by Carol Wyer
‘Could you elaborate, sir?’
‘She’s deluded. Lives in cloud cuckoo land.’
‘I’d appreciate more details if possible.’
‘I first met her when I was DJing at a birthday party in a local sports centre in August 2018. She hung back after the event and helped me clear up, and we chatted. She was thinking of having a disco for her forthcoming birthday party and asked if I’d DJ for it. She’d already booked a venue and invited a hundred people. She was really excited about it. Said it was the first party she’d had since she was a little kid.
‘Anyway, she rang again later that month to ask if we could meet up at a local bar. She was like a different person – in tears because she’d had her identity stolen. She couldn’t access any of her bank accounts, which meant she couldn’t pay bills, and that included the party. She was going to have to cancel my services. I felt very sorry for her at the time and I didn’t expect to hear from her, but she rang the next day with a proposition. During our brief chats, she’d found out I was living at home with my parents and was saving up to find a place of my own. She suggested I move into the spare room in her house. I’d pay her rent in cash, which would allow her to pay bills until she sorted out the whole identity-theft thing, and she’d be able to put the party back on. It seemed a win-win situation.’
Kate recalled the tears Lisa had shed when talking about being attacked by Alex, and questioned whether she was able to switch her waterworks on and off at will. It was a callous assumption, but Kate was finding it difficult to believe anything the woman said. She might have felt more inclined to had it not been for all the false Facebook posts.
Robbie continued. ‘She was bubbly and friendly and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to move in with her, so I agreed. We got on fine for the first few weeks, then not only did she start getting flirty with me, but she told people we were a couple. Once I heard about it, I was pretty pissed off, cos I’d been trying to get it on with a girl I liked from work. I had it out with Lisa and she got all teary and said she hadn’t meant any harm, but she was being teased by the women at work for still being single, so she thought it wouldn’t hurt to tell them she had a boyfriend.’
Kate pressed the receiver closer to her ear. Tears again, and lies. Lisa seemed to make a habit of both.
‘I won’t go into all the details, but a couple of months later I found out she was posting stuff on Facebook about us going out for meals we hadn’t eaten, holidays we hadn’t been on, and there were photos of me she’d taken when I was asleep in the chair with stupid bloody comments like, “Isn’t he sweet when he’s asleep?” That sort of shit.’
This struck a chord with Kate. Lisa had been conducting a similar scenario with Alex, claiming they’d been on trips abroad together and suggesting they had a close connection. She didn’t want to twist Robbie’s story to fit her own suspicions but, so far, what she’d heard supported them.
‘I wasn’t standing for it. By then, I’d started going out with Stephanie and I didn’t need Lisa behaving like that, so I announced I’d be moving out at the end of the month. She had a total freak, made threats.’
‘What sort of threats?’
‘Crazy ones. She picked up a knife, said she was going to cut herself, then ring the police and say I’d attacked her. Luckily, my mate Gav turned up unexpectedly and helped me pack up, so I moved out there and then. Heaven knows what she’d have done if he hadn’t. I never heard from her again. Thank goodness.’
Kate doodled a large question mark on her notepad. All of this was corroborating what she’d learnt about Lisa from others. Evidence against her was mounting fast, and Kate was feeling increasingly angered by the woman who had wasted valuable time and, if this proved to be true, extracted unwarranted sympathy. There were others, like Tilly, who had truly suffered; Lisa’s lies made a mockery of them and what they had endured.
‘Did she say anything about her boss, Alex Corby?’
He gave a low groan. ‘She never shut up about the man.’
‘What sort of things did she tell you?’
‘It was all “Alex invited me to go to Kuala Lumpur with him to clinch a deal,” “Alex is going to take me to London next month to a charity ball,” “Alex bought me this bracelet as a thank-you for all my hard work.” At first, I thought the man must be mad if he fancied her, then I realised it was all made up. She never once went abroad with or without him, and one day she came home with a Pandora charm bracelet she claimed was a present from him, but I found a credit-card receipt for it in the kitchen bin, lying on top of the rubbish. She’d bought it herself.’
