I continued to survey the kitchen but nothing stood out. I moved into the small hallway. There wasn’t much to see—the coatrack, the skirting. No new marks or holes or anything that would arouse suspicion. The bathroom was more calming than the kitchen. It suggested that if Parker didn’t have so much stuff, this place could be really nice. Three glass shelves above the sink had been carefully displayed with perfume bottles, bath oils, and candles. On the windowsill sat three glass jars containing bath salts, cotton wool, and in the last one, something that smelled of Parker and looked like cold porridge. A small cupboard under the sink had all the usual things: backstock of shampoo, razor blades alongside bleach, cleaning equipment, and a random plastic plant. Nothing stood out to me as suspicious or not belonging to Parker. But poking had given me some more information about the woman in the room next door. It felt like there were two Parkers. Bathroom Parker who enjoyed peaceful, well-organized pretty space who also liked to cook in my house, and Kitchen Parker who seemed to be in a competition to fit as many things as possible in a very tiny space.
Nineteen
Tristan
Standing in my new French blue suit, I tapped on Parker’s bedroom door.
“How are you getting on?”
“You can come in. I could do with a hand getting the last few buttons on this dress done up.”
The first thing that caught my attention were the bright red strappy heels she was wearing. Then I trailed my gaze up to the white dress that emphasized her tiny waist. “You look . . .” Beautiful wasn’t a good enough word. Lots of things were beautiful—women, good gin, the feeling you got when you made your first hack. Parker was so much more than any of those things.
She glanced up at me. “You think it’s bridal enough? My mum told me everyone was going to mistake me for one of the guests.”
“I think it’s the perfect dress for you. And the shoes are . . . They’re the kind of shoes that make a husband very happy.”
I enjoyed her blush a little too much.
“Well, I had to get something to match my lipstick.”
“Lips look great.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thank God I wasn’t hospitalized.”
“I was worried there for a moment. I thought you were going to throw up a major organ at one point.”
She laughed. “Me too.”
“That doctor deserves a mention in the speeches today. Without him, I’m not sure we would have a wedding today. You were not in good shape.”
“Agreed. I don’t think I’ll be eating sushi in a while.”
“You know I told you that I’d sent the remnants of the fish off to a lab.”
She shook her head like she couldn’t believe we were discussing this again. She’d thought I’d been overreacting to think that what had happened was anything more than food poisoning. “You know what the doctor said himself—he’d like to have takeaway sushi places banned.”
“I told you, a mate owed me a favor; it’s not like I went to a lot of trouble. But what’s interesting is that the results from the lab showed traces of detergent.”
“Detergent? Like from the box or something?”
I shook my head. “Nope. It was on the fish. It wasn’t a lethal dose—just enough to cause vomiting and diarrhea. Could have been an accident in the restaurant kitchen, or basic carelessness by one of its employees. Maybe even you knocked the soap at the sink when you were unpacking it.”
“That’s weird that I didn’t taste anything. Probably all the soy sauce.”
“Of course it could be more nefarious. It’s impossible to be sure.”
“Nefarious?” She laughed. “If someone wanted to kill me, there are better ways, I’m sure.”
I didn’t say what I was thinking—that someone might have just wanted her sick so she couldn’t go through with this wedding. Or maybe someone wanted her ill so they could look after her. It was better to drop it. She was on edge today as it was. There was no need to make it worse.
“Will you do one thing for me? Change the locks.”
“On my flat? Why?”
“For me, Parker. I know you think I’m paranoid, and that’s fine. I hope I am. But I’m asking you to change the locks.”
She shrugged. “Why is it such a big deal to you?”
“Better to be safe than sorry. Please promise me?” I asked.
“Fine. I’ll have the locks changed. You’re getting plenty of promises out of me today.” She smiled at me and then her face fell. “Are we crazy to be doing this?”
I stepped forward, turned her around and took over buttoning her dress for her. “Maybe a little.” The skin of her back was as smooth as the silk she was wearing. My fingers lingered a little longer than they should have.