Chapter 35 - Chapter 34

# Chapter 34
AYANDA

Dressed in a grey trench coat and a wine-red scarf, Justice looks almost sheepish when I open the front door, dipping his chin as he runs a hand over his neat short twists. "Mxolisi told me he'd spoken to you."

I shut the door with too much force, annoyance flaring inside me for the hundredth time this morning. "He wouldn't take no for an answer."

Maybe I was also too intrigued by another murder to turn him down, but I refuse to admit that to Justice. At least I still have a job despite my angry outburst the other day. Accompanying Justice to yet another crime scene beats writing a horoscope.

We walk to his car in silence. Justice seems lost in his own thoughts, and I'm too distracted by the swaying pines behind the house, imagining Vusi watching me from the shadows.

This morning, I found a queen's card next to the coffee machine with a note that read: Rule number nine: Keep your windows and doors locked. Don't make me punish you.

Justice looks over the car roof at me as I reach for the handle. "I guess we'll have our own police escort, huh?"

My eyes follow his line of sight to the unmarked police car down the road. "If we're lucky, they're both asleep."

Chuckling, Justice pulls open the door and enters the car. I climb in too, reaching for the seatbelt.

Justice's citrusy cologne is everywhere, mixed with something else.

Something sharp.

Questions about my weekly column hover on the tip of my tongue as I peer at him sideways. I want to ask him about it, but I also don't. The resentment I feel towards him is still too fresh.