‘I told you before, I’m a BSL interpreter.’ I went to move past her, impatient to do something useful, but she blocked my path again. ‘That man is profoundly deaf,’ I told her for the second time, pointing to where Lukas was lying on a gurney, two paramedics checking him over. ‘Without me, it’s going to be a lot harder for them to treat him if they can’t communicate with him.’
The PC relented and stood back to let me past. Why were they trying to keep me away from Lukas? What was happening that they hadn’t told me?
When I approached Lukas, he sat up and coughed so hard I thought he was going to be sick. Once it had passed, he lay back down again, then saw me.
Paige, he signed, his face frantic. Where is Nadia? Did they find Nadia?
My heart sank. Was Nadia in the house? I asked him.
He nodded, tears in his eyes. Yes. I tried to call her but there was no answer. I couldn’t find her in the house, though. I looked, but I couldn’t get to her.
What about Mariusz? I signed quickly. Was Mariusz staying with you?
A shadow passed across Lukas’s face. No, but he’s not answering his phone either. Sometimes he comes round when I’m not expecting him.
I squeezed his hand, not knowing what to say.
Will you try to call him? he asked.
I agreed, taking Lukas’s phone from him and trying Mariusz’s number. It rang out, but as Mariusz was hearing and his dad was deaf, I knew the sixteen-year-old was unlikely to answer a voice call from his dad’s number. I sent him a text instead, from Lukas’s phone, asking him to check in with his dad. A few minutes later, a reply arrived.
Dad, I’m fine. What’s happened? Someone texted me something about a fire?
Lukas collapsed into sobs – even though he must have been relieved that his son was okay, he was still terrified. Sasha had been allocated as his social worker when he’d had problems in the past with alcohol and his mental health, but the sessions I’d been in showed that he’d moved on a lot. From what I’d seen, a lot of that was to do with Nadia; she was his world.
Another crash made me flinch and I turned around to look at the house. The upstairs windows had shattered this time. There were several firefighters nearby, but I didn’t want to interrupt them. If they’d found Nadia, we’d know straight away.
Are you positive she was inside? I asked Lukas, and he nodded vigorously, which set off another bout of coughing.
Pulling the neck of my jumper up over my nose and mouth, I moved closer to the house, waving to attract the attention of one of the firefighters. The man I’d spoken to earlier saw me and came over.
‘What is it?’
‘Lukas, the man you pulled out of there, has told me his wife’s inside.’
The firefighter nodded and, glancing over at Lukas, lowered his voice. ‘We’re aware of someone in the kitchen.’
I felt like a hole had opened up beneath me. Someone was trapped in that. Whether it was Nadia or someone else, the thought filled me with horror.
‘We’re currently trying to get to them. I’m not sure it’s going to be good news,’ he told me, then turned back to the house. The realisation of what he was saying made me catch my breath, and I blinked rapidly as a mixture of smoke and tears stung my eyes. Backing away, I went to stand by Lukas and squeezed his hand again as we saw two more firefighters bringing Nadia out of the building. They laid her lifeless body on a second gurney, and Lukas let out a howl as he tried to reach her. I did my best not to retch at the sight of her burned skin, what was left of her jeans and T-shirt clinging to her body in ragged clumps.
The paramedics rushed over to her and immediately began checking her over, blocking our view of where she lay. Lukas gripped my hand so tightly it hurt, but I didn’t pull away. BSL users are good at reading body language, but anyone would have known what it meant as the paramedics’ movements slowed and their shoulders sagged. Lukas let out a wail. Nadia was dead.
Chapter 2
I sat in the waiting room next to the two PCs who had been at the scene of the fire, my foot jiggling anxiously on the rubber-tiled floor. The plastic seat was incredibly uncomfortable, and I kept getting up to stretch out my back. Every few minutes I would have a coughing fit, but the paramedics had checked me over and said I was okay as I hadn’t inhaled much smoke.
