Beth frowned. ‘He was wearing dark-brown trousers and a rumpled checked shirt.’
DC Ainsworth nodded. ‘Do you have a picture?’
Beth shook her head. ‘Wait, where’s the polaroid, Jonan?’
He frowned. ‘I think it’s in my coat pocket.’
Beth picked up his jacket from the back of one of the chairs and slid her hand into one pocket and then the other. They were both empty. She shook her head again.
‘Look, is there anything you can tell me about Bill and Doriel that might help me find them?’
‘Bill has just come out of hospital,’ Beth said, holding the detective’s gaze. ‘He needed somewhere to recover. He’s just lost his home and has no family.’ He listened intently as she talked, watching every movement. He was reading them, Beth knew, much as she might read the energy of a person she was trying to figure out.
‘And?’ DC Ainsworth raised his eyebrows.
‘I can tell you about Doriel,’ Jonan said, his voice flat. ‘You can see where we work. She has been getting abuse from the local community. A brick was thrown through the window recently while she was working. We reported it and were told no action would be taken.’
DC Ainsworth looked at Jonan and sighed. Taking his phone out of his back pocket, he dialled and moved over to the window, looking out onto the dark street as he murmured into it. He was just loud enough to be obvious, but too quiet for Beth to hear what he was saying.
Beth sat on the sofa next to Jonan. She wanted to put her arm around him, to pull him close and comfort him. But even though DC Ainsworth’s back was turned, she had a weird sense he was watching them.
‘Jonan?’ she whispered.
‘Would you mind getting DC Ainsworth some coffee?’ he asked, turning towards her. His eyes were bloodshot, but dry. ‘I need to focus.’
‘Coffee, black, three sugars,’ DC Ainsworth said, not turning around.
Beth stood up and walked through to the kitchen without a word. The urge to clear up was almost irresistible. She longed to have something to do, something that would make her feel useful. She was so tired she felt dizzy, but anxiety made her stomach squirm and kept her eyes wide.
She searched through the cupboards, trying to disturb as little as possible. There were lots of cups with pictures on the side, goddesses, symbols and fairies. Beth took out one with a mermaid, and then stopped herself. How would DC Ainsworth view them if she handed him this? She rummaged around in the cupboard and found two plain mugs right at the back.
She scooped four heaped teaspoons of coffee into a cafetière and poured on the water. She wasn’t ready to go back into the living room. The policeman’s energy was spreading through the chaos of the living room. It felt familiar, but she couldn’t place why. Stalling, she took her time, heating the milk in the microwave and trying, in vain, to whip it up into a froth using a fork. The smell of the coffee turned her stomach as she poured, so she grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water, gulping down one glass and then filling it up again, hoping it might somehow make her feel more normal.
The doorbell made her jump.
‘I’ll go,’ DC Ainsworth’s voice rang out.
She put his coffee on the table, and then handed one to Jonan. ‘There’s something not right with him.’
‘I know.’ Jonan sighed and leaned back against the sofa. ‘Amelia has contacts in the police force. We need to be careful.’
Beth went to the door to the staircase and opened it slightly, putting an ear to the crack.
‘No, no help needed.’ DC Ainsworth’s voice was low, but clearly audible. ‘I’ll close this out than come back to the station. There’s nothing important here.’
Beth pushed the door to, careful not to let it click shut. She went over to the sofa and sat down next to Jonan. ‘I think you’re right. He said there’s nothing important here. We’re being side-lined.’
Jonan sighed. ‘The same thing happened when we reported the brick through the window. We won’t get any help. I suggest we tell him as little as we can and get him out of here.
Beth plastered a smile onto her face as DC Ainsworth came back into the room. She hoped it looked more convincing than it felt.
‘Well,’ he said, sliding his pen into the top pocket of his jacket. ‘I think that’s everything.’
‘What happens now?’ Beth asked.
The detective shrugged. ‘Get a couple of hours sleep. It’s nearly dawn and you don’t look as though you’ve been to bed yet. Is there somewhere else you can go? It’s hugely unlikely anyone would come back, but it’s probably safer to be elsewhere tonight.’
‘We can go back to mine.’ Beth stifled a yawn.
‘I’ll take your contact details in case we need to get in touch, but try not to worry. The most likely scenario is that your friends left the house voluntarily. See if you can think of any places Doriel might have gone, or might have taken Bill. If you think of anything, let me know.’ He handed Beth a business card. ‘No need to see me out.’
The door swung shut behind him. Beth heard his footsteps on the stairs, and then there was silence. ‘Did you hear the front door?’
Jonan shook his head, opening the door to the stairs with an audible click.
The front door slammed, the bells jingling to announce the constable’s departure.
Jonan frowned, his eyes darkening.
‘Come on, let’s get out of here,’ Beth said. ‘It’s not far to my flat.’
Jonan smiled, but his mouth was tight, the edges of his lips whitening slightly. His eyes flashed a deep purple and his ears ran into clearly defined points. ‘Thank you, it’s very kind, but you don’t have to put me up. I’ll be fine here. I’m confident there’s no risk.’
Beth’s heart hammered in her chest. He seemed so remote. ‘Don’t you want to come to my flat?’
His forehead creased. ‘I don’t want you to feel pressured just because a crooked policeman shot his mouth off about my home.’
‘I don’t feel pressured.’ She swallowed. ‘I’d like you to come.’
Jonan stilled, the rise and fall of his chest his only movement.
‘Will Laura mind me coming back?’
‘No, she’ll love it. She’ll quiz me about you for weeks.’
Jonan laughed. ‘What will you tell her?’
‘That I’ve nabbed the neighbourhood psychic with pointed elf ears, otherwise known as the Charioteer?’
Jonan nodded. ‘Sounds fair. Just give me a minute.’ He disappeared into his bedroom and she heard drawers opening and shutting. Then he came back out and grabbed his keys from the table. ‘Shall we?’
Beth grinned, and then opened the door and went down the stairs. The shop was dark but after a moment her eyes began to adjust. What had the policeman been doing down here? She walked slowly around the room, peering at the buckets of tumble stones and glass cases of crystals. Nothing looked out of place.
The bell on the door jingled.
She turned.
Jonan held the door open. ‘Don’t worry, he won’t have been able to take anything valuable. I’ll have a look in the morning.’
She ducked through the doorway, and Jonan locked up behind her.