Making my mind up, I got out of the car, taking no chances and locking it behind me. As I approached the house, my heart was in my mouth; I told myself a group of mostly kids was no threat to me, but I knew that age had nothing to do with it. It was clear I didn’t fit in in this environment, and the look one or two of them gave me was almost predatory.
‘Mariusz?’ I said, trying to get his attention. He didn’t look up, so I cleared my throat and tried again. ‘Mariusz, can I speak to you?’
When the boy didn’t look up, one of his friends kicked him on the shin. ‘Oi, Mac. Your mum’s ’ere.’ This sent a snigger around the group, but I ignored them.
Eventually, Mariusz looked up at me. The recognition in his eyes darkened almost instantly, and he looked down at the ground again. He muttered something that I didn’t catch.
‘I need to talk to you about your father,’ I said quietly, hoping he’d respond.
He looked up again, his expression furious. ‘I said, piss off. I don’t want to talk to you.’
At that, a couple of his mates sidled closer to me. I could see the movement out of the corner of my eye, and I felt the atmosphere shift. It was only subtle, but I suddenly didn’t feel very safe at all.
Taking a step back, I nodded, admitting defeat. ‘Okay. Get in touch with Sasha if you want to talk.’
I turned around and walked back to my car, willing myself to walk slowly and not respond to the unspoken threat the boys posed. Before I got in, I heard a voice. The elderly Asian lady was standing with her door open, sheltering behind it and beckoning me over.
‘They’re terrible boys,’ she said softly once I’d moved nearer.
Her English was heavily accented, but I knew what she was telling me.
‘Are they here often?’ I asked.
‘No. Only two days. I called the police.’
‘You’ve called them today?’
She shook her head. ‘I call yesterday. Boys very loud, shouting at people, break a window in that house.’ She pointed to the house they were gathered outside. ‘Police come, speak to my neighbour, but do nothing. Boys come back.’ She gave a little shrug, as if to say she had tried but there was nothing else she could do.
‘Who lives there?’ I asked, pointing at the house.
‘An old man. Bill. His name is Bill.’
‘On his own?’
She nodded. The man who came to the door wasn’t old, so I was sure he wasn’t the owner she’d just described. So where was Bill? I looked at the gang, who were swaggering and talking loudly, but I knew they were keeping an eye on me.
‘Does he invite these people round?’ I asked, unsure how an elderly man who lived alone could be connected to this group of teenagers.
The old lady shrugged, and I could see her backing away. She didn’t want to be seen talking to me, so I thanked her and walked back to my car.
As I drove away I was reminded of the gang of teenagers who had been seen outside the house that had caught fire a few days after Lukas’s. Could it be the same gang? And Eric, Lukas’s neighbour, had told me he’d seen a lot of people coming and going from there a couple of days before Nadia died. There had to be some connection, but I couldn’t work out what it might be. What was going on in these houses? One thing I did know was that Mariusz knew something, and somehow one of us was going to have to find a way to get him to talk.
Chapter 26
I drove away from the house without looking back, half expecting a missile of some sort to land on my bonnet as I passed, but my car remained unscathed. Instead of going home I headed into town, parking at the cafe where Singh had talked to me and Sasha barely an hour earlier. I needed to think, and that seemed like a good place to do it.
After ordering myself a coffee, I chose a table in the far corner and checked my phone. As I’d expected, there were a couple of messages from Anna. I replied, reassuring her that I was okay, then pulled out my notebook. Unsure of how to link things, I started a whole new page and added everything I’d heard about a group of teenagers hanging around outside the two houses that had then been set on fire, as well as what I’d seen today. Part of me had hoped that writing it all down would suddenly make everything become clear, but I was still as confused as I had been before, if not more so. What was I missing?
My food arrived and I ate in the hope that doing something else would let my brain work on the problem, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Mariusz. When he’d come to see Sasha at work he’d seemed genuinely concerned about his dad, and he’d obviously cared about Nadia. I’d been surprised to see him hanging round with a gang like that, and whilst rudeness from a teenage boy wasn’t always unusual I hadn’t expected it. What had changed? What were we missing? Frustrated, I put my notebook away and pulled out my phone, knowing I needed to talk to someone who could help me make sense of everything.
‘Hi, Paige, how can I help you?’ Singh was straight to the point when he answered the phone. I wondered if he was too busy to speak to me.
‘I can call back later if that would be better?’
‘No, it’s fine,’ he replied, then I heard a noise that sounded like a door shutting, and suddenly his voice was clearer. I hadn’t noticed the level of background noise until it had stopped; he must have stepped into another room.
‘Is this about our conversation earlier?’ he asked. ‘Do you want to tell me what really happened?’
‘No, it’s nothing to do with that.’ I thought it was best to be open with him, so I told him about passing the house and noticing the gang outside, including Mariusz.
‘I remembered you’d said that there were kids hanging around outside the other house that caught fire, so I wondered whether Mariusz might know something about it.’
There was a pause on the end of the line, and for a moment I thought we’d been cut off.
