LITMIR.BIZ

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average cop,’ he said.

      Grace reappeared and offered us another drink, which we declined.

      ‘Do you have time to talk to Alex today?’ she said. ‘It’s fine if not. I know you’re very busy.’

      I grimaced. Did some mental calculations. ‘Okay. I’ll have a word with Alex while my colleague asks you a few questions.’

      ‘Oh, thank you so much. He’ll be thrilled. Do tell him if he’s being too precocious. We’re really trying to avoid that. It’s just… he didn’t get on well at school. I so want him to have a happy childhood.’ She hesitated. ‘And to be brought up with Jesus in his heart.’ She beckoned Jai from the room and he followed her, glancing back and giving me a theatrical, Don’t-make-me-go-with-the-Nutter look.

      I ignored Jai, and sat back and closed my eyes against all the weirdness.

      I heard the thud of approaching children. It sounded like at least four. I opened my eyes unwillingly.

      Alex appeared in a cloud of ginger. He bounded over and sat on the chair opposite me, his elbows pushed forward onto the table. ‘I’m going to be a detective when I grow up.’

      A girl of about fifteen followed, clutching a mug of tea, and sat next to me, legs crossed. She looked at me and rolled her eyes. ‘Lucky you, getting to talk to Alex. He’ll probably ask you to do his stupid logic problem.’

      ‘This is Rosie,’ Alex said. ‘She comes for extra maths because she’s not that good at it.’

      I gave Rosie a sympathetic look.

      ‘It’s true,’ she said. ‘But at least I’m not a spoilt brat.’

      Alex’s eyes darted back and forth between Rosie and me. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry. Mum told me I should think about other people’s feelings. Sorry, Rosie, it’s not your fault you’re no good at maths.’

      Rosie laughed. ‘Thanks, Alex. I feel so much better now.’ She looked at me. ‘He doesn’t actually mean to be rude. It’s a disability.’

      I smiled at Rosie and turned to Alex. ‘Did you want to ask me about being a detective?’ I was keen to move the conversation away from poor Rosie’s ability or otherwise in maths.

      ‘Yes,’ Alex said. ‘Do you use deductive logic?’

      I felt a frisson of panic. I was used to questions about dead bodies and Tasers. ‘Yes, I suppose so. Maybe more often inductive.’ I wasn’t sure I could fully remember the difference. ‘Why do you want to be a detective?’

      ‘I want to see corpses and use my intelligence to solve crimes.’

      I suppressed a laugh. ‘That’s what we do. Plus a bit of paperwork.’

      ‘I think I’d be very good,’ Alex said. ‘Rosie and I are arguing about a logic problem. Would you give us your opinion?’

      ‘Er… I could do with getting going really.’

      ‘Please,’ Alex said. ‘It won’t take very long.’

      I sighed. ‘Okay. Two minutes.’

      ‘Hurray!’ He whipped three playing cards from his pocket and handed them to me – two kings and an ace. ‘Shuffle them,’ he ordered. ‘Please.’

      I complied and passed them back to him. He dealt the cards face down on the table, giving me one card and himself two. ‘Leave your card face down,’ he said, picking up his two cards.

      Rosie folded her arms. ‘No one cares but you, Alex.’ But she stayed at the table.

      Alex scrutinised his cards and laid one of them on the table, face up. A king. The other card he laid face down next to it. So, there were two cards face down – mine and his – and one card face up, which was a king. ‘What’s the probability of you having an ace?’ he said.

      ‘It’s got to be fifty percent,’ Rosie said. ‘Two cards face down: one ace, one king.’ She lifted her mug and took a sip.

      My mind was occupied with the ridiculousness of being sucked into playing a clearly contentious card game with a suspect’s child. But I still saw it immediately, with that odd brain of mine, sometimes so sharp it cut itself. I glanced at Rosie. I really didn’t want to make her wrong and Alex right. But I couldn’t bring myself to get it wrong either, even in front of children. What did that say about me?

      I sighed. ‘It’s one in three.’

      Alex threw his arms in the air. ‘Hurray! See! Detectives have good brains.’

      Rosie dropped her mug. It crashed onto the floor, flinging tea across the room in an arc and sending shards of porcelain skating across the tiles. She jumped up. ‘Oh God! I’m always dropping things. I hate it!’

      Grace appeared in a flurry of mops and reassurances, Jai following behind, raising eyebrows at the carnage. The children slunk off. Grace cleared up the mess while Jai and I packed up our stuff.

      ‘That didn’t work out so well,’ I said. ‘He didn’t find out much about the job.’

      ‘Thank you for talking to him anyway.’ She put the mop back in a tall cupboard and smiled at me. ‘It was good of you. I know you must be terribly busy. And sorry about the tea. Rosie can be a little clumsy.’

      ‘No problem,’ I said. ‘She seemed like a nice girl.’

      ‘Yes, she is. I’m helping her with maths. It’s a shame – she used to be excellent but she’s struggling now. She’s Felix’s daughter. You know, Edward’s other partner.’

      I nodded. The cat-killing, stair-pushing partner who was so determined Peter had committed suicide. ‘Do you teach Alex every day?’

      ‘No, we share it between a group of parents. It means I can work too. I have a small business. Edward’s happy with the arrangement provided I don’t neglect the household duties.’

      Jai shot me a look.

      I cleared my throat. ‘Oh, what do you do?’

      ‘A small jewellers in Eldercliffe. I enjoy it and it’s a little pin money for me. I’m calling in there now actually. I need to catch up on some repairs.’

      I’d visited a jeweller’s in Eldercliffe only last week to get a replacement for a brooch Mum had lost. Swift’s Jeweller’s. Of course.

      ‘I think you’re making a brooch for my mum,’ I said.

      Her face lit up. ‘Oh, the one we’ve made from an insurance photo? What a small world! It’s ready actually, we were going to call you.’

      ‘Great. I’ll call in for it when I’m in Eldercliffe later.’ I stood and placed my mug on the gleaming countertop. ‘What kind of fish are they?’

      ‘Koi. Do you want to see them? Some of them are quite beautiful.’

      I nodded, unable to resist interesting animals. Jai gave me a despairing look, but followed us through the glass doors onto a weed-free sandstone patio overlooking a raised pond about the size of Grace’s kitchen. I peered into the still water. Koi flitted to and fro – mainly silver and orange but some multi-coloured, and one with what looked like an image of a spine running down its back. Their lithe bodies cruised under the surface, clearly visible between bobbing water lilies.

      ‘They’re stunning,’ I said.

      ‘Yes, some of God’s most lovely creatures.’

Chapter 7

      Outside, it smelt like fresh-cut grass, and the front lawns looked recently manicured, their edges trimmed and compliant. I turned the car carefully, aware that metaphorical net curtains were twitching, and we left the gated complex to

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