down, Gina, she kept repeating in her head as she unclenched her fists. ‘Apologies for keeping you waiting, Mr Anderson. Something came up and we needed to speak to Meera Gupta first. As you can appreciate, we have a lot to get through so let’s get started.’ She exhaled. The rage she felt was almost all consuming, but it wouldn’t get her anywhere in the interview room. She knew that.

The vein on the side of his neck pulsed as he ground his teeth. ‘What’s Meera got to do with all this?’

‘Let’s save that for the tape.’

Jacob introduced them all before beginning.

‘Why is this being taped?’ He rubbed his unshaven chin.

‘It’s standard. This is a murder investigation, and we are interviewing people who knew Billie.’

‘Am I a suspect?’

Gina leaned in. ‘Mr Anderson, we just need to ask you a few questions. You are here on a voluntary basis.’

‘Which means I can just walk out, right now?’

Gina nodded. ‘A woman has been murdered and we need to catch whoever did this. We would appreciate your cooperation.’

‘Okay. Just get this over with so I can get back to running my business.’

‘Let’s begin with Tuesday the fourteenth of June, that’s this Tuesday. Can you talk me through your evening?’

‘Shit.’

‘What is it?’

‘Shit. I was with Meera on Tuesday evening until the early hours.’