The Circle

'We'll use different fonts to avoid confusion. Mine will be in bold.'

'Why not mine?' he said, challenging.

'Because reality has to be paramount. The reader needs a structure and I'm providing it. You can be in italics if you want.'

'No, I'll stay upright. It's easier on the eye.'

With that settied, Naomi got him back on track. 'Where does the story go next? Have you thought of a reason why the other fires are started?'

'It's got to be Jason covering his tracks. He's heard about Maurice being arrested and the whole thing about the circle. He panics a bit over Maurice. You see, he has a conscience and doesn't want someone else to go down for the crime he committed.'

'That's all right — except you can't use Maurice's real name. Don't want to run the risk of libel.'

'You just said it was all right to mention Blacker.'

'That's because he's dead. You can't libel the dead. Never mind for now. We'll think of another name later. Go on. I'm hooked on this.'

'Jason finds out who the secretary of the circle is and makes the call to Miss Snow asking her to meet him at the boat house.'

'Why?'

'To make it obvious someone other than Maurice is the arsonist. But instead of Miss Snow, Bob Naylor shows up. Jason panics, thinking they must be on to him. He slams the door on Naylor and sets fire to the place. Naylor escapes through the roof, so no one is hurt.'

'You've really thought about this,' Naomi said with admiration. 'Now, what about the fire at Miss Snow's house?'

'That's Jason again,' Zach said. 'He's under tremendous pressure by this time because he made that call and he knows all the recent callers can be traced.'

'Why didn't he think of that before he made the call?'

Zach gave a shrug. 'Carelessness? This isn't a foolproof plot yet. So he decides to set her place on fire. He's in the clear and the spotlight shifts to the circle.'

'Not bad,' Naomi said. 'A few loose ends want tightening up, but you'll get there.'

'I'm not used to writing crime stories.'

'I said you'll get there,' she said with a touch of petulance.

'Okay. Are you going to tell me how you've been getting on?'

'You can read it on ChichesterMurderDetectives.com.'

'You're not putting everything on there, are you?'

She had a special smile for that question. 'Most of it.' She paused and looked to make sure they were not overheard. 'One thing I may not make public'

'What's that?'

'I've got a mole.'

'A what?'

'A mole.'

Zach didn't know how to respond. Alarm bells sounded in his head. She'd taken her hand away from his, but her hormones had to be churning wildly. If she offered to show him the mole, he wasn't sure what he'd say.

'I said I've got a mole.'

'I heard you.'

'Don't you want to know where?'

'Tell me, then.'

'In the MIT.'

'Ah.' He nodded as if a mole in the MIT was a common complaint.

You don't understand, do you? MIT is Murder Investigation Team. I've got a contact in the police station.'

Relieved, he heard himself say, 'Brilliant.' Then he added, 'Who?'

"You don't need to know. But I'll tell you this, Zach. There's a woman heading the investigation now and she's an ace detective specially brought in. Her name is Hen Mallin. She's already arranged for Maurice to be released.'

'That's good.'

She shook her head. 'Not good.'

'Why?'

'It means the rest of us are under the spotlight.'

Zach moistened his lips.

Naomi said, 'We're all going to be interrogated in the next twenty-four hours.'

'Christ'

'Yes, DCI Mallin is a tough lady. She knows about the photo of Blacker and the other man.'

'How can she?' His eyes bulged. 'I've got it at home.'

'They always take a video of the crime scene. It was still hanging on the wall at the time.'

'We'd better hand it in.'

'No. That would make you and me the prime suspects.'

'It's withholding evidence. They can do us for that.'

'We'll take that risk,' Naomi said with calm determination. 'Just make sure it's well hidden in case they search your place.'

He was stunned. 'Would they?'

'Is there somewhere at work you could keep it?'

'Maybe — but I don't like the sound of this one bit. Can I give it back to you?'

'No,' she said. 'They could find my fingerprints at the scene. You've got no connection with the picture. It's better if it stays with you. Keep your nerve, Zach. This isn't the biggest crime in the world. I was starting to tell you about my discoveries. Remember I was going to check up on Bob Naylor?'

He gave a faint nod. He was trying to think of places in the MVC shop to hide the photo. Behind an Elton John poster?

'He's a Parcel Force driver. Lives with his fourteen-year-old daughter. His wife died four or five years ago. I haven't discovered why he came to the circle, except he may be looking for companionship. He doesn't seem to have written anything. Can't even use a computer.'

He heard himself say, 'Neither could Dickens.'

'What?'

'Charles Dickens.' He'd spoken off the top of his head, but it felt good to get one over Naomi. 'You can write a novel with a pencil and paper if you want.'

'Naylor doesn't look anything like a writer to me.'

'We don't all have beards and bow ties. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.'

'He seems to have struck up a pretty strong friendship with Thomasine.'

'She's a friendly sort.'

'No question of that,' Naomi said with a toss of the head. 'We've all heard her erotic poems.'

'Are you saying Bob has some other motive?'

'In the absence of any literary aspirations, quite possibly. Why does the man join a writers' circle if he talks like a bricklayer?'

'That's bitchy,' Zach said.

'What did you say?'

'Snobbish, then.'

'Not at all. He's behaving suspiciously. He sits there taking it all in and volunteers nothing. If my first thought is correct, and he just wants to pair off with a woman, a circle like ours is a good place to find one. But if he's getting privileged information about us, then we'd better watch out, all of us.'

'But you proposed him for press rep.'

'And for a reason, to get him into the open, see what he's really like. He can't go on acting the ingenue if we thrust him in front of the media. They'll get behind the mask.'

'You don't think he's the arsonist?'

'One of us is, and he's the one we know least about.'

Zach thought about that and took a sip of coffee. 'We don't know much about some of the others. Sharon, the hairdresser.'

Naomi said, 'Her?' in a tone of contempt.

'She says even less than Bob Naylor. The typical dumb blonde. What does she get out of the circle?'

'Perfecting her communication skills?' Naomi said.

Another bitchy remark, Zach thought, but this time he only said, 'That's a laugh.'

'There's scope for improvement.'

'She did tell us about this comic strip she's going to be working on. That was a surprise.'

'Diversionary tactics? I forget what we were discussing at the time, but it stopped us all in our tracks. Now why would a pretty little airhead like that take up arson?'

Zach looked across the room to see if anyone had overheard. He said in little more than a whisper, 'Is this going onto our website? It's a bit strong for publication, isn't it?'

'I'm not accusing anyone. I'm keeping an open mind, simply recording everything people do and say, including the police.'

He held up both thumbs in approval.

She said, 'I was telling you we're all going to be questioned. You'll find a message on your answerphone summoning you to a special meeting tomorrow night.'

'What if I'm busy?'