Kate could barely keep the irritation out of her voice at the bold cheek of the woman. ‘Would you say she had a fixation on her boss?’
‘Without a doubt. She even had a photograph of him on her dressing table.’
Kate thanked Robbie for his input and suggested she might need him to come to the station and be officially interviewed. He didn’t seem to mind.
‘Has she done something mental?’ he asked.
‘I’m not at liberty to divulge any information, sir, but thank you for talking to me.’
‘Sure. I understand.’
Kate ended the call and sat back in her chair. She’d read up about it: compulsive lying disorder, also known as pseudologia fantastica or mythomania, a condition where the liar lies so compulsively they can no longer differentiate between the truth and the fiction they’ve created. It was difficult to recognise, but Kate had enough information to determine that Lisa definitely had it. She just had to work out if Lisa was also a murderer.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SATURDAY, 5 JUNE – AFTERNOON
Lisa was hunched over on her stool like a dejected pigeon, her eyes so glassy that Kate could see her own reflection in them. Sam stood over her, a guardian angel in black, with one hand protectively on her friend’s shoulder. Overt threats and harsh voices wouldn’t work here and coaxing the information from Lisa was going to be tricky, but the evidence spoke for itself and Kate had confidence it would work in her favour.
‘Lisa, I want to help you, but I can’t unless you are honest with me.’
‘I understand.’
Kate wasn’t convinced. She had no intentions of coaxing the information out of Lisa. The woman couldn’t deny hard facts. She pulled out a still taken from the CCTV footage outside the pub on the road to Alex’s house. ‘This is your car, isn’t it?’
Lisa glanced at the photograph and sagged further.
‘Can you explain why you were at the pub car park the morning Alex was killed and not at the office, where you told us you were? Can you explain what you were doing there?’
Sam was quick to respond. ‘She didn’t kill him.’
Kate silenced her with a look. ‘I understand this is all frightening and confusing for you, Lisa. You thought a great deal of your boss, didn’t you?’
Lisa snuffled.
‘You wanted him to notice and respect you, didn’t you?’
Kate was rewarded with a small grunt.
‘And I’m sure he did. You were dedicated.’ She paused.
Lisa gave another soft grunt. Kate was gradually drawing her out.
‘Alex was a good boss and he needed a secretary like you, somebody who would go the extra mile if needed. He valued you, Lisa.’
Lisa ran the tissue she’d been clutching under her nose and seemed to unfurl a little.
‘You’d say he was a good boss, wouldn’t you?’
The answer was a barely audible ‘yes’.
‘He was a good boss. A family man.’ She let her words sink in. ‘Lisa, Alex didn’t rape you, did he?’
The dewy eyes clouded further, but Lisa didn’t speak.
Kate didn’t rush on. ‘He didn’t offer to pay you off with fifty thousand pounds, either, did he?’
Silence.
‘Lisa, I know what actually happened on Tuesday at the office. I know you tried to seduce him. And I know about him sacking you because of it.
’
Sam released her hand from Lisa’s shoulder. ‘Is this true, babe?’
Lisa’s head appeared to retreat into her shoulders once more, and Sam stepped backwards, studying her friend with narrowed eyes.
Kate waved the photo captured at the car park. ‘You were at Alex’s house much earlier than you claimed. This proves you were only four miles away from the Corbys’ house. The camera footage shows you arrived at the pub at eleven twenty and left fifteen minutes later, at eleven thirty-five. This picture shows your car turning right, heading towards Admaston, where Alex lived. This time you need to tell me the truth about what happened. Do you understand how serious this is?’ The words hung like invisible clouds, and Sam shook her head.
‘Fuck, Lisa. What did you do?’
Kate held her breath. There was still a chance that Lisa was telling the truth. And if she was, Kate had dealt a cruel blow. She’d been more certain of the woman’s culpability when she’d begun questioning her, but now, looking at Lisa’s distraught face, she had a horrible feeling she might have made another bad call.
