Paparazzi by Jo Fenton (e reader manga .TXT) 📗

car? In case you want to make a quick getaway?” Will’s sense of humour is infectious, and I can’t help grinning.

“Probably won’t be necessary, but it might be a bit daunting having all three of us descending on her. Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. I can do a bit of research on the area while I’m waiting. Including where’s the nearest McDonald’s!”

“Perfect. We’ll see you in a bit then.”

The girl who opens the door is instantly recognisable from the photos. She’s about Joanna’s height, but a bit plumper than she looked in the club. Maybe it’s because of the baggy navy sweatshirt and jogging bottoms. Not a flattering look. Her hair is fastened back with Kirby grips, and she looks about twelve.

“Hi, come in,” she says, opening the door wide and heading indoors, obviously expecting us to follow her.”

“Don’t you want to check who we are first?” Joanna halts in front of me, just inside the front door.

Gemma turns around, looking surprised. “Aren’t you the detectives?”

“Yes. The White Knight Detective Agency.” I give Joanna a gentle nudge in the back, and she shakes her head slightly before following Gemma into a messy kitchen. There’s a table and four chairs, and a skinny girl cooking something aromatic on the hob.

“Give me a couple of minutes, Gem. This is nearly done, and I’ll be out of your way. Pip and Jade are out tonight, so you can entertain your guests in peace.” She gives us curious looks before dishing up a professional-looking curry and rice onto a plate. “I’ve made too much as usual, so you can have some later.” Unfortunately, this is directed at Gemma, and not at us, as my mouth is watering from the smell. I glance at Joanna, who takes out her phone and types a message. I hope she’s asking Will to research local curry houses. In obedience to a signal from Gemma, we sit down at the table.

When we have the kitchen to ourselves, Gemma puts some cans on the table, and sits opposite us.

“Help yourself to a drink. I’ve only diet coke, or caffeine-free diet coke; or you can have water if you like.”

I help myself to the caffeine-free can and thank our host. Joanna declines a drink.

“Thanks for agreeing to see us. Do you live here permanently, or just in term-time?”

“It’s a student house. We’re all third-years and have lived here for a year and a half now. They’re a friendly bunch, and we’re all good mates.”

I see an opportunity and throw in a casual question that could clear her immediately. “Were you all here on Friday night?”

“Of course not. Why would we be in on a Friday night? Anyway, Troy was on at Band On The Wall on Friday so we all went there. After Troy, we stayed on for the late-night comedy act. We left about 1am. Jade wanted to go to clubbing after that, but the rest of us’d had enough, so we went home. Got back here about 1:45 cos it seemed to take forever finding a taxi.” She shakes her head. “Can’t believe that poor Troy got home that night to find his wife dead. It’s so awful.”

“Had you met his wife?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’ve been to his house though. I did a photoshoot with him and the band about a month ago. It’s part of my final year project, and they were all really lovely about it. He’s got a nice house, and I got some great photos.”

“Would you mind showing us?” I have nothing specific in mind, but I’d like to see more of his house. Without official authority, I can’t access the house. This might be a wonderful opportunity to get some useful information.

Gemma leaves the kitchen and returns a couple of minutes later with a slim, silver-coloured laptop. She opens it up and presses a few buttons before turning it towards us. The photos are a mixture of black and white (arty and cool, but not terribly helpful) and colour.

“These are all digital, aren’t they?” I ask, as a sudden thought crosses my mind.

“Of course. One or two people on my course still use film, but I much prefer digital. It gives the photographer so much flexibility.”

“So could you make all these black and white photos into colour?”

“I could but they look better in monochrome.”

I raise my eyebrow at Joanna, and she nods. “We’re investigating Troy’s wife’s murder, and it would be really helpful to the case to examine these photos, but only really in colour.”

“Shouldn’t murder investigations be confined to the police?”

“The investigation overlaps with another case we’re working on, so we’re unofficially helping the Inspector on the case. It’s a bit hush-hush to be honest.” I give Gemma the most disarming smile I can manage. “The Sergeant doesn’t like me very much, so it’s a bit complicated. She can’t know I’m working on this, but the DI said he could use our help.”

“I see what you mean – definitely complicated. My dad’s in the police force down in Exeter, where I’m from, and he said the office politics are crazy. He moans about it all the time. It’s a bit of a relief to be up here out of the way actually.”

“I can imagine. So would you be able to help us with these photos?”

“I guess so. Give me your email address and I’ll send them over to you – probably tomorrow or Wednesday as it’ll take me a while to get them optimised. I hope you don’t mind, but there’ll be a little copyright watermark in the bottom right-hand corner. I’ll make it as small as I can, and if I think there’s something important in that part of the photo, I’ll move it to the other side. Is that okay?”

“That sounds great. Thanks, Gemma.”

Joanna stands up. “Yes, thanks a lot. This will be great. We need to be going now, but really appreciate your help.”

Back in the car a couple of minutes later, Will’s sitting there