Free Dead Scared by S. J. Bolton Page B

and fitted him well. Evi watched his dark eyes focus on Meg immediately behind her. As a slow, confident smile softened his jawline, she turned to see Meg smiling back at him.
    ‘Hey,’ he said to Meg, his left eye just hinting at a wink, before turning back to Evi. ‘Detective Inspector Castell, Cambridgeshire Police.’
    ‘John Castell?’ asked Evi, her eyes flicking from him to Meg.
    Meg nodded, still smiling. ‘Yes, this is John,’ she said. ‘John, this is Evi. Do you remember her now?’
    Castell smiled properly as he held out his hand. The wide grin gave his otherwise plain face a considerable dollop of charm. ‘I think so,’ he said. ‘I was at Emmanuel. Read Law and Psychology. You do look a bit familiar.’
    ‘Well, it’s nice to meet you properly,’ said Evi. ‘Sorry if I’ve made Meg keep you waiting.’
    ‘Actually, I came to find you,’ he replied. ‘Your secretary told me you were here. I’ve been asked to have a look at your report of an intruder on Friday night.’
    ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ said Meg. She stretched up to kiss Castell on the cheek before disappearing inside the building.
    ‘I wouldn’t have thought Friday night merited a detective inspector,’ Evi said. ‘Do I get special attention because I’m Meg’s friend?’
    ‘Partly that,’ said Castell. ‘But I’ve been keeping a watching brief on the suicides as well, so I’ve come across your name a couple of times before now. I wanted to have a chat with you about Friday, if that’s all right.’
    ‘Of course.’
    Castell reached into his pocket and held out a small, thin sheet of paper in a clear plastic bag. Evi took it and looked down. The writing was very faint.
    ‘What is it?’ she asked.
    ‘A receipt,’ replied Castell. ‘From a card and gift shop in town. Dated three weeks ago. It’s for two greetings cards and a small wind-up toy.’
    Evi screwed up her eyes to make out the faint lettering. ‘It says skeleton toy,’ she said.
    ‘We took the toy you found in your house on Friday to the shop,’ said Castell. ‘They confirmed they’d had those toys in stock until a couple of weeks ago.’
    ‘So where did you find the receipt?’
    Castell seemed to lean a little closer towards her. ‘Well, that’s the problem, Evi,’ he said. ‘According to the officers who attended your house on Friday evening, it was found in your desk at home.’

 
    THE WOMAN BEHIND the hospital’s main reception desk gazed at Nick Bell as if he were a rock star who’d just wandered in off the streets. Not that I could entirely blame her. I made a point of avoiding exceptionally good-looking men myself, they always behaved as though they were doing you a big favour, but there was something about Bell, about the way he seemed oblivious of his looks and gave you his full attention, that was flattering in spite of all the warnings you could give yourself.
    We’d gone back in to see Bryony again but there had seemed little point staying with a patient who was deeply sedated. ‘If she’s awake I just sit and talk to her for a while,’ Bell had told me in a low voice. ‘Any old stuff about what’s going on in the news, how the various university sports teams are doing. I imagine it must get quite bewildering for her otherwise, having no idea of the time, hearing nothing but nurses creeping around her and doctors muttering medical terminology.’
    ‘What about her family?’ I’d asked.
    Nick’s mouth had given a little twist but he avoided making eye contact. ‘They’ve visited,’ he said. ‘Although not for a while. They live some way away. And she doesn’t seem to have many friends. I don’t know, maybe peace and quiet is what she needs. Maybe I’m just trying to salve my own conscience.’
    We didn’t talk on the way out of the hospital. Nick seemed genuinely upset by the condition Bryony was in. Outside, the air was so cold I felt as though my face had been slapped.
    ‘It won’t be easy for you,’ he