Chapter 52

‘Bloody hell, you two, if the wind changes, you'll stick like that,' Stacey said, noting her colleagues' miserable faces.

Both Penn and Tiff were nursing a cuppa with pensive expressions.

‘Dead end,' Penn said, and Tiff nodded her agreement.

Stacey put aside her matrix for a minute. She was looking for certain information the boss had requested, but these two looked like they needed some kind of life support.

‘So, what's up?' she asked.

‘No suspects; nothing,' Penn said. ‘No witnesses, no forensics, no enemies, no evidence, no lines of enquiry.'

Tiff nodded again.

‘And in the hands of lesser detectives that would be a problem, but not you, Penn,' Stacey offered.

‘Not this time. All we've found is a weird dynamic between James's girlfriend and her son.'

Stacey felt for them. Trying to piece together the events of two years ago was difficult.

‘So, what's with the family then?' Stacey asked.

Penn nodded for Tiff to expand.

‘Nothing I can put my finger on. Neighbour says Olivia's got emotional problems and that the son is a saint for taking care of her. She went through a lot with her husband and his illness so it'd be understandable if she was unwell, but the mental breakdown happened long after he'd died. Timeline doesn't quite work.'

‘Mental illness doesn't follow a script,' Stacey said. ‘Have you asked her about it?'

‘Can't get bloody close enough,' Penn said.

‘But you've been there twice?' Stacey asked.

‘Yeah, but Logan always finds a way to stay in the room,' Penn explained.

‘Oh, come on, there's lots of tricks for?—'

‘Doesn't work, Stace. We've tried them. That kid will not leave his mother alone with us.'

‘Can't you grab her at the front door?' Stacey asked. There had to be some way of having a private conversation with a grown adult.

‘She doesn't answer. Logan always unlocks the door – eventually.'

‘She doesn't even say a word without glancing his way,' Tiff said.

‘He even answers some of the questions we ask on her behalf,' Penn offered.

Stacey felt herself growing uneasy. They were right. There was definitely something off there.

‘Guys, you gotta do something. Can you get Logan out of the house so you can speak to her?'

‘He won't fall for it. He follows her everywhere, and he's already cautious now that we've tried to exclude him from the conversation.'

‘He can't follow her everywhere,' Stacey said as a slow smile spread over her face. ‘He can't follow her here.'

Penn's expression brightened as it dawned on him what Stacey was saying.

‘Oh, Stace, I love you. No matter what everyone else says about you.'

‘Why, what do they say?' she asked, feigning surprise.

‘Okay, Tiff, we have a plan. James Nixon was reported missing by Olivia Dench, one of the last people to see him alive,' he said, standing.

‘I know that, but where are we going?'

‘We're going to place Olivia Dench under arrest.'