Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
The phone only rang a couple of times before Flynn answered.
“Missing me already?”
“Yeah.” Lily barely registered his jokey tone. “I didn’t really think you’d answer. Aren’t you busy?”
“Not yet. I only just arrived at work.”
She felt her forehead wrinkle. “Why?”
“It’s a forty-minute drive.”
“I guess you don’t work in this borough then?”
“No.”
“What borough do you work in?” She shook her head, realising he’d probably need to get off the phone soon. “Never mind. Something weird happened.”
“I’ve only been gone forty minutes,” he said, voice laced with mirth. “What can possibly have happened in that time?”
“Has it really only been forty minutes? It feels like about a day.”
“Aww… you really are missing me.”
She rolled her eyes. “It feels like longer because so much has happened. Your landlord is dead.”
It took a moment for Flynn to speak. “I literally can’t leave you alone for five minutes. What on earth did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” she said and couldn’t help but laugh. Since it felt pretty inappropriate, she moved along the hall so no one would hear her. “I did find him, though.”
“Are you serious, or is this a prank?”
“I’m serious. The police are here. I guess they think it was accidental since the undertaker is coming to remove the body soon.”
Again, it took Flynn a few seconds to respond. “What happened to him?”
“It looks as though a bookcase toppled and either smacked him on the head or knocked him into the coffee table. Seems as though he most likely died from a head injury, anyway. That’s what Mrs Patel thought.”
“He’s actually dead? Mr Latham?”
“Yes. I guess that was the noise we heard last night.”
“The crash?”
“Yeah. But there was shouting, too, wasn’t there?”
“I think that was just Caroline having a go at Liam.”
“It sort of looked as though someone had removed screws from the wall.” She paced by the main entrance. “Also, did Mr Latham ever have a dog?”
“How would I know that?”
“I don’t mean ever… but recently. In the time you’ve known him?”
“No. Why?”
“There are dog treats in his kitchen.”
“I’ve never known him to have a dog.”
“Anyway, the police seem to think it was a tragic accident.”
“I’m sure it was.”
“His grandma never made the biscuits, you know. There are loads of packets of them in his flat.”
“It’s not really a crime to pass off shop-bought biscuits as homemade.”
“Makes him a bit of an oddball though, doesn’t it?”
“On the scale of odd things people do, that’s quite tame.”
“Why would he have dog biscuits?”
“I’ve no idea. I have to go into work, though. My shift starts soon.”
“Okay.”
“Lily,” he said before she could say goodbye. “You are going to stay out of trouble, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely.”
“Maybe do some sightseeing?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll probably do that.”
His sigh indicated he didn’t believe her for a moment.
“I’ll call you when I get a quiet moment,” he said. “If I get a quiet moment.”
It was Mr Patel who opened the door to Lily.
“I’ve just heard,” he said, ushering Lily inside. “Terrible, isn’t it? Just awful. I can’t get my head around it. He was only a young man.”
“Awful,” Lily echoed as he led her into the living room where Mrs Patel sat beside Caroline on a salmon-coloured couch. Lily took a matching armchair, and Mr Patel poured her a tea from the pot on the table.
“I wonder if he does have family,” Caroline said. “It’s strange that no one ever visited him.”
“What will happen to our leases?” Mr Patel asked. “We can still live here, can’t we?”
“I’d think so,” Caroline said. “The contract should pass to whoever inherits his estate.”
“It’s never ending,” Mr Patel declared, sitting heavily beside his wife. “Will we ever feel secure in our home?”
“Hush,” Mrs Patel said sternly. “We’re lucky we have a home.”
“But all this time we’ve spent worrying about him booting us out, and we’re not even safe now he’s dead.”
“Henry!” Mrs Patel chastised. “Don’t say that.”
“Well, it’s true.”
Lily set her cup and saucer on the side table. “Why were you worried about Mr Latham kicking you out?”
“He did it before,” Mrs Patel said. “That’s what I heard, anyway. A while ago someone at work told me she had a friend who used to live in this building. Apparently Mr Latham kicked all the tenants out.”
“Is he allowed to do that?”
Mrs Patel gave an ambiguous shrug. “He claimed there was asbestos, but that’s not true.”
“We looked into it,” Mr Patel said. “Asked around some neighbours in the adjoining buildings. They said there was never any work done.”
“It would have been a big job to get rid of asbestos,” Caroline said, eyes on the tissue which she twisted in her hands. “Someone would have noticed that.”
Lily eyed the walls suspiciously.
“We’ve had builders in to check,” Mr Patel said. “On the sly, mind. We didn’t want Mr Latham finding out we were looking into it. Anyway, there’s no asbestos.”
“So you think he made that up to kick the tenants out?” Lily said.
All three of them nodded in unison.
“We’ve been living in fear that he might try the same thing with us,” Mr Patel said. “And then I lost my job a couple of months ago. Things have been very stressful.”
“It was fine, though,” Mrs Patel said. “Henry was panicking, but when I asked Mr Latham if we could pay the rent a little later, he was understanding.”
“Oh, goodness.” Mr Patel slapped a hand across his forehead. “There was nothing in writing to say it was okay. Whoever takes over the building might just think we didn’t pay. They could kick us out over it.”
“Calm down, Henry.” Mrs Patel patted his knee. “Don’t invite drama into your head before you need to.”
“You’re right.” He nodded vigorously. “Absolutely right. There’s nothing to worry about yet.”
“I don’t have anything in writing about my cleaning,” Caroline said. “Mr Latham didn’t pay me for it – just gave me a reduction in rent.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I suppose I’ll have to renegotiate with whoever takes over. How will we even know who that is?”
“Did Mr Latham own the place privately?” Lily asked. “It’s not part of an agency or anything?”
The three of them glanced at each other. Finally, Mrs Patel spoke. “As far as I’m aware, it was just him.”
“So it’s not a business name on your rental contract?”
Again, they all looked at the others for confirmation.
“I’ll fetch the contract,” Mr Patel said.
He returned a few minutes later with a single sheet of paper.
“That’s it?” Lily asked.
“Yes.” He handed it over, and Lily’s eyes scanned the document.
“It’s very basic.” She turned it over and glanced at the signatures. “I guess he owned the property privately. It’s not listed under a business name.”
“So what do we do?” Caroline asked. “Should we continue paying rent as normal?”
Lily shrugged. “Once the next of kin has been informed, I guess they’ll get in touch. I could ask Flynn. He might know more about the procedure for these things.”
“Oh, no,” Caroline said quickly. “I don’t think there’s any need to involve the police more than necessary.”
“Is he a policeman?” Mr Patel asked, sitting up straighter.
Lily nodded.
“We shouldn’t bother him,” Caroline said. “He’s always so busy. I can do some research about what happens in these circumstances.”
“Okay.” Lily frowned. “But it also affects Flynn, so he’ll need to know too.”
“Of course,” Caroline said. “I only meant don’t bother him unnecessarily.”
“I never knew he was a police officer,” Mrs Patel said, lips curling approvingly.
At a movement outside the window, Mrs Patel crossed the room to look out.
“Just a taxi,” she said. “I suppose it might take a while for the undertaker to arrive. We’re a bit in limbo until then.
Or so it feels. How about I make us some sandwiches?
” She didn’t wait for a reply but strode from the room.
Lily would probably have drank her tea and left, but the mention of food made her stomach growl.
She’d hang around a little longer.