Inspector Rames

Chapter 61

The next morning, our routine went much smoother than the last: I did not bleed on the breakfast or break anything. As we sat at the kitchen table and ate our toast, I described my hen party in more detail. Alex listened without taking his eyes off me, his lips set in a sensual smile. Everything felt a little more settled in the universe again.

We went to Rise & Grinder for caffeine. Emz and Indigo were working, and they'd heard all about the arrests we'd made the previous night with Cadium. Emz seemed especially interested in what I'd been doing on the backstreet and why I'd been walking around with no shoes on. I explained both. She quickly decided that when she got married, she was also going to play laser tag at her hen party.

It prompted me to message Nina as we left. Thank you for such an amazing night. I hope you don't feel TOO shitty this morning.

We walked to Levi's flat, situated in the same grotty neighbourhood as Iberia's. On a day that was even duller than usual, it looked doubly depressing. It felt like it should have been six in the morning instead of nine, and even with caffeine in my system, I wanted to be in bed. My eyes were aching and gritty. My feet were sore from dancing.

We entered Levi's building, and my sergeant rang the bell to his flat. "May we come in?"

A camera screen emerged from the door. "Let me ask Levi."

At last, we'd found him.

Levi said nothing over the intercom, but the door swung open. He was standing in the hallway, his hands shoved into his pockets and his biceps straining against his t-shirt. He had a nasty black eye and a bloody scrape across his chin, and his eyes were wild with uncertainty.

"Morning," he said slowly. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I left several messages last night asking you to come down to the station," Alex said, his tone cutting. "We tried tracking you, but you were under a blanket block."

"You called in sick to Underworld Eclipse," I added, "but you weren't cosied up at home. You were at a street fight, Levi."

"No."

Alex fished the evidence bag out of his pocket and held it up in the light. The cracked tabphone gleamed. "You dropped this when you fled."

Our suspect paled.

"Levi Ford," I said, "I am arresting you on suspicion of affray. You do not have to say anything, but --"

Alex's earpiece buzzed. He shot me an apologetic look and stepped back into the corridor. By the time I'd cuffed Levi, Alex was back again.

His eyes narrowed as he regarded Levi, who by now was as white as a wedding dress. Then he muttered in my ear: "There's been another murder."

***

The quaint charm of Jade's Cakes had been crushed under the physical evidence of the tragedy. Electro-tape stretched across the door, and a PRB was on guard beneath the antique sign. Next to it, Lavender Jones the wedding planner was standing with DC Laney, shivering in the cold wind.

"She was just lying there," Lavender said as we approached. "She looked so horrified... Oh, Inspector Rames."

We stopped. Lavender's tawny skin was a little cooler, and her chocolate-and-caramel hair was swept away from her face. She was dressed in a plain beige trench coat, but gemstones still gleamed on her fingers as she linked them together.

"You found her?" I said.

"Yes." Lavender's lips quivered. She touched my shoulder. "It was awful, Inspector."