Chapter 138
‘Don’ttest me, Sergeant Poe!’ Beck snapped. His thumb put pressure on the nozzle.
‘Wait,’ Poe said.
Beck smiled.
Poe pulled his phone from his pocket and held it so Beck could see. ‘Hi, Estelle,’ he said.
‘Are you almost done, Poe?’ Doyle said through the speakerphone, her voice tinny and distant.
‘Nearly finished.’
‘Good. Your beard’s giving me a rash.’
‘You’ve heard what Freddie had to say?’
‘I did.’
‘He’s pretty convincing.’
‘It’s a bluff.’
‘It isnota bluff!’ Beck yelled, spittle forming at the side of his mouth. ‘And turn that phone off!’
‘One moment please, Freddie,’ Poe said. ‘Just how sure are you, Estelle?’
She paused, but not for long. ‘Sure enough to bet the life of the man I love.’
‘I’m warning you, turn that—’
‘Shut up!’ Poe snapped. ‘This is important.’ Then to Doyle, ‘You do?’
‘For a while now.’
‘Who else knows?’
‘Tilly worked it out. I think she might have told Stephanie.’
‘Blimey.’
‘Let’s not make a big deal out of this. I’m not Kristin ScottThomas, you’re not Hugh Grant and this isn’tFour Weddings and a Funeral. If you don’t feel the same way we’ll find a way through—’
‘I do,’ he said.
‘Do what?’
‘Feel the same way.’
Other than his dad, Poe didn’t think he’d ever told someone he loved them, and he wasn’t about to start now, not in front of the man who had murdered her father.
‘That’s good then,’ she said. Poe thought he heard a sigh of relief. ‘We should probably talk about this.’
‘Later, I promise,’ he said. ‘I have a man standing in front of me pretending to hold a weapon of mass destruction.’
‘Don’t be long.’
Poe slipped the phone back into his pocket. Left it on so she’d know he was OK.