He began walking towards an empty table in the corner of the room and she picked up another cake, just in case he changed his mind. She remembered what it was like to be a teenager all too well; you never accepted anything an adult offered. God, was that what she was now: an adult? It was strange to think that she was probably only five or six years older than him, yet here she was trying to solve the murder of his girlfriend’s family. And what if it had been Stan? How would she explain that to the angry teenager sitting staring into space?
Using her phone, she paid for the drinks and cakes, and carried the tray over to where Harrison was chewing at the skin on the side of his thumb. She sat opposite him, passed him his can of pop and nudged the slice of millionaire’s shortbread his way. She sipped her latte and took a bite of her peppermint crunch,taking her time to eat, not wanting to rush him. His stomach growled so loud she heard it.
‘You might not have much of an appetite, but you need to keep your strength up for Bronte’s sake. She’s going to want to see you when she wakes up, and it’s no good if you’ve made yourself ill and can’t be here, is it?’
‘Suppose so.’ He picked up the cake and demolished it in three bites.
‘Can I get you something else, sandwich, hot meal?’
‘No, thanks. So, what do you want with me? I already told that arsy copper yesterday it wasn’t me. I was in that stuffy room for hours when I should have been here, by Bronte. I had nothing to do with any of this.’
That was two people who’d called Ben arsy; why did she not see it?
‘I guess I wanted a chat. I want to know more about the family. How long they’ve lived in the house, when they bought it, general stuff. I don’t want to try and blame you, I’m just trying to piece together what their lives were like. Can we talk about that?’
Sipping his drink, he stared at her for a few moments then nodded. ‘Yeah, we can.’
‘Good. Thank you, Harrison.’
She retrieved the large hardback notebook, which she’d taken from the stationery cupboard, out of her handbag and placed it on the table in front of her, so he could see what she was writing. There was so much at stake here and for the first time she got the feeling that she was way in over her depth. Was she able to do this? She gave herself a mental shake. Of course she was, and Ben must think so also or he wouldn’t have wanted her on the team. Either way she knew she had a huge responsibility and there was only one thing she could do: prove to everyone that she could do this on her own.
Twenty-Seven
Morgan gave it a few more minutes then picked up her pen.
‘Do you know when the Potters moved into the house?’
‘End of March, beginning of April.’
‘This year?’
‘Yes, it had been empty for ages before they bought it. Saul had builders in for weeks plastering the walls and fitting new bathrooms. They lived in a caravan while the work was done.’
‘On site?’
He nodded.
‘That must have been a squeeze. How did they all get on?’
Harrison let out a huge sigh. ‘Amazing, they got on really well. I mean Bronte and Bea argued a lot, but sisters do that. My sisters practically kill each other on a daily basis.’
She laughed. ‘I’m an only child. I used to long for a sibling to argue with. Have you been going out with Bronte a long time?’
‘Almost a year, so yeah that’s a pretty long time for me. I really like her though, she’s fun and not afraid to take risks. Bea was a lot quieter. She read a lot, didn’t go out much. Every time I went around she had her nose in a book. Not like me, I hate reading. I’m more of an Xbox or Netflix fan.’
‘How did Saul and Olivia seem to you, were they happy?’
‘I think so, they were always hugging and kissing. A bit embarrassing really, but it was their house, you know.’