Lost Cause (A Daisy Dunlop Mystery ~ Book 1)

Chapter Nineteen

Solomon drove in silence. He was starting to get somewhere when Tyler had put the brakes on the whole interview. Maureen seemed genuinely distressed, but who could tell? She performed for a living. Were her tears part of the act? And why did she defer to that moron manager so much? There was definitely something going on between the two of them. And Jason Tyler lied with such conviction.

He glanced in his rear-view mirror and slowed a little. "Well, would you look at that."

"At what?"

He shifted his focus to Daisy, and then back to the road ahead. "It seems Mr. Tyler wants to make sure we're really leaving."

"What?"

She started to shift in her seat, but Solomon placed a hand on her arm. "Don't look back. I don't want him to know we've seen him. We're being followed by a Mercedes. It's made the last three turns we've made, even though I have effectively gone around in a circle."

"Either you really upset him by making Phat cry, or he's found out I was riffling through the cupboards and is on to me."

"Why would he know or care what you were doing? And what was all that bollocks about peeing in alleyways? I happen to know you're the sort who won't settle for anything less than two-ply and facilities with a toilet seat."

Daisy grinned. "I wanted to see the expression on that pompous manager's face. He looked at me like I was scum, so I figured I would act it up a bit. The ploy worked in my favor. When I told him about the potential aftereffects of last night's vindaloo, he hightailed it, and I got to snoop undetected."

Solomon chuckled. "You're a regular Miss Marple. And what did you find?"

"I took a peek into the bedrooms. The body language between them seemed to indicate some level of intimacy, but even if they are having sex, he isn't living there. Only one of the upstairs rooms is furnished, and the clothes in the wardrobe all belong to her, unless he's into cross-dressing. I guess he could be. You public school boys have strange ways of amusing yourselves. I bet you've worn a frock a time or two."

"I didn't go to public school." Solomon glanced in the rear-view mirror. They were still being followed.

"But you're not denying cross-dressing?"

He looked at Daisy and raised an eyebrow. "I only wear a dress when absolutely necessary. I'm not overly fond of pantyhose. Now, are you going to tell me why you think matey is following us? What did you find?"

Daisy reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. "I was going to grab the papers, but I figured they would miss them so I used my super spying skills and took pictures on my phone instead."

"Of what?"

"Let's put it this way, she won't be gyrating in slinky outfits for much longer."

"What?"

"There was a letter from her doctor in the bedside cupboard. She's up the duff, knocked up, in the family way."

Solomon frowned. "So, you found out she's pregnant. Why would he care unless you're planning to spill the news to the press?"

"It gets better."

"How?"

"She had a test done to see who the father is."

"And?"

"It's not the manager."

"Who is it?"

"Dunno. It just said that Jason Tyler couldn't be the baby daddy."

"You're giving me a headache. What does any of this have to do with the case?"