Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
It must have been Caroline. That’s all Lily could think as she stomped around the park at the end of the road. She’d slipped the screws into her pocket and called the police to set her up.
When had she put them there, though? Lily parked herself on an empty bench, choosing the end which hadn’t been defaced with obnoxious red graffiti.
Lily had been wearing her coat when she’d searched Mr Latham’s office. Caroline could have slipped the screws into her pocket then.
She inhaled through her mouth, remembering Liam taking the thread from her coat. Had that just been a sneaky bit of sleight of hand?
If she wanted to narrow it down to the people who’d had access to her coat pocket, Aiden had also spent a while hovering by the coat rack earlier when he’d been having a go at her. She’d been focused on his rant and could easily have missed him slipping something into her pocket.
She supposed Mr Patel also could have done it when she was in his car.
Surely not him, though. Someone could have done it yesterday, in which case she couldn’t even remember who would have had the opportunity.
One thing was for sure – someone deliberately took the screws from the wall.
And they clearly went back for them when they realised they’d left them behind.
Now they were trying to frame her.
Reaching into her pocket, she took hold of the screws and rolled them in her gloved hand.
What was she supposed to do with them? She got her phone out, wanting to call Flynn but knowing that wasn’t a good idea.
There was a message from Maria, asking how Lily was doing and reassuring her that all was well with the ice cream shop.
Briefly, she contemplated calling her before pulling up Seren’s number and hitting dial.
“Hey!” she said brightly. “We were just talking about you. Wondering how you were getting on. I assumed you were having too much fun with Flynn to message.”
“I wish,” Lily said. “Flynn’s working. He’s also annoyed with me.”
“How come?” Seren asked.
Lily chuckled, not sure where to start. “Are you with Kit?”
“Yeah. We’re just making dinner.”
“Put me on speaker and I’ll tell you both.”
A moment later, Kit said hello and asked what was going on. Apparently he’d been able to hear the beginning of the conversation, anyway.
“I need you to help me out with a hypothetical scenario. If someone had committed a crime and planted evidence on you, what would you do with the evidence? Get rid of it, or hang on to it in case it’s needed to prove their guilt?”
The silence made Lily imagine their bemused faces.
“I think we need more information,” Kit said finally.
“It’s a long story,” Lily said, trying to come up with the main points. “Basically, Flynn’s landlord died in the flat upstairs. I thought it looked suspicious, so I’ve been snooping around. The upstairs neighbour called the police and complained about me trespassing in the dead guy’s flat.”
A snort of laughter was distinctly Kit.
“That’s why Flynn’s annoyed?” Seren asked.
“Yeah, but he’s also busy and stressed. He’ll be fine. Anyway, I’m out for a walk and I found two screws in my coat pocket.”
“What kind of screws?” Kit asked.
“The kind which were holding a bookcase in place before someone removed them.”
“Ah!” Kit chuckled. “They removed the screws and left the bookcase free to go on a crime spree?”
“No!” Lily laughed loudly. “It looked as though the bookcase fell and landed on the landlord.”
“And killed him?” Seren asked.
“Yes. But I think someone set it up to look that way.”
“And now that person is trying to make it look as though it was you?”
“Yes.”
“Can I just point out,” Seren said. “You’re the only person I know who can call and tell me someone’s trying to frame them for murder and I continue a conversation as though it’s normal.”
“It’s ridiculous.” Lily managed a small smile. “I realise that. I’m just panicking about these screws. What if I go back to Flynn’s and find police wanting to speak to me and I have these screws on me?”
“Get rid of the screws,” Kit said firmly. “Straightaway.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” Lily chewed on her bottom lip. “But what if I need them later? To prove someone tampered with the bookcase.”
“It’s not worth the risk,” Kit said. “If the police find the screws on you, it won’t matter what you say – it’ll look like you did it.”
“He’s right,” Seren said. “It’s going to really annoy Flynn if his colleagues find evidence of a crime on you.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
“Bloody hell, Lily,” Kit sighed. “How do you always get wound up in this stuff?”
“These things just seem to happen around me.”
“Do you know why someone would want to kill the landlord?” Seren said.
“The more I dig, the more reasons I find. He seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with one woman in the building. Stalking her, I think. There’s another guy who seems really protective of everyone, so I wonder what he might have done in response to the landlord harassing women.
But no one has anything good to say about him, so it seems everyone had some reason to want him gone. ”
“Wow,” Seren whispered.
“Yeah. I also suspect he faked asbestos in the building so he could buy it cheap from the previous owners. I’m still looking into that theory. I need to find out when he bought the building to see if the timing adds up.”
“Check the Land Registry,” Kit said.
“The what?”
“Land Registry. It gives the information about who owns buildings. It’ll also tell you when they purchased it.”
Lily stood up. “Can I find it online?”
“Yeah.”
“And anyone can access it?”
“Yes.”
“You’re amazing. Thank you. I’m going to check.” She started walking, then grimaced as she realised how the conversation had all been about her. “Everything okay with you guys?” she asked sheepishly.
“Yes,” Seren laughed. “We’re fine. Go and continue your sleuthing.”
“Thanks again.”
“Lily!” Kit called when she was about to hang up. “Don’t forget to get rid of the screws.”
She absolutely would have forgotten.
As she passed a bin at the edge of the park, she tossed them in and smiled to herself.
No way anyone was setting her up.