Page 24 of Ace My Heart

“Uh, you might want to get dressed. The police just pulled up as I was getting out of my car and they look like they mean business.”

I groaned and made my way back to the bedroom, fear swishing in my stomach.

I rummaged through my wardrobe and found some clean underwear and a cotton summer dress that I couldn’t ever remember wearing. I wasn’t normally a dress sort of girl, but it would be easier to put on than shorts. I yanked it on over my head and picked up my crutches as I heard another knock at the door, and Brad’s footsteps as he answered it.

There were two police officers: a short woman with shoulder-length brown hair, dressed in a smart pant suit, and a chubby middle-aged man with a bald spot and old sweat stains in the armpits of his off-white shirt.

“Miss Black, I’m Detective Coughlin and this is Detective Taylor,” the man began. I eyed them warily before sitting down in my armchair and gesturing towards the lounge. They sat, serious expressions pulling their mouths downwards.

“Have you remembered anything more about what happened the night before last, Miss Black?” the woman, Detective Taylor, asked.

I shook my head. “There’s nothing else to remember – I already told the police in Melbourne everything.”

“Well, we thought you might want to change your story. You see, our colleagues in Victoria had a chat with Pete Levine last night, and he says that you didn’t spend the night with him.”

I gaped at them in disbelief. Why would Pete lie about it? He’d never cared if people knew about his little affairs before!

“Why did you say you spent the night with him, Melanie?” Taylor asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Because Idid!” I spluttered out. “I went to his room just after midnight, and I didn’t leave until about nine the next morning!”

“And what were you doing in Pete Levine’s room?” Taylor persisted.

“What weren’t we doing? I think we tried just about every position known to man, and some that aren’t!”

Brad’s face was a carefully calm mask at the edge of my vision.

“Okay, so you’re insisting that you spent the night in bed with Pete Levine, and he insists that you never set foot in his room,” Taylor spoke very clearly, like she thought I didn’t understand her properly.

If I had seen Pete Levine then, I would have thrown one of my crutches at him. Followed by the other one. And then whatever else I could get my hands on.

“Well, obviously one of you is lying,” Taylor continued, “So why don’t you just come clean now, Miss Black?”

“I’m as clean as they come, Detective,” I replied, barely keeping my voice calm. “Why are you so sure that I’m the one who’s lying? Don’t they have CCTV in Savoy Tower? Couldn’t you just look to see me going into Pete’s room? Or for that matter, couldn’t you just see who it was who …?”

Taylor cleared her throat, cutting me off. “The Savoy’s CCTV currently only covers the lobby, restaurant and other public areas. They use dummy cameras in the guest-only areas.”

“Dummy cameras?” I asked, confused.

“Devices that look like cameras as a deterrent, but they don’t actually record or stream any footage.”

“It’s made our job a lot more difficult,” Coughlin added and Taylor threw him an icy look.

“We aren’t here to discuss issues of hotel security,” Taylor said. “We’re here to follow you up, Miss Black.”

“Well, consider me followed up.”

“So, you’re sticking to your story?” Taylor asked.

I glared at her angrily. “I’m sticking to the truth! How about you go and question Pete Levine a bit further?” I suggested.

Taylor must have caught my mood because she stood. “Oh, rest assured, Miss Black, our colleagues down in Melbourne are with him as we speak. We’ll get to the bottom of this. You’re not by any means off the hook.”

I swallowed, but I held her gaze. I knew I’d done nothing wrong, and it would only be a matter of time before they knew it too.

The pair walked back to the door. Coughlin stepped out into the hallway, but Taylor turned and eyed me with dislike from the doorway.

“Don’t leave town, Miss Black,” she muttered. I slammed the door in her face and turned to Brad, bursting into hysterical laughter.

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