Lisa leapt from the stool, arms out. ‘Sam, I didn’t kill him. He did rape me. You believe me, don’t you? She’s making this up to accuse me of murder.’
Sam took another step away from her and shook her head. ‘I want to believe you, babe, but—’
‘But nothing! You’re my best friend. You know me better than anybody. You know I couldn’t kill anyone.’
‘Why did you lie about the rape?’ asked Sam.
Lisa screamed. ‘Shit! You’re actually listening to her and you really think I’d be capable of killing Alex.’
‘No—’
The fury was real and Lisa’s voice loud. ‘Get the fuck out! A real friend would stick by her mate, not doubt her. Go on, get out, you bitch!’
Sam’s mouth flapped open and she started to protest, but instead snatched up her car keys from the kitchen top and marched towards the door.
‘Sam, would you wait outside for me, please?’ Kate asked.
Once Sam had left, Kate sat on the stool next to Lisa, who’d flopped back down. ‘I can’t stress enough how serious this looks for you. I don’t believe you killed Alex, but I can’t help you if you persist in lying to me – I’ll be forced to charge you, if not with his murder, certainly for perverting the course of justice, which will carry a prison sentence.’
Lisa dropped her head in her hands and groaned.
‘No more make-believe scenarios to cover your back. Alex spurned you, and you were hurt. You said things you didn’t mean. It got out of hand. I’m not concerned about any of that. I only want to find his killer. Don’t you? You cared about him, Lisa. Help me find the person responsible.’
‘I want to help.’
‘Thank you.’
‘You’re right. He didn’t attack me.’
Kate struggled to control her involuntary reaction to Lisa’s confession. As much as she’d doubted her, part of her had been willing to protect the woman and side with her version of events. How could she be prepared to slander somebody she professed to care about? She squashed the rising anger. ‘Tell me exactly what happened on Thursday.’
‘I thought him sacking me was a spur-of-the-moment thing, and I went to work on Wednesday as usual to try and patch things up between us. I intended apologising for my outburst . . .
Lisa has spent all day waiting for the right moment to say sorry and to explain why she has come to work in spite of being told not to.
She’s managed to hold it together, but she doesn’t know how much longer she can keep it up. Ought she to knock on the door or wait for him to come out?
She’d misread and mishandled the entire situation. She’d been certain his marriage was on the rocks and had believed Alex had felt something for her. She’d been wrong. Big time. She shudders at the memory of his face, disgusted by her clumsy attempt to kiss him. Yet in spite of that, she still can’t bear the thought of not working for him, or not being near him.
Such is her emotional distress, she has to sit on her hands to stop them from trembling. It’s half-past four and she can’t bear the tension any longer. She’ll knock on his door, tell him how dreadfully sorry she is and beg for a second chance with promises she’ll never behave in such an unseemly fashion again. He’ll forgive her. He can’t do without her. They’ve worked together for too long for him to dismiss her. She stands up, smooths down her knee-length skirt, checks her top button is done up, the picture of a demure secretary. The door to his office opens suddenly, surprising her, and Alex comes out, eyebrows low on his forehead. He smells of woody aftershave and her knees weaken at the sight of this Adonis she dreams about, night after night. She is struck dumb and her apology can’t escape her lips.
His voice drips ice. ‘I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I don’t expect to see you here tomorrow. As far as I’m concerned, you are suspended, pending a disciplinary hearing.’
She can’t catch her breath for shock. ‘But . . . I . . .’
He ignores her stammering. ‘I expect you to remove your personal belongings and leave your keys at reception. You will receive a letter inviting you to discuss the matter with myself and the company lawyer, Mr Poole, and we’ll proceed from there.’
She can’t believe her ears, nor does she recognise the man in front of her. He’s never spoken to her like this before.
Hot tears pour down her face. ‘Tomorrow,’ she says, hoping she’ll have one last opportunity to explain herself and be exonerated. She doesn’t want to leave the company. ‘Can I clear my desk tomorrow?’