I had called Sasha once I’d arrived at the hospital, and explained what was happening. She was still in Birmingham, but she said she’d leave straight away, then asked me to stay with Lukas and text her updates if there was any news. Even if she hadn’t asked, I had intended to stay – if Lukas needed someone to interpret for him, I didn’t want him or the doctors to have to wait.
A vision of Nadia’s burnt body rose up in my mind and I shuddered. There was a water cooler on the opposite side of the room so I crossed and poured myself a cup, gulping it down in two swallows, then refilled it and did the same again. How could this have happened? Was it something in the house, in the wiring? Why didn’t Nadia notice the fire and get out of the house before it got too bad? Maybe she’d been asleep. But then I remembered the firefighter had told me they found her in the kitchen – I could believe she’d been asleep in a bedroom or on the sofa in the living room, but not in the kitchen. So what happened?
My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out to see that Max was calling me. For a moment I just looked at the screen then slipped it back into my pocket where it continued to ring for a few seconds. Only when it stopped did I feel how tense the muscles across my shoulders were. I leant back, resting my head against the wall.
I groaned inwardly when my phone began to vibrate again almost immediately. I couldn’t ignore him forever, and he didn’t deserve to be ignored. He just wanted to make sure I was okay, I was sure, but his protective nature could sometimes feel smothering. Looking around, I saw a recess in the wall at the end of the waiting area and moved over there to answer.
Hi, I signed, trying to rearrange my face into a smile.
Hi, he replied, a mixture of emotions battling for dominance on his face – relief that I’d picked up and I was okay seemed to win.
I’m so sorry, I told him.
Where are you?
I moved my phone so he could see parts of the waiting room. The hospital. It was a house fire. They pulled Lukas out, and he’s being seen by the doctors at the moment.
Shit, Max replied, rubbing his face with one hand. Are you okay?
I nodded. I’m fine. Well, I breathed in some smoke but it’s not too bad.
Was anyone else hurt?
I felt tears fill my eyes. His wife. She died.
Max hung his head. I’m so sorry, Paige.
Sniffing, I tried to smile again. Thanks. I didn’t know her very well, but still. It was a shock.
I understand. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called, he said.
No, it’s fine, I insisted. I know you wanted to make sure I was okay. And that I hadn’t just run out on you for no reason.
I could tell by the look on his face that he’d been considering this, but he shook his head. It’s okay. That conversation can wait. He paused. Unless you want to give me an answer now? he asked, with a hopeful twitch of his eyebrows.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly, then had to suppress a coughing fit. When I’d finished I looked back at him. As you say, it can wait.
He drooped slightly. I’m sorry, he signed again. Terrible timing.
Yeah. I glanced behind me to see a doctor talking to the two PCs. I have to go, I told Max. I’ll text you when I’m home, okay?
I put my phone away and turned to look at the doctor who was now approaching me.
‘Are you the interpreter?’ she asked.
I held out a hand for her to shake. ‘Paige Northwood. Do you need me?’ I suppressed another cough.
‘Yes, please. We need to explain to Mr Nowak the condition he’s in, and the treatment we’re administering.’
I nodded. ‘How is he doing?’
She sighed. �
�He’s doing well, considering. Physically, he should heal without too many problems. Emotionally, I’m less sure. He’s been cooperative, but he’s in shock and hasn’t tried to communicate with us. I’m told his wife died in the fire.’
Part of me had hoped there’d been a mistake, that Nadia had actually been unconscious and had survived. I couldn’t imagine what Lukas was going through.
When we entered his room, there was a flicker of recognition in his eyes, but he didn’t smile at me. I instinctively went to touch his shoulder, to give him some reassurance, but then pulled back – I didn’t want to risk touching his burns and causing him more pain.
As I looked at him, I realised that the burns weren’t his only injuries. I hadn’t had a chance to look at him in decent light until now, and beneath the ash staining his skin it was clear that Lukas had numerous bruises on his face and arms. There was a gash underneath one eye that had been closed with a couple of steri-strips, and he appeared to be missing a tooth. Had this all happened to him in the fire? But how, unless he’d fallen down the stairs or something like that?
