Ultimate Dilemma (Justice Again Book 2) by M Comley (best books under 200 pages txt) 📕

thrown all logic out of the window. My advice would be not to come down too heavily on her. She’s grieving, you need to remember that.”

“I know, which is why I’ve kept a rein on my doubts up until now. What about her father having cancer and her not knowing, what do you read into that?”

He sighed. “Not a lot. From a male point of view, we don’t tend to take much notice of our health, or should I say, we prefer not to burden our loved ones with issues like that. Take me for instance. The doctor told me I shouldn’t return to work for at least six months, and here I am, sitting behind my desk ready for action after only a week.”

“Yeah, but you have a screw loose. Oops…sorry, did I say that out loud?” Katy laughed.

“You can mock me all you like, Katy Foster, or should that be Jackson? Either way, men react differently to women when they’re injured or sick, we all know that.”

“But cancer? You’d keep that illness from your loved ones?”

“I’m not sure I would have. Look, until you delve into the type of relationship they had, you can’t really speculate, can you?”

“True enough. Father and daughter shared the same house, meaning they must have been close. The fact that she’s a nurse and he kept the truth from her is becoming a thorn in my side. I simply can’t get my head around it. Have you got any idea how much chemo takes out of the person being treated? She wasn’t aware he was having it. I find that incredulous to believe.”

“Are you sure she didn’t know? You’ve only got the doctor’s word on that, right?”

“True, I suppose. I really need to have another chat with her. There are too many variables I need to sort out.”

“I don’t have to tell you to be sensible about this, do I?”

“You’re right, you don’t. Otherwise, I would’ve hauled her arse in for questioning already.”

“Okay, that’s me told. Any issues, you know where I am. Try not tie yourself up in knots on this one, not yet anyway.”

“Thanks for your support, sir,” she replied, her words etched with sarcasm.

“You’re welcome.”

She ended the call, shaking her head. Two hours of mindless paperwork would sort her out.

Halfway through her mundane chore, Patrick called.

“Hi, how’s it going down there?”

“I think we have something, boss. One of the elderly neighbours was taking his pooch for a walk and spotted someone in a hoodie lingering on the corner.”

She sat upright and pulled her shoulders back. “Excellent news. Did he get a good look at them?”

“I wouldn’t get too excited. Mr Cole told me he’s as blind as a bat without his glasses on, and here’s the bad news: he never ventures out with his glasses on, doesn’t see the point in wearing them out in the street at night.”

“What the actual fuck is that supposed to mean? Jesus, some people’s ideas get skewed as they get older, don’t they? Okay, is that all?”

“Yes, at the moment.”

“Well, keep knocking on the doors. If one person saw a stranger lurking, the odds are in our favour that someone else might have seen them, too. Good job, Patrick.”

“Thanks for the unexpected praise, boss, I wouldn’t get too carried away just yet. Back to the grind. I’ll call you if anything else shows up.”

Katy hung up and glanced up at the blue skies taunting her through the window. What she wouldn’t give to be sunbathing on a Greek island instead of being stuck inside on one of the hottest days of the year. She jumped up and opened the window a bit wider, her mind in desperate need of a break.

Charlie knocked on her door and entered. “Just checking to see if you’re surviving okay.”

“I am, thanks. Patrick just called. One of the neighbours spotted someone on the street corner.”

“Interesting. Is that it?”

“Yep, the neighbour has notoriously bad eyesight.”

“Helpful.” Charlie rolled her eyes.

“Not really. Patrick is surging on, in the hope that another neighbour witnessed the same person. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be a wild goose chase or the equivalent. I don’t think my nerves could stand it.”

“We’re plodding on with the background checks and getting nowhere fast.”

“We need a break. Do you think the perp knew the victim was dying?”

“We have no way of knowing that. What’s your line of thinking there, that someone might have set out to have intentionally done him a favour?”

Katy’s arms flew out to the sides then slammed against her thighs. “Who bloody knows? At this juncture, I’m willing to listen to every plausible option going. Let’s face it, we’re paddling against the tide so far.”

“True enough. I wouldn’t know where to begin if you asked me to take a punt on my suggestion.”

“Nope, me neither. We’ll bear it in mind and move on.” She clicked her fingers. “Patrick also informed me that when Nadia showed up at the house, she requested a family photo from the lounge. The frame was empty; she was distraught about that.”

“It doesn’t make sense. If we’re putting this down to a burglary, I’ve never heard of a burglar taking a photo out of a frame and leaving with the picture, have you?”

“Never. Perplexing ain’t the word, is it?”

“It’s all beyond me. I don’t mind admitting that I’m out of my depth on this one, sorry.”

“Bollocks, don’t you dare apologise. We’re all out of our depths, Charlie. Until more clues or evidence comes our way then we’re screwed, well and truly.”

“I forgot the evidence part. Maybe they’ll find a fingerprint on the frame.”

“Possibly.” She ran a finger and thumb around her chin as she thought. “I know one thing, this case is doing my head in already, and we’re less than twenty-four hours into it.”

“Maybe we’re guilty of overthinking things because of the way Nadia dealt with her father at the scene.”

“I think you’re right. I need to block that from my mind until some form of evidence pointing in