He gives a sharp nod and marches from the room. She falls to her knees on the carpet. How can she turn this around?
Lisa spoke earnestly. ‘He didn’t come to work on Thursday morning. I knew he was waiting for the physical copy of the contract so I assumed he was avoiding the office until I’d cleared out. I believed if I could somehow talk to him face to face, he’d reconsider firing me. I checked with the front-desk receptionist to see if Alex had requested his calls be redirected and she confirmed they were being put through to his house, so when the contract arrived in the post, I used it as an excuse to visit him at home, late morning. I stopped outside the pub to go over exactly what I wanted to say to him. It was my last chance to redeem myself, you see? As soon as I’d built up enough courage I left and drove directly to his house.’
‘And after you arrived at the house, what happened?’
‘The gate was open and I was about to turn on to his driveway when I spotted another car outside – a white Mini. I drove off in a panic. When you build yourself up to say something and then you aren’t able to, it knocks the wind out of you. I returned to the office and sat in a complete state. I still couldn’t put any of it behind me. I had to speak to him and so I left again just before two in the afternoon, and this time, when I reached his house the gates were still open but the Mini had disappeared. I parked up and went to ring the doorbell, but the front door was ajar, so I pushed it open and called out his name.’
Lisa inhaled noisily and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, they were moist with tears. She stuttered, ‘I wish . . . I hadn’t gone in!’
‘Take your time. Tell me exactly what you saw, everything you can remember.’
‘He didn’t answer so I left my handbag and the contract on the hall table and decided to find him. I called out again. The kitchen door was wide open, and he wasn’t in there, but the door next to it was shut, so I knocked on it. When he didn’t answer, I opened it. Alex was directly in front of the window, his head back, like he was looking at the ceiling, and the blood . . . I ran. I grabbed my bag and I raced out, slamming the front door shut behind me. I drove away as quickly as I could and, as I drove, I rang the police. I swear I’m telling you the truth this time.’
‘What made you go in, even though he didn’t answer?’
Lisa looked Kate straight in the eye. ‘A sixth sense. It didn’t feel right – the open door
, him not answering. I went with my gut.’
‘But weren’t you afraid you were disturbing something – even an intruder?’
‘It didn’t cross my mind. I had only one thought – to find Alex and get my job back. I wish I hadn’t gone inside. I wish I’d never tried to seduce him. If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been avoiding me by staying at home and he’d be here today. And I wish we hadn’t fallen out. I loved him.’
Many killed because of passion and rejection, and Lisa had admitted to both, and although Kate had a feeling she could not have tortured the man she loved, she couldn’t take this woman, who’d proven herself an accomplished liar, at her word. For the time being, they’d maintain an open mind, but unless evidence proving Lisa’s involvement surfaced, they had no grounds to further pursue this line of enquiry.
‘What time did you arrive at Alex’s house?’
‘I don’t know for sure, but it’s a ten-minute drive from the pub. That road’s narrow and winds a bit. You can’t drive quickly along it.’
Kate made a quick mental calculation of the arrival time. ‘Can you tell me anything else about the white car parked outside the house at around quarter to twelve? Number plate? Any further details?’
‘No, sorry. As soon as I spotted it, I turned around and left.’
‘You didn’t notice anybody inside or near the vehicle?’
‘No.’
‘But it was definitely a Mini?’
‘Without doubt.’
If only she’d seen stripes or flashes of colour, or remembered any part of the car’s registration. ‘I’ll need you to accompany me to the station to make an official statement.’
‘Yes.’ Lisa stood on shaky legs and walked to the sink, knuckles whitening as she gripped the sides with both hands. ‘I can’t face anyone. I’ve fucked up so badly. Sam . . . she’s the only proper friend I’ve ever had.’
Kate had no words of comfort to offer. It would surely only be a matter of time before Lisa recovered, moved away and probably began fabricating a whole new life.