Death in the Sunshine (Retired Detectives Club, #1)(39)

‘What you got there?’ asks Rick, leaning forward to the table.

Carefully, Moira unwraps the plastic bag from around the phone. It’s still covered with dirt – she hadn’t wanted to brush it off for fear of voiding any fingerprints or DNA. The earth has got into the cracks of the shattered screen. She looks at the group. ‘This morning, the detectives said they hadn’t found the victim’s mobile phone. It struck me as odd – a young woman like that, she’s bound to have had a phone with her.’ She points to the broken phone on the table. ‘I think this could be hers.’

Philip stares at the phone. Rubs his forehead. ‘How did—’

‘I noticed the earth had been disturbed around the base of one of the trees and that leaves and sticks had been rearranged over the earth to try and disguise what had been done – it looked too perfect. So I dug down to see what it was.’

‘Is there anything that connects this phone to the man you saw?’ asks Lizzie.

Moira shakes her head. This is where the links are weakest. ‘It’s only circumstantial – he was there, the phone was found there – but if this is the phone of the murder victim then it seems too much of a coincidence to discount.’

Rick runs his hand across his jaw. ‘Agreed, and I sure don’t trust that kind of happenstance, but if it was the killer, why would he bury the phone? He could have dumped it in the trash someplace away from The Homestead, or buried it somewhere else far away from here – why do it so close to the crime scene? Especially when he knew you’d seen him.’

‘Yeah, it’s a weird one.’ Moira’s been wondering that too. Burying it so close seems high risk, bordering on foolish. ‘I’m guessing he’d buried it already, and then didn’t have time to retrieve it when he realised I’d seen him, or he couldn’t find the spot in time, or something.’

Rick frowns. ‘Yeah, sure, but it still doesn’t explain why he’d bury it there in the first place.’

‘We’re getting ahead of ourselves,’ says Philip. ‘We don’t have confirmation this phone is anything to do with the murder victim.’

‘But it might be,’ says Moira.

‘Yes, yes.’ Philip’s tone is patronising. ‘But in law enforcement you learn to investigate thoroughly, you follow protocol and the right processes, and you ensure things are evidence based, not based on hunches. As a civilian I don’t expect you to understand – any policing knowledge you think you have probably comes from watching crime dramas.’

Moira bites her lip. Swallows down the reply she’d like to give. She needs him to believe she’s just an average civilian.

‘I think we should still treat it as if it was the victim’s,’ says Lizzie. She looks at Moira. ‘Do you know if it works?’

Moira gives Lizzie a smile of thanks and shakes her head. ‘I tried switching it on but nothing happened and I was worried to push it in case the whole thing fell apart.’ She looks at Philip. His face is impassive – she’s not sure how to read him. She’d assumed he’d be as excited about the phone as her. ‘It should go on the murder board as a possible lead.’

‘Yes, yes.’ Grabbing the marker pen, Philip gets to his feet and adds ‘victim’s phone?’ to the action log list. Then he sits back down.

Moira feels a flash of irritation. Why isn’t he more excited about this? She thought he’d be enthused, yet he’s looking like a bulldog that’s bitten a wasp. ‘What’s going on, Philip? This phone could be a real lead – if it belonged to the victim it could give us her identity and some real insights into what she was doing the day she died. It can tell us who she’d been in contact with, and it might even give us who she’d arranged to meet at Manatee Park. I don’t get why you’re—’

‘Look,’ says Philip, clasping his hands together around the marker pen. ‘I hate to say this, but I think we should tell the cops about the phone.’

‘Really?’ Moira’s irritation turns to surprise. She hadn’t seen that coming. Philip seemed so adamant he wanted to investigate. They’ve hardly got started, and he’s changing his mind? She looks at Lizzie, who’s nodding. She raises an eyebrow at Rick.

He shrugs. ‘Could be a good move.’

Moira can’t believe she’s hearing this. ‘But Detective Golding was such a—’

‘I know, I know,’ says Philip, putting his hands up. ‘It’s just if the phone does belong to the victim then it’s a big deal. It could blow the case wide open.’

Moira clenches her fists. She hadn’t wanted to be a part of their group, but they managed to persuade her and now she’s hooked by the case. ‘But we’re investigating.’

‘And we’ve done a good job and found something that could be important. You found something. But we’re three retired law-enforcement people and an enthusiastic amateur. We’ve got no jurisdiction to act here.’ Philip blows out hard. ‘In all honesty, we’ve got an obligation to share it.’

Lizzie nods. ‘We should tell them about the blond guy following you too, Moira. And the man you saw up on the hillside.’

Moira looks from Lizzie to Philip. She knows she’s the enthusiastic amateur Philip’s referring to, and although that’s what she wanted him to believe about her, it still grates. Although she doesn’t like what he’s proposing, and she doesn’t trust Golding, she supposes she sees the logic. Golding and his team have far more resources at their disposal to get the phone working. And, if it did belong to the victim, they’ll be able to access the information and act on it with authority. It could get them a viable suspect, and even an arrest. Also, if they stop investigating now, she can put a bit more distance between herself and these people without arousing suspicion. She won’t have to be on her guard, making sure she doesn’t sound too much like she knows what she’s talking about; it’d be safer for her and her situation, and help her limit the risk.