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

she’d hoped for when they’d seen each other again. Then, however, my mind jumped to another possibility: had Sasha been so besotted with Lukas that she would do anything to be with him, including getting rid of anyone who stood in her way? I looked at her with fresh eyes, then, and wondered if I could have missed the prime suspect staring me in the face all along. She’d hidden crucial information from the police, and I couldn’t overlook that.

She glanced over my shoulder at the door. Are you going to report me?

I’d asked myself the same question over and over since I’d found out. In the end, I’d decided against it. It was highly likely that the truth would come out eventually, seeing as the police knew, but I didn’t have to be the one to reveal it, especially as Singh had told me about it in confidence. I was furious with her for lying to me, but I didn’t want to be the one to ruin her life because of it. I knew she’d have to deal with the consequences of her actions eventually.

No, I told her. But I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to hand in my notice.

She nodded. That’s fair.

My problem now is trust, I told her. I’ve been basing everything on my assumption that you knew what you were talking about, that Lukas couldn’t have killed Nadia, but now how am I supposed to know what’s true and what’s a lie? I’ve been helping you all this time, when really Lukas is probably the one who killed Nadia, because she found out he was cheating on her.

No, Paige. Sasha’s eyes were wide and she leant forward in her chair to appeal to me. Please don’t say that. You can’t believe he did it, because he didn’t. I wouldn’t have lied to you about that, even with our affair. If he belonged in jail, I would have sat back and let the police get on with it.

I didn’t trust her, and her insistence that he was innocent made me suspect her even more. Could she have killed Nadia? Or had Lukas done it, and she was protecting him? Whichever it was, I knew I didn’t want to be associated with her any more.

How do you know, Sasha? I asked. He’s refused to defend himself, and he won’t say anything about the people who were hanging around his house the day before Nadia died. The police are looking into that, you know. They think the gang are connected to the fires, and I’ve seen Mariusz hanging around with them. Lukas needs to talk to the police. You need to make him.

She was shaking her head as I signed, but I didn’t know if she was telling me I was wrong or saying she couldn’t do it. Can’t you see, he’s refused to speak to the police because he knows the only person who can confirm his alibi is me?

You?

She nodded. I saw him on that night, before he went to the pub. I was waiting outside his house, and Nadia was inside. I saw her through the window, alive and well.

I was confused. If Sasha was telling the truth, she was the only person who could confirm that Nadia was still alive after Lukas had gone to the pub. She was able to provide Lukas with an alibi. But you were in Birmingham. You were there for the conference. You drove back when I called you about the fire.

No, I came back earlier in the day, and went straight to Lukas’s house. I wanted to see him. So if he’d told the police that I could give him an alibi, it would have come out that we were having an affair, and that would be the end of my career. I could see the weight of the last week bearing down on her as her shoulders sagged. Nadia was dead, so there was nothing he could do for her any more. He thought he could at least protect me. That’s why he refused to say anything to the police.

He could have still defended himself, I told her. He told me he knew who was responsible. Why didn’t he tell the police who that was?

A thought dawned on me, and I saw Sasha’s face go pale. Oh God. Does he think you killed Nadia?

Sasha pressed her lips together tightly, and I could see she was trying to keep her composure. I don’t know. He’s refused to see me alone or talk to me since we saw him at Paul’s the other day. But it’s possible.

For a moment, a feeling of panic rose in my chest. Could Sasha have killed Nadia? If she was jealous, knowing Lukas would never leave her, could she have lashed out? After all, if she saw Lukas before he went to the pub, it would have been easy for her to knock on the door and ask to speak to Nadia about something.

As I processed these thoughts, I must have failed to keep them from showing on my face, because Sasha looked panicked.

Paige, I didn’t kill Nadia! I didn’t think I’d have to tell you that, I thought you’d know I could never hurt anyone. She stood up and backed away so she was up against the wall of the meeting room. Yes, I fell in love with Lukas, and I shouldn’t have acted on it, should have passed his case on to another social worker, but that’s where my mistakes end. I know I’ve lied to you, but you can’t possibly believe I’m a murderer?

She sat back down and clasped her hands together, as if she were begging me. I didn’t know what to think. Surely either of them could have killed Nadia? Sasha claimed to be Lukas’s alibi, but what if that was a lie and they’d committed the crime together? I felt like I’d been taken for a fool, and that the pair of them had been using me the