“The point is,” she said, “the ex, Robert Argyle—not his real name, by the way—has disappeared and the loan shark is making regular visits to Isobel to extract payment.”
“We need to find this arsehole and make him repay his own debt,” Ryan said.
“Yeah,” Elle said to Ryan, “but as much as I’d like to make Isobel’s ex pay his own debt, we can’t. I managed to track him down. He’s currently serving fifteen years at Her Majesty’s pleasure. Armed robbery. I thought I had bad taste in men, but Isobel takes first prize. She’s attracted to serious losers.”
“And Callum,” Megan said. “He isn’t a loser, he’s just…”
“Lost?” Elle said.
“Suicidal?” Dimitri said.
“Seriously bad-tempered?” Ryan said.
“A coward who ran away from his responsibilities?” Rachel said.
“Standing right here,” Callum said.
All heads snapped to the doorway where Callum was standing, his arms crossed over his usual Henley, and his face in his usual scowl. Elle had never seen a better sight.
“Hi, boss.” Elle grinned.
“Nice place,” Megan said chirpily. “Minimalistic. But nice.”
Callum frowned at them. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
“We did. You didn’t answer,” Megan said. “Where were you, anyway? We’ve been right through the house.”
“Basement. And keep the noise down. Isobel and the kids are still asleep down there.”
The team shared a look.
“Uh, Callum, why do you have them in the basement when the bedrooms are up here?” Megan said, and then looked horrified. “Serial killers use basements. Please tell me that isn’t your killing ground? You haven’t been torturing kids down there, have you?”
“Babe,” Dimitri said with a shake of his head. “Ignore her,” he said to Callum. “Too much TV.”
“There are bedrooms down there?” Elle said. “I wondered what was behind the security access. I thought weapons. Just sayin’, if I’d had more time, I would have totally cracked that lock.”
“Good to know.” Callum leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb.
“It also explains why we don’t have any footage of you sleeping,” Elle said. “I was worried about that at first, then I thought you were camping outside.”
Callum just stared at her.
“PTSD.” Elle shrugged. The explanation made perfect sense to her. She’d even read up on the condition. If Callum had been sleeping outside, it wouldn’t have surprised her. She’d always thought he was untamed and belonged with the animals. “I thought maybe being inside made it hard to sleep.”
“Betty said someone told her I sleep in the nude,” Callum said.
Megan put up a hand. “That would have been me. I just wanted to shut her up.”
“Yeah, but it kind of backfired,” Ryan said. “She wanted to make more money, and thought watching you in the buff was a way to do it. She was mad when she couldn’t get it on camera.”
Callum zeroed in on Ryan and the room temperature dropped a few degrees. Elle shivered and was glad she wasn’t on the receiving end of that look. Ryan didn’t seem fazed. Either that or he was too focused on the doughnuts he’d picked up in Campbeltown to care.
“Explain,” Callum barked.
“She had someone hook up the live feed to her house and she’s been charging the old folk to watch,” Ryan said. “Lake only found out about it yesterday after a rumour went around town that Betty was showing live porn in exchange for pie and cake.” He pointed a doughnut at Callum. “She told Lake she wants to be thrown up against a wall.”
Callum didn’t move an inch, apart from the tiny muscle in the corner of his jaw that throbbed.