I smiled, despite everything. I was starting to wonder if Alice wasn’t the best gift my mother ever gave me. “You are nothing if not conscientious.”
The constable must have been given orders to stay put, but another uniformed officer came out from the back to stand near the door, which meant I wasn’t to leave either. I toyed with the idea of going to the ladies’ just to mess with them, but in the end I stayed put myself. Even after Mallory came rushing into the station like he was there to save a life, I stayed in my same chair, tinkering around on my mobile.
“Did you know the prime minister just got a new cat?”
Mallory didn’t reply, but he did walk over to stand in front of me imposingly with four officers at his back, not including the one guarding the door and the one behind the desk.
“One more, and I believe he’ll qualify to become a member of the Cat Ladies’ Society. I wonder if they have a gentlemen’s branch in London?” I glanced up at the giant crowd of police in front of me, then bowed my head a bit to greet Mallory. “Detective Inspector.”
He was trying very hard to keep up his cool, disinterested persona just then, though his eyes were almost manic with anger. “Bring her,” is all he said, before he pushed through the double doors and into the back offices. I stood and two of the officers lunged toward me and grabbed my arms, holding them up while a third officer ripped my phone from my hands.
Right as he did it, however, the door to the station opened again, and Alice stepped inside, in full fire mode. A man in a suit also entered, holding a briefcase behind him and keeping one or two steps behind Alice, who walked straight at the officer and grabbed my mobile from him before he could drop it into an evidence bag.
“What are you doing, miss?”
“This phone is in my name,” she said. “Do you have a warrant?”
“It’s evidence. We’re allowed to seize mobiles without a warrant.”
The man who’d come in with Alice raised a finger in the air. “Excuse me, but that’s only technically true if you are arresting the girl. Do you, in fact, have a warrant for her arrest?”
The officer scowled as the uniformed constable behind him leaned in to secure a zip tie around my wrists. Once he heard the sound, the officer pointed at Alice. “You stay here until we invite you back.”
Alice’s man still had his finger in the air when he cleared his throat. “Once again, I’ll point you to the law on this matter—”
“Who the hell are you?!” Officer Scowls bellowed.
I grinned. “Just guessing, but I believe that’s my barrister.”
Alice nodded, and her man held up his briefcase, as though that proved his credentials. “Evan Golding, solicitor advocate, actually. But I have a barrister standing by should we require her services.”
Officer Scowls turned and smacked open the double doors, following Mallory’s path. We all followed him, including Alice and the solicitor, who stood on either side of me.
“Legally, you are allowed both a guardian and an attorney in this instance, you see.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the man, who cowered back a bit and glanced at Alice for approval.
“Yes, Evan. You’re doing a fine job.”
The expression on Evan’s face over such a tiny encouragement told me that he could only be another one of Alice’s men. And despite my previous issues with Alice’s manipulative ways, there was something comforting about that. He was so eager to please. Though he was also exceedingly awkward as we waited in the interview room for Mallory. The DI entered the room soon enough, however.
Mallory walked in with one other officer, who placed a laptop and two file folders on the interview table before taking his place by the door. Mallory sat and stared down at his papers, which I knew was all a part of his theater. Not even Evan fell for it.
“The twenty-four hours you are allowed to hold my client here started the moment you took her into custody, which means you have only twenty-three and a half hours left. Use them wisely.”
Mallory didn’t speak. He opened a file folder and slid a form across the table toward Evan, who immediately frowned.
“I see,” Evan said. “You have thirty-five hours, then. Not a minute more.”
“We have submitted to the court for a ninety-six hour hold,” Mallory countered. “Based on the seriousness of the crimes.”
“I’ll look into that,” Evan told Alice.
Mallory seemed to find Alice’s authority over Evan amusing. “Where were you between the hours of four and six this morning, Miss Moriarty?”