Redemption: A British Stepbrother Romance by Jessica Ashe Page A

God,” Oliver said.
    “Am I missing something here?” I asked. Oliver and Hodgson looked like good friends, but that didn’t explain how she knew who Maisie was. I’d been with Oliver the entire time and he hadn’t made any calls.
    “Sorry, Ma’am,” Hodgson said, as she motioned for us to follow her into the hall. “I’ve rather jumped ahead. I saw Maisie come in with two officers and Shaun, whom I know well. Because of his late father,” she added quickly, in case I got the wrong idea about why a police officer would know Shaun so well. “Turns out young Maisie was on the receiving end of some abuse about her appearance and she clocked the guy one. Got a good right hook on her, by the sounds of it. Anyway, the guy probably won’t press charges. Not once I’ve had a word in his ear. Shaun and Maisie are waiting for you in my office.”
    Just as we were stepping into her office, another plain clothes officer stopped to talk to Oliver. This one was a bit younger than Hodgson, but even though he was in better shape, it looked like the last few years hadn’t been kind to him.
    The unshaven look didn’t have that sexy stubble thing going on, but rather someone who simply hadn’t taken the time to shave. The bags under his eyes suggested that might be connected to a lack of sleep.
    “I see crime runs in the family,” the man said to Oliver.
    “These two kids have as little to do with crime as I do,” Oliver replied. I could see anger in his eyes, but he did manage to keep his voice calm. “Are you going to launch a full-scale investigation into them as well?”
    “No, I’d rather keep our resources focused on you. Have a nice day, Mr. Cornish.”
    The man skulked off down the corridor and I caught Oliver exchange a smile with Hodgson.
    “His investigation isn’t going anywhere,” Hodgson said, pulling up chairs for us. Maisie and Shaun had their backs to us and didn’t look around as we entered the room. “Obviously there isn’t anything to find.”
    I sat down next to Maisie who made a pointed effort of looking directly forward at Hodgson’s desk and not at me.
    “So what happened here?” Oliver asked. “Which one of you wants to do the talking?”
    The smile on Hodgson’s face helped me relax a touch. She obviously didn’t think this was that serious, so Maisie wouldn’t be in any trouble. At least not from the police. She’d still have me to contend with later.
    “Maisie?” I asked, when neither her nor Shaun spoke up. “I heard you hit a boy. What’s your excuse?”
    “He was making fun of me,” she replied.
    “So? That’s no excuse for hitting someone.”
    “He said I looked like a monster.”
    “Oh.” I rubbed my face with my hands, suddenly overcome with tiredness. Maisie usually handled abuse calmly and never reacted to it. At least, not that I knew of. Perhaps she had more of a temper on her than I realized.
    “That’s not what happened,” Shaun said softly. Maisie looked towards him. I couldn’t see the look on her face, but Oliver bit his lip and tried to suppress a smile. Maisie had one hell of a deadly pout when she was displeased and right now Shaun was probably on the receiving end of it.
    “Yes, it was,” Maisie insisted.
    “Jack kept talking about Olly,” Shaun said. “Kept saying that he was a waste of space and shouldn’t still be playing rugby.”
    “So you hit him?” I asked.
    “He deserved it.”
    Now it was Oliver’s turn to look devastated. “Maisie, I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”
    Maisie crossed her arms in a sulk. She didn’t look in the least bit sorry or apologetic. It was a good thing we had Hodgson on our side.
    “Chief Superintendent Hodgson,” I asked. “Would you mind letting Maisie and I speak alone?”
    “Actually, Michelle, let me have a word with her,” Oliver insisted.
    I nodded in agreement and left the office with Shaun and Hodgson followed soon after.
    “She’ll be fine,” Hodgson said to me.