Chapter 14
Fiona’s POV –
The car came to a halt just outside the cemetery gates.
I sighed under my breath, brushing my fingers against the material of the black dress I wore. It stuck to me all the right ways, but I had selected it for function, not form – it was simple, elegant, practical; and more importantly it came with a matching hat and veil that kept most of my face out of view. I didn’t plan to be acknowledged today. This was not my scene, and I had no desire to risk anyone putting two and two together just yet.
Killian had insisted that I bring one of his men with me. A quiet, tall guy named Preston. He was always a few paces behind me, but alert. I hadn’t called on him for anything yet but having him there gave me a strange sort of calm.
I exited the car, gravel crunching under our heels as I walked into the burial ground.
The crowd was small.
That surprised me. For someone who had once been a top performer at the firm, who had always seemed friendly, the turnout was… less than overwhelming. Just a handful of people, mostly men in dark suits, heads down. No reporters, no camera clicks. It seemed like the world had moved on before he could even be put in the ground.
I studied the faces closely, keeping a respectful distance as the priest started the final prayers. I did not see anyone like the profile of the grieving ex–girlfriend no young woman with red rims around her eyes or hands that shook as she clutched a tissue. If she was here, she was hiding better than I was.
But then I noticed something else.
–
A woman, in her mid–thirties, looking smartly dressed but dishevelled. Not tears but withdrawn, as if she were holding in too much. I recognized her. She used to work with Edward, before I was still wearing my ring and Desmond’s name meant anything.
Janette. That was her name. She’d been in Edward’s department, but I didn’t know they were close. She hardly spoke at all, in fact, when it came to meetings. And yet here she was, no other colleagues around, just her.
Why you?
That question stirred within me.
As the ceremony was coming to the end, I took one last look at Edward’s casket being lowered in the ground. I felt pain blossom inside my chest and pushed it away. I couldn’t afford to grieve. Not until I had answers.
I signaled subtly to Preston. One nod, and immediately understanding, and we quietly slipped away before anyone could
notice.
I returned to the car and I waited.
leaned back, closed my eyes for a moment until the soft knock on the window.
‘She’s coming,” Preston called from outside.
I sat straight up, forcing my veil down further.
A moment later the back door opened, and Janette walked in. First confusion and then recognition washed over her.
Her eyes widened. “Fiona?”
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Chapter 14
I removed the veil slowly and smiled at her politely a smile not quite reaching my eyes.
“Long time no see,” I said, voice steady, almost friendly. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask you something. That’s all.”
Her hands shook a little, pulling the door closed behind her. She looked through the window at Preston guarding the car, then looked back at me.
She was scared, terrified even.
“Relax,” I said, still smiling. “If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t have waited this long.”
Janette swallowed, her voice so low it was almost inaudible. “What … what would you like to know?”
I leaned in just enough for her to notice the energy change. I was smiling, yes but the kind of smile that tells you not to lie.
She felt it.
Her eyes flicked to the security again, then back to me. “Fine,” she said at last, her voice breaking in the strain. “All right, what do you want to know? I’ll tell you anything.”
Her eyes wouldn’t stay still. They kept flickering back and forth between my face and the tinted windows, to the silhouette of Preston’s frame standing guard just outside the car. Her hands clenched in her lap, fingers fiddling.
There was something about her jittery energy that rubbed me the wrong way. She wasn’t just surprised to see me, she was scared. More frightened than someone with nothing to hide.
“You attended his burial,” I said, looking straight and steady, and my voice was even, my tone almost questioning. “And you’re the only one from the company that did. Were you close to him?”
Her head snapped up. “No–no, not at all. I don’t deserve that type of praise.”
That was an odd way to put things.
I cocked my head at her, studying her. “You sure?” I asked softly. “Because you seemed like it meant something to you. You stood there, you lingered there after everybody else left…”
She shook her head quickly. “It’s just… he was a colleague back in school. That’s all.”
I could sniff the fear off her now. I softened my expression.
“Hey,” I said, low voice, coaxing. “Relax. I’m not the police. I’m not here to cause you problems. Honestly, if you can be honest with me, I might just be able to help you. Reward you maybe.”
Her eyes darted to me, uncertain. “Reward me?”
I nodded. “Yes. But I need you to tell me the truth first. No lies. Just the truth.”
She hesitated a second, then made the slightest nod.
“What do you want to know?” she asked.
I didn’t waste time. “Who was Edward to you?”
She froze. I saw her lips open a little, her breath catch.
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“1–I mean,” she stammered, “we… we knew each other from high school. We studied together. That’s all. Just old classmates. I hadn’t seen him for some time, but when I heard the news, it really hit me.”
1 held her gaze.
Well, her voice was a little too high. A little too quick. But there was something in her eyes memories, perhaps that led me to believe part of that was true.
“Fine,” I said, leaning back a little. “That makes sense. So, you were not just work colleagues. You had a history,”
She nodded. “Yes. That’s why I came.”
I waited a beat, watching her body language. She appeared.relieved to have gotten that explanation out.
Then I shifted.
“Did you ever see anything… off about him? Weird habits, any secrets?” –
Her brow furrowed. “Like what?”
“Did he take anything?” I asked. “Drugs?”
Just that one word changed the entire energy of the car.
Her shoulders tensed. Her back stiffened just a bit, and her fingers finally stiffened down. It began twitching again. She attempted to disguise it with a laugh that was too immediate, too fake.
“No. No, of course not. I – I don’t really know a lot about his personal life,” she said, glancing at the door. “He was private.”
But I had seen it. That split second reaction. The way her face went pale. That wasn’t shock. It was fear.
She was lying.
I leaned forward once more, slowly, deliberately. “Janette,” I said, trying out her name for the first time. “Do you think I want to hurt you?”
She didn’t respond.
“I don’t,” I continued. “I want to clear my name, that’s all. They are turning me in to something I didn’t do, and Edward was
one who can point at all of it. You won’t be implicated. I don’t want your interference. I just want the truth.”
She pursed her lips tightly.
“I’m not the enemy,” I said. “But if I don’t get the truth… someone else will be asking. And they’re not going to be nearly as gentle.”
Still nothing.
She looked down at her hands. Then she exhaled.
One long, shaky breath.
And for a full minute, she did not speak.
And then, finally, came her voice breaking the silence, trembling.
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“Yes,” she whispered. “He was involved in drugs.”
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