Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
They didn’t actually make it into Caroline’s flat, but stood in the hallway by her door to wait for the emergency services.
Paramedics arrived first. While they went inside Mr Latham’s flat, Lily lingered in the hall with Flynn’s neighbours.
Five minutes later the police were in there too – a hum of voices floated out as they chatted with the paramedics and examined the scene.
It wasn’t long before the paramedics were on their way again. One of the uniformed officers stepped out into the hallway and introduced himself as PC Jones.
He smiled sympathetically. “I understand Mr Latham was your landlord,” he said to the group.
“That’s correct.” Mrs Patel nodded. “Absolutely terrible, isn’t it?
I have to say it’s not uncommon, though.
I’m a nurse in A&E and I can’t tell you the number of times we see injuries – or worse – from furniture falling on people.
” The officer opened his mouth to speak, but Mrs Patel continued forcefully.
“Sometimes I think having things attached to the wall can actually make things worse. For kids it makes sense, but I’ve seen adults who’ve assumed it’s safe to climb on shelving units because they were attached to the wall. Maybe that’s what Mr Latham did.”
“It certainly seems as though the shelving toppled onto him,” the officer said, retrieving a notepad from one of his many pockets. “Was it you who found him?” he asked Mrs Patel.
“No. It was…” Her finger hovered until she realised she didn’t know the answer.
“I was worried,” Caroline said, folding her arms across her chest. “I was supposed to meet him this morning because I clean the communal areas and we had a few things to discuss. But he didn’t answer when I knocked or when I called him.”
“So you went in to check? You have a key?”
“Yes. Because I clean his flat sometimes. I thought I’d check… actually it was Lily who thought it was a good idea to go in there.”
Lily inwardly grimaced as the officer glanced at her.
“Hang on a sec,” he said, pointing his pencil in Caroline’s direction. “Your name is…?”
“Caroline Redman. I live here in flat 4.”
“Thanks.” He scribbled away, then lifted his gaze to Lily. “And you are…?”
“Can I go first?” Aiden grumbled. “Assuming you want all our details? I was on a night shift last night, and I’ll be working again this evening. I wouldn’t mind getting a bit more shut-eye unless you need me.”
“I just need your details,” the officer said. “In case we have more questions later.”
“Aiden Montgomery,” he said, then aimed a thumb across the hall. “Flat 6.”
“And can you walk me through anything you know about the incident? Did you hear anything unusual?”
“First I heard was Caroline screeching this morning. The walls are thin.”
“I heard a crash last night,” Caroline put in. “That must have been when it happened.”
The police officer raised his hand for her to stop talking. “Did you hear it too?” he asked Aiden.
“No. Like I said, I was at work last night. Only came in around three. I heard the commotion this morning and went to see what was going on.” He yawned. “That’s all I can tell you. Can I go now?”
The officer took his phone number, then Aiden disappeared into his flat.
“Right,” the officer said, aiming his words at Lily. “Who are you and where do you live?”
“Lily Larkin,” she said. “I’m staying in flat 3, but I don’t live there. I’m just visiting my boyfriend for a few days. He’s a police officer. PC Flynn Grainger. Maybe you know him.”
“Name doesn’t ring a bell. What borough does he work in?”
“Oh.” That felt like something she should know. “I… umm…”
“It’s all right.” He smiled warmly. “Fairly sure my girlfriend wouldn’t be able to answer that one either. So you went inside with Mrs Redman? Is that correct?”
“Yeah. We just went to have a quick look, and we found Mr Latham…” She waved a hand in the vague direction of his flat. “Like that.”
“I shouted for Mrs Patel,” Caroline said. “Since she’s a nurse. I thought maybe she could help.”
Mrs Patel sighed. “I could see straight away he was beyond help.”
“That’s when Aiden called 999,” Caroline added. “I still can’t believe this is happening. He must only have been about forty. It’s awful.”
The officer took Mrs Patel’s details, then wrote down all of their phone numbers.
“Nobody moved anything in there, did they?” he finally asked.
“No,” Caroline replied immediately.
Lily was suddenly glad she’d used a tissue to pick up the screw. Not that it mattered anyway. It wasn’t a crime scene. Just a tragic accident.
“No,” she said when she felt the officer’s gaze on her. “I got Caroline a glass of water because she felt dizzy, but nobody moved anything.” That was pretty much true. She’d put everything back where she’d found it, anyway.
“Thanks for your help,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at his colleague who was hovering inside Mr Latham’s door, speaking into his radio.
“What happens now?” Mrs Patel asked.
“We’re just waiting to hear from the coroner that we can remove the body…” He trailed off and caught his colleague’s eye. The officer gave him a discreet nod. “Okay. It seems as though we just need to wait for the undertaker to collect the body. Do any of you know if he has family?”
“He lives alone.” Caroline looked at Mrs Patel. “I’ve never heard him talk about his family. He doesn’t have visitors – at least not that I’ve seen.”
“He mentioned his grandmother to me,” Lily said. “She’d baked biscuits for him.”
Mrs Patel made an odd noise in the back of her throat but smiled sweetly when the officer looked at her.
“We’ll look into the next of kin then.” His gaze went to Caroline. “I’ll need to get that spare key from you so we can secure the premises.”
“Right.” She pushed her hands into her pockets.
The keys jangled as she pulled them out.
“They’re mine,” she said, staring blankly at the bunch.
“Um…” With her hand in her other pocket, she paused, and an uncertain smile tugged at her lips.
“I’m not sure what I did with it.” She pressed her fingers to her temple.
“They’re on the rack inside Mr Latham’s door.
I left them there when we came out of his flat. ”
“Okay,” the officer said. “I’ll have a look for it.”
Lily frowned. She hadn’t been with Caroline – she’d left the flat before Lily.
Why would she have left the key there, though?
Her gaze went to the bunch of keys dangling in Caroline’s hand.
A yellow keyring stood out among the others.
Lily would have sworn that was the one she’d used to get into Mt Latham’s flat.
Lily opened her mouth to point out that it was in Caroline’s hand, but was interrupted.
“Is there anything we need to do?” Caroline asked.
The officer shook his head. “Thanks for all your help. We’ll be in touch if we need to follow up with you, but this all seems straightforward so far.”
Caroline took a step towards her door, but dithered, chewing on her nail.
“Why don’t you come down and have a cuppa with me?” Mrs Patel said, taking her arm. “You won’t want to be on your own, I’m sure. You’ve had a shock.”
“Thank you,” Caroline said, looking happy to be led away.
“You too,” Mrs Patel said, catching Lily’s eye over her shoulder. “Come and have a nice hot drink with us.”
Lily followed them down the stairs, still debating whether she should mention the key. In the end, she put it out of her mind. Either she had another key with a yellow key ring, or she’d notice later and hand it in.
“It’ll be a terrible shock for his poor grandmother,” she said once they were away from the police officer. “Mr Latham brought me biscuits that she’d baked.”
Mrs Patel snorted. “Unless his grandmother works for Walker’s Shortbread, there’s no way she baked those biscuits.
He’s always trying to pass them off as homemade.
I had my suspicions, but the stack of them in his flat has left me in no doubt whatsoever.
” She shook her head as she opened her door. “Strange man.”
“I need to make a call,” Lily said. “I’ll come in for a drink in a minute, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.” Mrs Patel patted Lily’s hand. “I’ll get the kettle on. A good, strong cup of tea will help us all with the shock.”