sheâd never do again. Whenthe police arrived, he was trying to help her up and she was pushing him away, shouting at him, mad as hell, conscious that his mistress was clean and dry and feminine and petite and watching from the expensive louvre windows of their lovely new home.
âWhen was the last time you saw your husband?â
Liv crossed her legs, tried to shake off the memory. âLast night at the hospital.â
âHe picked you up?â
âNo, he works there. He heard Iâd been brought in and he wanted to drive me home. I declined the offer.â
âHow did you get home last night?â
âI didnât go home. A friend came and got me and I stayed at his place.â
âDoes your husband know about your friend?â
Liv let out a sarcastic huff. âThomas isnât jealous, if thatâs what youâre thinking. He left me. And the man who picked me up isnât that kind of friend. Heâs the husband of my business partner. The three of us have been friends for years.â
âDoes your husband have a stake in the business?â
âNot anymore. Why are you asking all this?â
The detective laid a pen across her file. âAssaults are committed for all sorts of reasons, Livia. My job is to consider every possibility and eliminate as we go.â
âBut the attack was random. It had to be. Thereâs no reason for someone to hurt me. Why arenât you looking for people who . . . who do that kind of thing?â
âWeâre doing that, too.â
â What exactly are you doing?â
The detective paused a moment and Liv wondered whether she was deciding to keep the details to herself. âThe uniformed officers searched the car park last night and visited businesses in the street that were still open. The canvassing is continuing today and weâre checking on CCTV footage from the parking lot.â
âDid they find anything last night?â
âNo.â
âDid anyone see anything?â
âNo.â
She wanted to know more, something, anything â couldnât think what else to ask. The only thing she knew about police work was from the plethora of American cop shows on TV and she was pretty sure Rachel Quest wasnât about to call in SVU or CSI or NCIS or any other combination of letters.
âWhatâs your relationship to Daniel Beck?â
The question threw Liv for a second. There was no relationship. She barely knew him. âWe rent space in the same building.â
Rachel consulted her notes. âDid you know him before he opened the office in January?â
Liv didnât realise it had been that long. âNo.â
âDo you see each other outside the office?â
âNo.â
âYouâve never had a drink together, say?â
âWeâve waited in the queue for take-out coffee a couple of times.â She smiled, tried to make light of it.
Rachel didnât join her. âYou ever pull up a chair while youâre waiting and chat about . . . stuff?â
âNo.â
âHow well would you say you know him then?â
âBefore last night, only well enough to say hello in the corridor.â
âIâm guessing you guys got a bit better acquainted while you were waiting for the patrol car, though.â
âNot really. I was pretty shaken up until I got in the ambulance. But he came to the hospital and sat with me until my lift came.â
âIs that right?â
Something about the way the detective said it and the stillness of her expression made Liv feel like sheâd put Daniel on the wrong end of the questioning. After everything heâd done she didnât want to dump him on a suspect list. âLook, IÂ donât know why youâre asking all this but it wasnât him. Yeah, heâs tall but he was wearing a shirt and tie when he found me. Iâm lucky he was working late and