Kiss & Die - Lee Weeks [110]
‘You forgot to mention you also get her a drug called Papaverine. Any reason for that?’
‘I forgot that’s all.’
‘Do you know what it does?’
‘Yeah, I looked it up. It makes cocks hard.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me you supplied it?’
‘I didn’t think it was important.’
‘Anything else you want to tell me that may or may not seem important to you?’
She shook her head. She was getting agitated. She scratched at the skin on the inside of her wrist. She drew heavily on her cigarette.
‘You know Victoria Chan well?’
Michelle thought for a moment before answering. ‘I know her as well as everyone does. She’s been coming to the Mansions this last year. She’s been offering us deals to sign up and become part of the refurb project. She’s been a good friend. She wants to help us.’ She blew the smoke out in a disgusted groan. ‘She isn’t like some people who you think are good but turn out to be bad.’ She paused and looked at Mann. ‘Just like you, huh, Inspector? I used to look up to you. Not any more.’ Michelle looked around her. ‘I want someone else in here as well.’
‘There are cameras, Michelle. Everything is recorded.’
‘Even so, I don’t feel safe.’ Michelle looked up at Mann. ‘I talked to Lilly on the phone this morning. She didn’t go home last night. She said she’d stayed with you.’ Michelle stared hard at Mann, giving him the chance to deny it.
Mia’s eyes opened wide. She stared at Mann on the small screen and shook her head, waiting for Mann to deny it.
‘She says she stayed in your apartment last night and you had sex.’
Mann looked up at the camera. Mia stared back at him.
Chapter 90
Mia caught up with Mann and Ng in the locker room. ‘I have to suspend you. You’re now officially a suspect, Mann. Don’t go anywhere until it’s all cleared up.’
Mann looked at Mia’s face. She was fuming but she was also devastated. He nodded. He knew she had no choice. He would have done the same thing.
‘She has refused a rape test. She is not pressing charges. She is probably looking for some payout. Christ, Johnny, I don’t know what the hell is going on. Either you have been stitched up better than Kin Tak can sew up a corpse or you are so out of your head you just don’t know what the hell you are doing any more. Which is it? Either way your fucking judgement is seriously impaired. What the fuck were you thinking?’
Mann took a deep breath in through his nose and bowed his head against the locker door. He rocked his head from side to side against the cold metal. ‘I don’t know. I blacked out. I don’t remember anything after leaving the bar. I woke up this morning and she was in my bed. I don’t think we had sex but I don’t know.’
‘Jesus Christ! Yeah, well that doesn’t inspire huge confidence in me. You have lost it, Mann. You have compromised your judgement. You’ve been crossing the line too often recently, Mann. At a time when Victoria Chan is after your blood and stopping at nothing to stitch you up, you seem to be doing everything to give her a helping hand.’
‘You don’t have to suspend me, Mia. I resign.’
‘No. I don’t accept your resignation. I don’t want your badge. Just go home, Mann, stay out of trouble till we sort it out.’
Mann took out his weapons belts from his locker. Ng was watching him.
‘You’re not alone in this, Genghis. Shrimp and I will do everything we can to clear this up fast and then you’ll be back.’
‘I hope so, Ng, I feel like I’ve been nicely sewn up. Mostly by myself. I am no use to you or any one here any more. As Mia said, I’m a liability.’
Ng watched him leave.
Shrimp caught up with him as he took the lift down.
‘Boss, I didn’t get the chance to tell you something about Tammy’s death. It couldn’t have been Mahmud. I checked the autopsy report of the wound that killed her; the knife went in at an angle, right to left across her body. Mahmud is left-handed. He couldn’t have done it. Shall I get him released?’
‘You better check with someone else, Shrimp. I wouldn’t trust my judgement