5

Ianto walked over to the patio windows, opened them, and went outside into the garden.

Myfanwy the idiot dog raced out of the summer house and danced around his feet as though she hadn't seen him for years instead of the half an hour the detectives had been inside the home. Ianto was still not totally sure about this recue, but Jack wanted a dog for security. In the end, Ianto was the biggest softy, like he was afraid he would be. And Rose loved her so… there ya go.

"Was it awful?" Toshiko asked eagerly as she exited the summer house she had been staying in while her place was being painted, obviously keen to hear the nitty-gritty of the grilling by the detectives.

"He didn't know when to shut up," Jack said grimly from behind him.

"Tell us something new!" Toshiko laughed as she closed the summer-house door behind her. She walked across the grass towards the house with her heels in her hands. "Poor Ianto has always suffered from verbal diarrhea, especially when in a tight spot."

"Jack wanted to tell them everything we know about Elaine and Connor," Ianto counteracted, desperate for someone else to be in the spotlight.

"We don't really know anything," Owen said calmly, surprising them as he stepped out from the garage where his motorbike was sitting. "Kirsty is adamant about what she saw, but she can't see from one side of the school office to the other without her glasses on, so we can't actually be sure that the people she saw kissing near the pond were Elaine and Connor."

"In addition, who would kiss someone they shouldn't be kissing in a place where anyone could see them?" Toshiko wondered, her fingers tapping across her tablet's keys as she made a note. They all swivelled to look at Toshiko. "What? We were behind the bike sheds."

"Where everyone went for a crafty smoke," Ianto said with a laugh. "You might as well have just snogged Tony in the middle of the cafeteria."

Toshiko pulled a face. "Must you always remind me of that time in my life? I would like to forget that experience. It was like being kissed by a vacuum cleaner. I don't know how Elaine stood it for so long."

"Right, let's concentrate," Toshiko said. "I want the police away from Dragon's Den so we can get to work. Do you know anything new after speaking to the police, Ianto?"

"They do not know who did it," Ianto said. "They asked me what I thought."

"Did you tell them?"

Ianto couldn't help but smile at the indignance in Toshiko's voice. "Of course I told them. They are the police."

She glared at him. "Then we need to organize our investigation. We need to clear your name ourselves. We can't rely on the police to do it."

Ianto gaped "Do you really think I'm a suspect?"

"The DCI did tell you not to leave the town," Jack chipped in.

"Now." Toshiko tapped her screen. "We need to talk to Elaine, Hamish, and Connor, as they are our chief suspects."

"We also need to speak to Rupert," Ianto suggested. "I realized when I was talking to the police that we don't know who the business goes to following Roger's death. It could be Elaine, or it might be Hamish."

"I'd be happy to speak to Rupert," Toshiko said. "Though I don't think he will tell us anything. He is a stickler for client confidentiality and that sort of thing."

"I sense a thawing of the waters between you and Rupert." Ianto looked at Toshiko to see if she would give anything away in her expression as Ianto mentioned the relationship with her ex-boss, but as usual, she was icily cool.

"Toshiko is right," John said from the sidelines. "Rupert won't be able to tell us the specifics of a partnership agreement, if there even is one, but he can tell us whether or not Hamish and Roger were clients of his."

"I don't think that helps," Jack said. "Rupert is just one solicitor. Roger and Hamish could have travelled to Scarborough for their legal advice."

Toshiko lifted a shoulder.

"I'll talk to him anyway. If he can set us straight on the legal ramifications of not having a partnership agreement in place for their business, it might help us work out who the killer is." Toshiko snapped the lid of her tablet closed. "Right, let's get to work, team. Shall we meet back here at two?"

Everyone nodded, reminding himself that this was real life, and not a novel, and it was not personal, not another case of 'blame Jonesy' but it didn't work.

Ianto knew his bad karma was back.

.

.

Ianto clipped Myfanwy's leash to her collar then adjusted the front pack with Rose kicking vigorously on his chest, and then they set out down the street towards the end of the town, where a popular company had built an estate of box-like houses people seemed to like.

Ianto wasn't really expecting to find Elaine McDonald at home, let alone that she might be willing to talk to him, but it was worth a try. And little Rose was a real ice breaker.

As Ianto approached the road that led to the McDonalds's house, he saw a police officer standing on the doorstep. He hadn't factored the police into his decision to speak to Elaine. Pulling his shoulders back, he marched up to the officer. He wasn't going to find anything out by skulking about down the lane.

"Good morning," Ianto said confidently, as though he belonged outside Elaine McDonalds's house. "I'm here to see Mrs McDonald and offer my condolences."

The officer looked at Myfanwy. "Cute dog, Mr…?"

"Mr Jones."

"I'll see if Mrs McDonald is taking visitors."

"He's here?" Elaine screeched, the sound carrying through the door the police officer had left partially open. "I'll say this for him, he's got some brass neck."

The door flew outwards, and Ianto stepped back to avoid it hitting him in the face. Myfanwy yelped as he almost tripped over her, and Rose laughed with glee at the sudden jumping.

Elaine pointed down the street in the direction Ianto had walked. "Get out of my street! Get away from my house!"

"Oh dear," Ianto said in his best conciliatory voice. "I called to offer my sincere condolences. The last thing I wanted to do is upset you, Elaine."

"Upset me?" she repeated. "My husband has been murdered. I'm not upset, I'm utterly devastated."

She didn't look the least bit upset, but she did look furious.

Ianto took a deep breath. In for a penny in for a pound. Might as well ask some of the questions we wanted answers for. "Are you now the owner of The Silver Spoon?"

Elaine's eyes narrowed. "What has that got to do with you?"

"I just wondered. A wife generally inherits everything when her husband dies." Ianto cringed at his clumsy words.

"I suppose that is true, but the financial arrangements Roger left in place for me are none of your business, and I will not discuss them with you."

"Of course," Ianto said smoothly, trying desperately to think of something else to say before she slammed the door in his face. "Did Roger have any enemies?"

"The police asked me that." Elaine sniffed, then raised a tissue to her eyes. "Everyone liked Roger. He was a lovely man."

"He wasn't always very kind to you."

Elaine took a step back, and for a moment, Ianto thought she would close the door without answering. "Roger was misunderstood. He loved me very much."

"He certainly didn't show it," Ianto retorted. "At the last rugby club fundraiser, he called you a dirty, old trollop in front of everyone."

Elaine's face coloured as though Ianto had slapped her. Ianto wished he had been a little more sensitive, but that phrase was the exact one used by her husband. It wasn't one he was likely to forget. The altercation between Elaine and her husband that night was the most exciting thing to happen at the rugby club since someone stole the captain's clothes while he was showering and hung them on the bull in Rob Burnett's field. Watching a naked man trying to retrieve his clothes from a bull was much more fun than the usual entertainment of bingo and a lame DJ.

While Roger's outburst hadn't been enjoyable, it had certainly been memorable.

"What a horrible thing to say, Ianto Jones!" Elaine pointed a finger at him.

"It was a horrible thing to say," he said quietly. "But it wasn't me that said it."

"Get out of here, now," she hissed. "Before I call the police. And take that horrible, mangy animal with you. Oh… and that baby? She stinks."

Elaine slammed the door, seeming to forget that a police officer was standing right next to her. He had to open the door to take up his post on the doorstep once more.

"I don't think your baby smells at all, Mr Jones." He smiled at Ianto, then looked back at the closed door. "I expect Mrs McDonald is simply overwrought at the loss of her husband. Don't take her words personally."

"Oh no," Ianto retorted. "Elaine is always like that. I'm afraid that is just her usual personality."

Ianto wandered off deep in thought.