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

a look at the large graze on my cheek, and I felt a small shiver at the gentleness of his touch. His hand was warm, and I found myself holding my breath until he slowly pulled away.

‘What the hell happened?’ he asked.

‘It’s nothing,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘I fell.’

‘You fell,’ he repeated, his tone sceptical. ‘Paige, tell me the truth.’

‘That is the truth. I had a bit too much to drink and I stumbled, crashed into a wall.’

He looked at me for a moment and I felt uncomfortable.

‘That’s what happened,’ I added, and instantly regretted it. The more I insisted it was true, the less honest I sounded. I knew Anna would kill me if she found out I hadn’t reported the attack to the police, but there was still a part of me that felt it was my own fault for digging too far into the case.

Singh glanced at Sasha, then looked back at me, pulling me aside and lowering his voice.

‘Look, if this was something to do with Max, I can help you report it and make sure he doesn’t hurt you again.’

The idea of Max laying a finger on me was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but laugh, which made Singh look even more confused.

‘I promise, it wasn’t Max. In fact …’ I wondered if I should tell him, but I’d already started speaking, so it seemed as good a time as any. ‘Max and I broke up.’

‘Oh. Well. Okay. I’m sorry.’ Singh didn’t seem to know what to say. He almost looked stunned, and I could see him trying to process it. Was he pleased? Or did I only recognise that emotion in his eyes because that’s what I wanted to see?

Remembering why we were there, I turned back to Sasha, who was getting impatient. Singh got the hint and sat down with us, though I noticed his eyes kept straying back to my face.

‘I won’t keep you long, but this is important,’ he told us, a look on his face that suggested what he was going to say was quite difficult for him. ‘I’ve had a look back at the evidence we’ve compiled against Lukas, and I’m wondering if there’s something in what you’ve been saying, Paige.’

I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I interpreted his words for Sasha.

‘We’ve interviewed him twice since his arrest,’ Singh continued, ‘and he’s still refused to cooperate. He hasn’t given us any details about that night, and hasn’t told us anything that suggests he’s innocent.’

I knew they had to employ a different interpreter for those interviews because I was a witness, but it still stung a little.

‘So do you have enough evidence, or not?’ I asked.

Singh shook his head. ‘In my opinion, no.’

Sasha and I looked at each other in shock.

You believe he didn’t kill Nadia? she asked.

‘He might have done,’ Singh said quickly. ‘I’m not saying that I agree with you that he’s innocent. I do think there’s a chance he’ll be released, at least until we can find further evidence.’

‘Why are you telling us this?’ I asked.

‘Because I think you might be right. I’m going to put together a case to ask Forest to let me look into this a bit further. His refusal to cooperate with us may or may not be a sign of his guilt. It might be that there’s something else going on, and he did kill Nadia but doesn’t want us to find out about another crime,’ he warned us, looking between me and Sasha. I didn’t know what he meant, but it echoed something Mariusz had said to us. Was there something else going on that Sasha and I didn’t know about?

‘And if I find something that points in that direction, I’ll follow it,’ Singh continued. ‘My job is to find out what really happened, whether that’s exonerating this man or not.’

Sasha nodded enthusiastically. That’s all we can ask.

‘Is that why you asked us to meet you here?’ I asked.

He nodded. ‘I don’t know what Forest is going to make of this. It might be something I have to do on my own time. But if you tell me what you know, if Lukas has said anything else to you, then it could help.’

Biting her lip, Sasha shook her head. This is what’s so frustrating. He won’t tell us anything. I know there’s no way he could have killed Nadia, but I don’t have any evidence I can show you. We’ve talked to a few people, so we can give you an idea of where to look, but that’s all.

‘Okay. Paige, I’ve read your statement from the night of the fire, but is there anything else you haven’t put in?’

I shrugged. ‘I included how Lukas looked and behaved, but I knew I wasn’t meant to speculate on what that meant so it doesn’t include my opinions. But that’s all.’

It took another fifteen minutes for Sasha and me to go through what we’d discussed, including my impressions of Lukas on the night Nadia had died, and the conversations I’d had with Jill Adams and Eric. We also told Singh about the accusations of theft, and the suggestion that Caroline had fabricated the whole thing. When I added this last detail, Sasha gave me a strange look – I hadn’t had time to tell her about it before we went to see Forest.

‘I’ll have a look at the statement Jill Adams gave us the first time, and go back to speak to her, as well as Eric. I’m not sure how we missed him when we went door-to-door. If Jill lied to us the first time it could have very serious consequences, both for her and for Lukas.’

‘I don’t think you’ll consider her to be a reliable witness,’ I replied. I knew how Singh operated; I’d worked with him during two past murder investigations, and when you spent that much time with another professional you began to understand how they worked.

‘Fair enough, I’ll see what I think,’ he said, giving me