Page 78 of Crocodile Tears

He squared his shoulders and did as he was ordered. “Esther.” He inclined his head at his boss. “I didn’t know you were in here.”

“With the press laying siege to us outside, I thought I should see what all the fuss is about – it seems to be related to that young man in there.” She jerked her head at where Alexander was sitting at the table in the next room. “Having seen him in action, I can understand their interest.”

Josiah crossed his arms over his chest defensively. “Did you watch the whole interrogation?”

“Yes, although at times I wasn’t sure who was interrogating whom.”

“Alexander Lytton is a clever man. He likes to get into your head and use what he thinks he knows about you to throw you off your game – it gives him an illusion of power and control.”

“Hmm.” Esther glanced in at Alexander again. “It didn’t always look like an illusion from where I was sitting, Joe.”

“I let him run with it.” He shrugged. “I’m trying to work out who he really is.”

Her dark eyes lit up. “You think he’s lying?”

“Oh, I think he’s an accomplished liar – I just can’t work out what he’s lying about – and why.”

“Surely the most obvious thing is Dacre’s murder.”

“You’d think so, but actually that’s the one thing I sense he’s being truthful about.”

In the next room, Alexander moved his head and looked directly at the mirror as if he could see them, which was impossible.

“So, you don’t think he did it?” Esther pushed.

“No,” he said without hesitation, surprising himself with his certainty.

“Based on what?”

“It doesn’t feel right.”

“Feel?” she repeated incredulously. “Am I talking to the same Josiah Raine who always follows the facts? Who meticulously examines everything for absolute proof before presenting me with a clinically precise report? Is this the man who despises investigators who work on a ‘hunch’, or a ‘gut feeling’? Who always insists his team follow the evidence, the whole evidence, and nothing but the evidence, so help them God?” She raised an eyebrow, a little grin playing at the corners of her lips.

Josiah raised his hands in mock surrender. “You know me too well, Esther.”

“Well, you and I go back a long way.” She smiled at him affectionately. “Do you know why I hired you, all those years ago?”

“I assumed it was my excellent record in the Military Police.”

“That helped, but no. I get applications like yours every day of the week. What made yours stand out was the fact you’d once arrested your own husband for disobeying orders – an arrest that led directly to the end of his military career. I knew that someone who’d do that was someone who would always put the law first and his own feelings second.”

Josiah stared at her, startled. “All these years, and I had no idea that was the deciding factor.”

“I’ve never regretted that decision, Joe, but I am intrigued about these ‘feelings’ you’re having now.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Do I have to spell it out?” Esther glanced through the mirror at their prisoner. “I mean, look at him. He’s a beautiful man, with the kind of charisma you could eat with a spoon. So maybe those feelings you mentioned aren’t about the case at all.”

Josiah stood stiffly to attention. “If you’re doubting my professionalism,or if you think I’d let a pretty face distract me from getting to the truth, then you don’t know me at all,” he retorted in clipped tones.

“Oh, get down off your high horse,” Esther scolded. “Of course I know you, Joe. You can’t work with a person for nine years and not get a glimpse of what makes them tick. I know how much you loved Peter and how hard it’s been for you since his death, so I’m not accusing you of falling for any cute young thing who bats his eyelashes at you. What I’m saying is, Alexander Lytton is a skilled manipulator. He’s beautiful, charming, and he’s got under your skin – but maybe, after all these years of self-imposed purdah, you want someone to come along and do just that.”

“For God’s sake, even assuming you’re right – do you seriously think I’d be tempted byhim?” Josiah jerked his head contemptuously at Alexander. “That man has screwed up every which way under the sun. His entire life has been a fuck-up.”

“While yours has been a study in order and self-discipline.” Esther’s gaze flickered over his cut face and down to his gloved hands. “I’ll say one thing for Lytton – I think he knows how to handle you, and that unsettles you because you’re so used to being the one in control. Maybe that’s why he fascinates you so much; it’s been a long time since anyone ran rings around you, Joe.”

“He didn’t run rings around me,” he said tightly.

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