Spiking the Girl Read Free Page A

information about my charges. If it’s acceptable to you, we can put the house under surveillance. That way, we’ve got him on video.’
    Daria stared at the brochure while Gemma made some rapid calculations. She didn’t have any bubble-packed spycams in the car just now.
    ‘I usually take a deposit at this stage, Daria,’ she said, remembering the shopping she needed to do. ‘One thousand dollars would be fine.’
    Daria nodded, unsurprised.
    ‘If you can give me cash,’ Gemma continued, ‘I’ll make it GST inclusive.’
    Daria left the room and returned with twenty fifty-dollar bills which Gemma tucked in her wallet.
    ‘We’ll also put a covert camera in your bedroom, just to be—’
    ‘But that’s what he wanted to do!’ Daria took a backwards step, nearly knocking her untouched coffee over in her distress. ‘He expected me to behave like some whore, like some prostitute in a porn movie! He wanted to make videos of me and his disgusting filthy behaviour.’
    She bent down and moved the coffee cup to a safer spot, then looked at Gemma and her breathing calmed a little as she gathered herself. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, the dark hollows in her face deepening. ‘I know that’s not what you meant. I didn’t mean to say all that.’
    ‘Okay,’ said Gemma, finally breaking an awkward silence. ‘Before I go, I’d like to look around. Check the layout of the house, see the exits and entrances.’
    She went outside, Daria following, and they walked right round the house as Gemma checked the windows. They were all screened and locked, except for the front ones, which were grilled. Gemma searched for any scrapes or tool marks on any of the frames but they were all quite dusty and untouched.
    ‘He must have a key,’ Gemma repeated, turning back to her companion.
    Daria shook her head. ‘He hasn’t.’
    ‘Perhaps he got in once and was able to get hold of one? Had it copied, got it back without you noticing?’
    Daria Reynolds stared at her. Again, Gemma wondered about her new client’s grasp on reality. Then Daria slowly turned her gaze towards the back garden, squinting against the bright sunlight. The spooky moment passed.
    Gemma finished her examination of the outside of the house and they went back inside. She followed Daria down the narrow hall, away from the smoky front room. She went into the two bedrooms, both of them with locked windows; the first smelled like the spare room and needed a good airing. The second, the erstwhile marital bedroom, was similarly decked out with icons and statues, although the candles in here had all burned out.
    Gemma glanced at the bedroom ceiling, thinking about where she or Spinner might put the spycam. ‘Do you have smoke detectors?’ she asked, unable to see any. Daria shook her head.
    ‘Don’t you think all these naked flames everywhere could be a bit dangerous?’
    Daria stared hard at her again, then took a step forward. ‘I know what’s dangerous.’ Her tiny voice contrasted with the way she’d closed in, invading Gemma’s space.
    Gemma stepped back, deliberately putting distance between them. Daria immediately closed up the gap. ‘Now, Miss Lincoln, I have a question for you . Is it true that your mother was murdered?’
    Gemma’s shock must have showed on her face because Daria Reynolds’s expression changed. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve offended you. Believe me, I wouldn’t be asking you this if it weren’t important. You must understand that.’
    ‘Important?’ Gemma rallied. ‘To whom?’
    ‘It’s important to me.’ She paused. ‘If it’s true.’
    ‘What can my personal circumstances possibly have to do with your situation?’ said Gemma, suddenly angry.
    ‘I don’t mean to pry or distress you. It is important for me. That’s all I can say at this stage. It is true, isn’t it?’
    Gemma remained silent but Daria Reynolds took her confusion for affirmation. ‘So would you please light this candle and walk through the house