Rania Algafari never asked to be different, and when she escaped the war in Syria and moved to the UK, her only goal was to live her life in peace. Get up, go to work, avoid talking to the dead - that sort of thing.
But not everyone dies quietly, an...
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Will drove a BMW, slightly scuffed around the edges, and he shoved an old sweatshirt and a pile of candy wrappers off the passenger seat so I could get in.
"Kinder Eggs?" I asked, picking one up.
"Guilty secret. I like to build the toys when I'm on stakeout."
"How old are you? Six?"
"Twenty-six, actually."
He ambled around to the driver's side and slipped behind the wheel, and the car started with a barely restrained purr.
"I don't suppose I need to give you my address?"
He tapped the satnav built into the dashboard. "Already programmed in. You realise that building's a health-and-safety violation waiting to happen."
"Is there any other area of my life you want to criticise?"
He grimaced. "Sorry. I just hate to think of you living in a place like that."
"Why would you even care?"
He shrugged. Mr. Eloquent. Will seemed to be good at asking the questions, but not so great at answering them. I wasn't a suspect, so surely he could offer some insight rather than this entire process being one-sided? After all, I didn't want to be there and I'd made that obvious.
"As I only live a fifteen-minute drive away, why don't you start with the questions related to Helene's murder?" I suggested, reaching for the seat belt. The car rocketed forward just as I clicked the catch shut. "Okay, ten minutes if you're going to drive like that."
"Let's start with the obvious—has she told you who killed her?"
"She doesn't know."
"Seriously?"
"Someone grabbed her around the neck and jabbed her with a needle. The next thing she knew, she was looking down at her own body."
"She was drugged?"
"That's what she thinks."
"It's not in the police report. Not yet, anyway. They're still waiting for the rest of the forensics results."
If Will planned to question every one of my answers, this was going to take a long time. Especially when he was the one with dubious information.
"You've seen the police report? I thought that would be confidential."
It wasn't entirely a surprise that Will had access to inside information. He didn't strike me as the type of man who did everything by the book.
And now he smirked. "I'm not supposed to have seen it, so I'd appreciate if you'd keep that part quiet."
"Did Chris Turner give it to you? Or the older cop? I forgot his name."
"No, neither of them. Chris Turner wouldn't piss on me if I was on fire unless he'd filled out the correct form in triplicate first."