I thought back to his phone call. I had been watching his hand, the one that hadn’t been holding his phone, trying to make sure I understood what he was signing to me. I’d barely paid attention to his face.
Bringing myself back to the task at hand, I interpreted as the doctor explained the situation to Lukas, but the only acknowledgement he gave that he’d understood was the occasional nod. One of his hands was burned, so signing could have been painful, I told myself. Really, I knew that Lukas couldn’t bring himself to communicate. He was a shell of the man I’d met before, and Nadia’s death would leave him desolate.
The doctor glanced at me, then back at Lukas. ‘Mr Nowak, we noticed you have a lot of bruising on your face and chest. Can you tell me how that happened?’
Lukas watched me as I signed, but didn’t respond, only turned to look towards the curtained window next to his bed. I attracted his attention and signed the question again; he shrugged, but didn’t offer any explanation.
When the doctor had finished, she left the two of us alone and I sat in the chair at the side of his bed. He didn’t seem to care if I stayed or not, but I didn’t like the idea of leaving him there alone.
Lukas, is there anything I can bring you? Or any family or friends you want me to call? I hoped that by asking him questions I might bring him out of himself a little, but he just shook his head.
What about Mariusz? I pressed. Have you told him what has happened? In the panic over Nadia’s body being found, I had forgotten about Mariusz’s text. I hadn’t replied to him, and I didn’t know if Lukas had either.
He’ll be worried about you, I gently pointed out to him.
Lukas’s eyes widened and he focused on me properly for the first time, but he didn’t make any effort to reply.
I’ll ask the police to speak to Mariusz, and let them know you’re okay, I continued. Lukas still didn’t respond, but turned his face away from me. Was that a tacit agreement to what I’d suggested? I didn’t know, and I found his lack of communication a little unnerving.
I thought about Mariusz then, a boy I’d never met, but had been told a lot about. Lukas always liked to talk about his son, how proud of him he was, and how it was being a father to Mariusz that had helped him to tackle his own issues. He had been ten years old when Lukas and his mother had split up, an impressionable age, but I got the impression that now he was sixteen there was a strong father and son bond. Hopefully getting Lukas to think about Mariusz would help, so he remembered who he still had to be strong for.
Another thought struck me, and I moved slightly so I was back in Lukas’s eyeline.
Lukas, why did you call me and not Sasha? I asked. This had been bothering me earlier. Sasha would have the emergency text number on her phone, so she could have contacted the police just as easily as I had. Once again, however, Lukas didn’t respond.
I wondered about asking the doctor to come back and check him over again, in case he was suffering from some sort of concussion. Was this just shock, or was there another reason he was refusing to communicate with me? Whatever it was, it felt strange.
We sat there for a few more moments in an uncomfortable silence, then the door opened behind me, and I turned.
‘Hello?’ I said. I didn’t recognise the detective who had opened the door to Lukas’s room. I’d worked for the police twice before, both times with DI Forest and DS Singh, so I had been assuming if CID were involved it would be one of them. Part of me was disappointed; I got on well with Rav Singh. He was a brilliant detective, sharp-witted but also compassionate towards the people he dealt with. I hadn’t seen him since the start of January, when we’d gone out for a drink to celebrate the start of my new job. Our friendship had run aground since then, as neither of us ever had much time, but I kept meaning to get in touch to see how he was.
‘We need to speak to Mr Nowak,’ the detective replied without introducing himself, his face serious. ‘In private, please.’
‘What’s going on?’ I asked.
The detective frowned at me. ‘As I said, we need to speak to Mr Nowak.’
‘Well, you’ll need me to stay then,’ I told him, explaining why. He looked uncomfortable, clearly not having been given the full information about the man he was coming to interview.
Once the detective had checked my ID and accepted the need for my presence, he turned to the figure in the bed. ‘Lukas Nowak, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Nadia Nowak.’