‘Where are you?’ he asked.
‘I’m in town, why?’
‘Can you come into the station?’
‘Sure, I’m only round the corner,’ I told him, puzzled.
‘Good, I’ll see you soon, then. Ask for me when you come in, and for God’s sake, don’t talk to Forest.’
He hung up before I had a chance to ask him anything else.
When I got to the station I did as Singh had told me and asked for him directly. A few minutes later, a door opened and he appeared, beckoning me to follow him.
‘Come on, we’ll go through this way,’ he said, leading me to an interview room. I sat down, and he sat opposite me, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
‘The things you just told me on the phone,’ he said, his face serious, ‘would you be willing to give a formal statement?’
‘A statement?’ I frowned, confused. ‘Why?’
He tapped his fingers together before replying, seeming to choose his words carefully. ‘The case with Lukas Nowak has potentially been linked to another case. An ongoing investigation across a couple of different teams. It sounds like you might be able to provide us with some important information.’
‘Sure, okay,’ I replied. This must have been what he was alluding to earlier, and I was keen to help if I could. Singh had spent plenty of time defending me and my ideas to his superiors, so if I could help in any way I’d gladly do it. ‘What do you need me to do?’
‘I want you to take me through what you saw and heard today, and I want to record it. If you could tell me exactly where you were, and try to remember everything in order, that would be really helpful.’
I nodded, thinking before I began, then I took him through what I’d seen that afternoon. I tried not to add any of my own speculations, though it was difficult. Singh interrupted me a couple of times with questions.
‘Are you certain the boy you saw was Mariusz Nowak?’
I nodded, then realised I needed to speak for the recording. ‘Yes, it was definitely him. I’ve met him before, and it was clear that he knew I was speaking to him when I said his name.’
He also ask
ed me for detailed descriptions of the people I’d seen, particularly the man who had been inside the house. I struggled with that one, and felt a sinking sensation when I saw a look of disappointment flash across his face. I desperately tried to remember more detail, but the more I forced myself the less sure I was that my memory was accurate.
‘I’m sorry,’ I told him, hanging my head. ‘I was concentrating on Mariusz.’
He gave me a small smile. ‘Don’t worry, this is all really useful. Thank you.’
Singh double-checked that there was nothing else I could add before turning off the tape.
‘What’s this all about?’ I asked him. ‘Is it something to do with Lukas?’
He looked at the door, then back at me. I knew I shouldn’t be asking the question, and he was well within his rights to refuse to answer me, but I also knew he trusted my judgement of Lukas.
‘Paige, I think it would be a good idea if you stopped looking into this,’ he began, his voice level. ‘There’s more going on here than you realise.’
I took a moment before I answered, trying to make sure I didn’t snap at him. ‘I’m not going to do anything stupid, but I want to help Lukas. Have you even interviewed Mariusz? The guy who went into the house while I was there looked like a drug addict, and the one who was inside the house passed something to the kid who rode off on his bike. Maybe Mariusz is mixed up in something with this gang, and Lukas found out about it?’ He looked like he was about to speak but I leant forward and cut him off. ‘What if this gang are connected to Nadia’s death, and the fire, and Lukas lied about it in order to protect his son? I can’t think of anyone else that he’d be willing to go to prison for. I don’t know if Mariusz had anything to do with his stepmum’s murder, but maybe Lukas thinks he did.’
I sat back triumphantly, sure that Singh would be happy to talk to me about it, but to my dismay he shook his head.
‘You need to stop doing this, Paige. I can’t give you details about an ongoing investigation – you know that. You’re not interpreting for us this time, and I can’t justify talking to you about it.’ His tone was firm and I knew he meant it. I felt my face colour.
‘I’m just trying to help an innocent man,’ I replied, louder than I had intended. ‘How can you carry on with your job knowing he shouldn’t be in jail? Or if you think he should, why don’t you believe me?’
Singh frowned, and for a moment I thought he was angry with me but then I realised he was confused.
‘Paige, Lukas has been released. One of the witnesses changed their statement earlier today, probably while I was speaking to you and Sasha, and as a result the CPS decided the evidence against him was too circumstantial to hold him.’ He must have seen the delight on my face at being proved right, because he continued. ‘This doesn’t mean we don’t think he’s responsible,’ he warned me. ‘It means that we no longer feel we can prove our case. What we’re going to be doing now is continuing our investigation, gathering more evidence, and then we’ll arrest the person we believe is responsible. That might still be Lukas.’
I didn’t know what to think. I was elated that Lukas had been released, and that the police investigation would be looking at all the angles I’d been considering, but I was also aware of the look on Singh’s face. Something had changed since our earlier chat, and now he wasn’t convinced that Lukas was innocent; I’d been wrong about him trusting my judgement. That hurt, but I tried not to let it show.
‘Where can I find Lukas?’ I asked. ‘His house isn’t habitable right now.’
