The Silent Suspect by Nell Pattison (epub e ink reader .TXT) 📕

searchingly, and after a moment I felt uncomfortable, as if he was looking right into my mind. ‘I think I know you well enough that you wouldn’t be so emotionally involved if you didn’t genuinely believe what you’re saying. And if you believe it that fiercely, I really don’t know what to think any more.’

I rubbed my face and took a couple of deep breaths. ‘All I’m asking is that you keep an open mind. I understand that the evidence points towards Lukas being the one responsible, but can you at least consider the fact that someone else might have had a motive to kill Nadia?’

‘We’re still investigating, but I can’t push it too far,’ he replied with a frown.

‘Fine, but don’t stop us from talking to people,’ I replied, my tone sharper than I’d intended. ‘I’ve been doing my best not to get involved, like you told me, but if Sasha and I find something that could prove his innocence, tell me you’ll take it seriously.’

He glanced over his shoulder, back in the direction of the most recent fire, then turned back to me. ‘They think it was kids messing around,’ he told me. ‘One of the neighbours said there’s been a gang of teenagers hanging around outside for a few days, coming and going on bikes. They haven’t been seen since last night when the fire started.’

I nodded. ‘Thank you.’

He gave me a small smile. ‘I meant what I said, Paige. I respect you.’ His eyes flicked up to mine. ‘And I like you. But I also worry about you. Don’t do anything stupid.’

I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off. ‘Don’t argue with me. You know you tend to act before you’ve thought about the consequences. I can’t stop you from talking to people, so please promise me you’ll be careful.’

‘I will,’ I told him. He stood up and gave my shoulder a quick squeeze before walking back towards where he’d left his car. I didn’t follow him immediately, because I wanted to think about what he’d said, and I needed a bit of time to gather my own thoughts.

When I’d told Singh about Lukas’s reaction to Nadia’s death, I knew he thought I’d become emotional because we were arguing, but really it had made me realise something – I had never had that sort of love in my life, not even with Max. And that scared me, because the answer to his question was becoming more and more clear.

Chapter 17

After my conversation with Singh, I didn’t want to go straight home. I hadn’t heard from Sasha, and I wondered if she was annoyed with me for talking to Singh. She’d probably be digging for information when I saw her on Monday.

Rather than being discouraged from digging any further, I found myself wondering what else I could do to help Lukas. I was even more certain that he hadn’t killed Nadia, and I felt I had a duty to act on that; my job involved supporting and empowering members of the Deaf community, and here was someone who was especially vulnerable. I drove around for a little while, eventually deciding to pay a visit to the office for the care agency both Nadia and Caroline worked for. Even if the break-up between Lukas and Caroline had been amicable, I imagined it would be difficult to work with your ex’s new wife, and I wondered if that had led to any animosity between Caroline and Nadia at work. I assumed it wasn’t a coincidence that they worked together, and that was how Lukas and Nadia had met. That was one thing I was hoping to ask Paul about.

As it was Saturday I wasn’t sure if he’d be in, but I didn’t have to wait long before I was shown into his office by the receptionist, and he offered me a broad smile along with a firm handshake.

‘How’s Lukas?’ he asked me as soon as I’d sat down. ‘I was wondering if I should go and visit him, but I didn’t know if he’d be happy to see me.’

‘You can ask,’ I replied. ‘Seeing a friendly face might be good for him. But don’t be offended if he refuses to see you,’ I added. ‘He’s not in a good way at the moment.’

Paul looked concerned and leant forward, resting his elbows on his desk. ‘Is there anything I can do to help him?’

‘Well, that’s partly why I’m here,’ I explained. ‘I’m trying to find out a bit more information about Nadia, just to see if I can work out a way to help Lukas. In case there’s something the police have missed. I can’t believe he’d do this to her.’

He shook his head, and for a moment I thought he was disagreeing with me, but then he said, ‘You’re absolutely right. Lukas would never hurt Nadia; she meant everything to him. I know he’s had problems with alcohol in the past, but even then he wasn’t a violent man. He’s always been a depressed drunk, not an angry one.’

‘I understand,’ I replied. ‘How is that you and Lukas became friends?’

‘We knew each other from down the pub, before Caroline worked for me. He was always sitting on his own, so I learnt a bit of sign language. We used to chat about the football. When he told me his wife was looking for a new job, I offered her a position, including training.’

‘That was Caroline?’ I asked, double-checking.

He nodded. ‘We stayed friends even after they got divorced. He went through a rough time, but things improved so much when he started seeing Nadia.’

‘Do you know of any problems the two of them might have had recently? Anything that might give someone a motive to do something like this?’

He grimaced. ‘Possibly. But I don’t really know how much I should be telling you. I mean, Lukas is my friend, and I want to help him, but I don’t know how he’d feel about me discussing