I stopped dead in the middle of what I was signing, shock rendering me motionless for a moment. Lukas frowned in confusion and I shook myself, forcing myself to continue. My hands shook as I signed while the man read Lukas his rights, tears in Lukas’s eyes the only indication that he’d understood. The detective stepped forward with a pair of handcuffs and went to cuff one of Lukas’s arms to the bed, but I held out a hand.
‘Wait, you can’t do that,’ I told him.
The detective made a frustrated noise. ‘I appreciate you interpreting for us, miss, but please don’t interfere. He’s in police custody now, so we need to secure him.’
‘But how is he supposed to communicate?’ I asked, anger flaring. ‘Handcuffing a sign language user is like gagging a person who speaks. You can’t take away his ability to communicate.’ I folded my arms and glared at the detective until he eventually backed down and nodded.
‘Okay, I see your point. My DI won’t like it, though. There’ll be a PC stationed outside the door until he’s transferred to the station once he’s been discharged.’
I interpreted this for Lukas, who nodded, then turned his head away from us. Taking this as my cue to leave, I followed the detective out of the room and waited for him to brief the PC. When he’d finished, he came back over to me.
‘Can I ask how you know Mr Nowak?’ he asked.
I explained the situation, and how I’d come to be at the scene of the fire that evening.
‘So you’re a witness. We’ll need you to come to the station tomorrow and give a statement.’
‘Fine,’ I replied, still bristling a little from his attitude. ‘What’s happened? Do you think Lukas set the fire?’
‘We’re still looking into that,’ he replied. ‘There needs to be a full fire investigation to see how and where it started.’
‘How can you arrest Lukas when you don’t even know yet if the fire was deliberate?’ I asked, indignantly.
The detective looked over his shoulder at the PC, then looked back at me and sighed.
Keeping his voice low, he said, ‘Look, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but his social worker will be informed soon enough anyway. Nadia Nowak was already dead when the fire started.’
Chapter 3
Once the detective had left, I called Sasha again, but there was no response. She was probably driving back, I told myself, so I sent her a quick text to tell her where Lukas was and that he had been arrested. Despite what he wa
s being accused of, I didn’t want to leave him on his own. In the months that I’d been working with Sasha I’d learnt not to judge a person by their circumstances, and just to be there to support them without bringing any preconceived notions about them. Attending the addiction support sessions with Lukas had been a real eye-opener for me, seeing just how many difficult situations some people had to fight against. Even if Lukas had killed Nadia, he was a vulnerable person alone in hospital after a traumatic experience. Though if he was guilty, that explained why he’d refused to communicate with me, not wanting to incriminate himself. I felt a surge of annoyance that he might have been trying to manipulate me.
Visiting hours had long since ended, but nobody had tried to throw me out yet, which surprised me until I realised the nurses assumed I was with the police. Taking advantage of this, I had a quick conversation with the PC who was stationed outside the door to Lukas’s room. I wanted to give Lukas one last chance to communicate with me, to tell me what had happened, so I didn’t feel like he’d been trying to use me.
‘Can I go in and speak to him?’ I asked in a low voice, conscious of disturbing patients and staff at this time of night.
He looked at his watch, then back at me. ‘You’re with social services?’ he asked, and I nodded. It wasn’t exactly a lie – they were the ones who paid my wages after all.
‘Sure, you can go in,’ he told me. The police obviously didn’t consider Lukas a threat.
Cautiously, I pushed open the door a fraction and looked in, but the curtain next to the bed was pulled across a little way so I couldn’t see his face. He didn’t wear hearing aids, so calling out to him wouldn’t help. I stepped a little further into the room and waved my hand around the curtain before I moved into his eyeline. He was awake, but he didn’t turn to look at me, his eyes blank as he stared towards the window overlooking the car park.
Lukas, I signed, but he didn’t seem to notice me. It’s perfectly acceptable to tap a deaf person gently on the arm or shoulder to get their attention, but the only part of his body I could reach from the foot of the bed was his leg, and that didn’t feel appropriate. I stepped further to my left, towards the window, in the hope that I could move into his field of vision. He sighed deeply and turned his gaze on me, his eyes puffy and full of sorrow.
The Silent Suspect Page 2