Page 142 of Ace My Heart

“Did you or Amanda come and tidy for me?” I asked.

Brad shook his head. “It was your mum. I came over the morning after, and she was here, mopping your floors. She said she felt like she had to do something useful because she felt so helpless, seeing you unconscious in the hospital.”

Tears welled, but I managed to blink them back. A big chat with Mum was long overdue. We hadn’t talked frankly with each other in … I couldn’t remember when. I could barely remember Dad, I’d been so young when he died. But I’d never even wondered how it had affected Mum over the years.

“You want me to make you a cuppa?” Brad asked.

I shook my head. “I think I just need to have tonight to settle back in. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?”

Brad paused, then nodded, taking my bag through to the bedroom, then heading for the door. “You can call me any time, you know. Middle of the night, I don’t care. If you need me, you call.”

I walked over to him, hugging him as tight as I could with my good arm. “Thanks for everything, Brad. I love you, you know.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Facing The Truth

Nothing was better than a cup of tea made just the way you like it, especially after drinking the dirt water they call tea in hospital.

Connor was curled on my lap and I was ignoring the increasing throb in my left shoulder. I wasn’t ready to take one of the pain pills they’d sent me home with, because I was sick and tired of sleeping.

My phone was on the lounge beside me. I’d ordered some Indian on Uber Eats and every time I picked it up to check the delivery status, I found myself straying to my text messages and staring blankly at the cursor as it flashed in the new message bar under Joel’s last message.

Call me

It was sent the same time he left the voicemail.

I wanted to text him. I couldn’t possibly text him.

A belting knock sounded on the door. My brow knitted – no way my food had arrived so quickly! Tipping Connor off my lap, I approached the door and opened it.

“Miss Black, we need to search your apartment,” Detective Taylor said. I gaped at the team of gloved police waiting behind her.

“Why?” I demanded.

“We have uncovered some new evidence from Thomas Blackthorn’s home, and we believe it may be linked to corresponding evidence here.”

“Do I have a choice?” I asked. She shook her head.

“We’re collecting evidence for a serial murder case, Miss Black. This is very important. You’ll need to vacate until we have everything we need.”

“And how long will that take?” I asked faintly. Connor bunted up against the back of my leg and I stooped to pick him up, hissed in pain, and gave up. Taylor actually looked mildly sympathetic.

“I’d suggest you find somewhere else to stay overnight, at least. You’ll need to take your cat, too. It’s essential that we do a full sweep of the entire apartment.”

“Why?” I asked again. Taylor refused to reply, instead pushing past me and gesturing for her team to head inside.

Less than twenty minutes later I was sitting in the stairwell outside, with an overnight bag, eating rapidly cooling Indian food next to Connor, growling resentfully in the cat carrier. Police tape barred my apartment door, muffled murmurs coming from the forensics team inside.

I didn’t know what to do next. I couldn’t ask Brad to take us in – his granny flat was tiny, there was barely enough space for one person, let alone two and a grumpy cat.

I pulled up Mum’s number, but paused over dialling. She and I needed to talk, but me showing up with Connor in tow and asking to sleep in my childhood bed … I couldn’t swallow my pride enough for that.

And of course, the other option – Joel – was completely off the table.

“I can’t call him, Connie, I just can’t,” I muttered. “He doesn’t want to see me.”

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