‘A friend came to collect him. I don’t know who, and don’t bother trying to ask another officer because we can’t give out that sort of information.’ He sat back and looked at me. ‘It’s good that you’re doing your best to fight for what you think is right, but can’t you find yourself a different cause?’ He laughed, but it was with exasperation rather than humour. ‘I like you, Paige, but you’re your own worst enemy.’
I opened my mouth to reply, then shut it again. I thought of the notebook in my bag, and the people I’d been speaking to. With a slight shiver, I remembered the bulky man waiting outside my flat, shoving me roughly against a wall and threatening me. My pride would take me too far one day, and perhaps I should listen to Singh for once. After all, he did have my best interests at heart.
He glanced at the door again. ‘Look, I need to be getting back, but I just need to ask. Are you okay? You seem really on edge about this, more so than I would have expected from you.’
Swallowing hard, I nodded. ‘I’m fine. Honestly.’
‘Is Anna okay?’
‘She’s fine, yeah. Loves her new job, and it’s been good for her.’
‘Good.’ He looked down at his hands. ‘You haven’t had any problems from your ex again, have you? Mike, I mean,’ he added, obviously remembering that Max was now my ex, too.
I smiled at his efforts to hide his concern. ‘No, nothing like that. I …’ I let my voice tail off. I’d been about to tell him what had happened with Max, but then thought better of it. It wasn’t the time or the place.
Tilting his head on one side, he gave me a quizzical look, but when he realised I wasn’t going to continue he smiled and stood up.
‘Okay, I’ve got some criminals to catch,’ he said lightly, holding the door open for me.
I was still burning with curiosity about the gang Mariusz had been hanging around with, and whether they were linked to Nadia’s death, but he’d made it clear that he wouldn’t be telling me anything else. Saying goodbye, I went back to my car and called Sasha straight away. She picked up, and I could see from the background that she was still at the office.
Paige? What’s wrong?
I’ll get straight to the point – do you know that Lukas has been released?
A look of confusion turned to a look of delight. No, I didn’t know. Sometimes it takes a while for that sort of information to filter through to us. Oh, I’m so pleased for him. How did you know? Have you seen him?
I shook my head. I’ve just been speaking to Singh again. I gave her a brief explanation of seeing Mariusz with the gang of lads, and I could see her thinking as she took it all in.
That does seem very strange. I wonder if it’s his way of acting out following Nadia’s death? I know they had a good relationship. Well, I’ll see if I can get hold of Lukas and see him tomorrow, check up on him. Did they say where he’s staying?
No, a friend came to pick him up, they said, I told her. That’s all I know.
Okay, I’ll see what I can find out. Thanks for letting me know.
Sasha? I asked. If you go to see him tomorrow, do you mind if I come too?
She nodded to show she understood. Of course. I’ll call you once I’ve got hold of him.
I thanked her and we both hung up. I knew that Singh had told me to back off, but all I was going to do was see that Lukas was okay. After that, I’d leave it to the police, I told myself, though I wasn’t very convincing.
Ninety minutes before the fire
Lukas rounded the corner on his way to the pub, when he saw someone crossing the road towards him. He looked over his shoulder to check there was nobody around who he recognised.
What are you doing here? he asked the woman as she came close to him, slipping her arm through his.
I wanted to see you, she replied, leaning up to kiss him. He shied away, checking around him again.
Not here.
She looked annoyed but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to risk Nadia finding out about them, especially when they’d just had a conversation about starting a family. Anyway, this was just a fling, nothing serious.
There was a small alleyway ahead of them on the left, so he pulled her in there, out of sight of the road and the curtain-twitching of the local residents. Just because he didn’t know anyone who lived on that street didn’t mean it couldn’t get back to Nadia.
She reached up to kiss him again and this time he didn’t resist her, enjoying the sensation of he
r body pressed against his for a few moments. Why did he do this? He loved Nadia with all his heart, and he desperately tried to be faithful, but he couldn’t resist women. Women, of all shapes and sizes, skin colours and ages, were beautiful creatures, and he wanted to please them. When a woman showed interest in him, he knew he should tell them no, he was married, but they were so enticing.
This has to stop, he told her, once he’d pulled away. I can’t do this any more.
Don’t you want this? she asked, pouting.
I want you, but I love my wife. I want to be faithful to her.
With a frown, she stepped back. What do you mean?
I mean what I said. It has to stop. I can’t see you any more.
He saw her eyes narrow and wondered if he’d made a mistake. She had the power to make his life incredibly difficult if he made her mad.
Where has this come from? You didn’t seem to object to being with me just a few days ago, she said. He flushed as he remembered that afternoon, hot and sweaty in her bed. She’d had more energy than he had expected and he could barely keep up.
The memory made his resolve waver, and she could see it in his eyes. With a smirk, she stepped closer again and pressed her lips to his neck, her hand reaching for his belt buckle. Before she could slip her hand inside his jeans, however, he grabbed her by the wrist and shook his head.
No.
What’s wrong? Too risky for you? Her grin told him that she didn’t care.
No, I meant what I said, he told her. I love my wife. I can’t see you any more.
Her anger was quick to spark, and she slapped him across the face.
The Silent Suspect Page 19