Page 97 of Marked By Moonlight
Gordon greeted them calmly. “Gentlemen, good morning. What can we do for you?”
“Just a few questions, please,” the constable said.
A major understatement, because as it turned out, he hadlotsof questions. Questions that grew more pointed with every passing minute.
“According to Ms. Kepke’s diary, she had an appointment here yesterday. What was the nature of your business with her?”
Gordon did most of the answering, sticking largely to the truth, while the rest of us looked on solemnly. Celeste clutched at a handkerchief, apparently shattered by the news.
I pictured Meryl Streep opening an envelope.And the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress goes to…
“Celeste,” Gordon barked.
She jerked her head up.
“Forward copies of my correspondence with Ms. Kepke to the constable,” he finished.
Celeste took the officer’s card and scurried out of the room.
They questioned Gordon, then each of us. We all stuck to the truth with certain omissions, as agreed. The last any of us had seen of Raisa was when she’d left the hotel the previous morning.
“And you, sir?” one of the officers asked Marius.
He looked up sharply. “Like they said — I last saw her when she left here yesterday morning.”
The policemen looked at one another. “What about later?”
Marius’s eyes went hard, and he repeated himself in a clipped, angry tone. “I last saw her when she left here yesterday morning.”
“And where were you at approximately two a.m. this morning?” they demanded.
Gordon huffed. “What is the meaning of this? He said—”
“A man of his build was seen leaving Ms. Kepke’s hotel in the early hours of the morning,” the officer butted in.
That build wasdragon, and boy, was he pissed.
Me too. Not every man in London had Marius’s broad chest and shoulders, but it was a big city. There had to be dozens of other men of that general description.
Gordon shook his head. “That may be, but my associates all spent the night here.”
My gut started to sink. Doubly so when the policeman shook his head. “Neither the night shift nor security cameras show Mr. Aecher returning after leaving through the rear entrance before noon.”
I winced. So, a camera had caught us leaving. Or, wait. Judging by the constable’s insistent glare, a camera had only caught Marius leaving. Which was possible, if his body had happened to shield mine from view.
My gut sank another few inches.
Marius carefully kept his eyes away from mine. “I didn’t spend the night here last night.”
Gordon nearly gave himself whiplash looking over. Henrik gritted his teeth.
“Where were you?”
“I took a room in Belgravia.”
“Which they’ll be sure to corroborate, along with your whereabouts at two a.m.?” the officer asked.
Roux shifted from foot to foot, looking at Marius, who remained stony.
