Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
The ten-minute drive ended on a housing estate which couldn’t have been more than a few years old. The squat, redbrick houses sat close together and lacked personality.
Once again, Lily was the designated spokesperson. Mr and Mrs Patel waited in the car while she marched up the drive where a blue Ford Focus was parked.
The woman who answered the door looked to be around sixty.
Her lithe frame and strong cheekbones could have given her a no-nonsense kind of air, but her eyes were weary and her skin an unhealthy pale colour.
Her hair was blonde, but the roots gave her away as both a natural brunette and someone who was either growing out their natural colour or who didn’t have the time or energy for personal grooming. Lily suspected the latter.
“Can I help you?” she asked, while a solemn chocolate Labrador sat obediently behind her.
“Are you Mrs Silverton?” Lily asked.
“Yes. If you’re selling something, I’m afraid I’m not interested. I have to go out in a few minutes.”
Lily hoped that was a lie to get rid of her and not that her trip with the Patels was a complete waste of time.
“I’m Lily,” she said. “My boyfriend, Flynn, is one of your tenants in the flats in Walthamstow.”
Mrs Silverton let out an odd grunt. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“You do own a building in Walthamstow?”
“Yes. But no one lives in it.”
“People are definitely living in it,” Lily said.
She laughed, a high-pitched, mocking sound.
“Well, that’s all I need. I shouldn’t even be surprised.
” She glared at Lily. “If your boyfriend is squatting in my building, you might like to tell him the walls are full of asbestos. He and whoever else is there are inhaling toxins every moment they stay there.”
“There’s no asbestos,” Lily said, feeling sorry for the woman who she was now certain had been taken for a ride by Mr Latham. “And my boyfriend isn’t squatting in the building. He’s a police officer, and he’s been a tenant in your building for a year now.”
“That can’t be right.” Her mouth twisted into a bemused smile. “I’ll call Mr Latham later and ask him to check no one is in the building.”
“All the flats are occupied,” Lily said.
“For goodness’ sake.” The change in her pitch made the dog stand up, ears pricked. “I don’t have time for this. I need to visit my husband. If I’m not there on time, he’ll worry.”
“I’m sorry if this is upsetting,” Lily said, “but if you’ll give me a few minutes to explain…”
“I don’t even know who you are. Why should I believe a word you say? I’ll call Mr Latham later.”
“Mr Latham is dead,” Lily said, grimacing slightly at her bluntness.
“Jeremy? Dead? That can’t be right.”
“Were you related to him?” Lily asked.
She shook her head. “No. Wait. I’ll call him now.” With her phone to her ear, she continued to look at Lily. “It’s not even ringing.”
“No. I’m sorry, but he died on Friday evening.”
“It’s not long since I spoke to him. Just a couple of weeks.” She pressed a hand to her forehead, and tears welled on her lower lids. “Goodness me. It’s one thing after another. What am I going to do now?”
“Would it be all right if I came in for a few minutes?” Lily asked. “There’s more that you should know.”
She released a shuddering breath. “Fine. But just for a few minutes.”
Lily followed her into the compact kitchen, where they sat opposite each other across a small bistro table.
The room was spotless, and the plain white units looked new.
A window above the sink offered a view of a tiny but obviously well-loved garden.
The dog settled himself on a blanket in the corner.
“How did you know Mr Latham?” Lily asked carefully.
“He’s the building manager,” she said. “Or he was. When we bought the building, we hired Mr Latham as a caretaker and building manager. He lived in one of the flats. Very nice man. He made everything easy for me and my husband.” Her gaze shifted out of the window.
“We’d only had the building a couple of years when William – that’s my husband – was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
It was a difficult time, as you can imagine.
Mr Latham was a godsend. He dealt with everything to do with the flats and hardly bothered us with anything. ”
“But he told you there was asbestos in the building?” Lily asked.
“There was asbestos in the building. Still is.” She ran a hand down her face. “How am I going to deal with that now, on top of everything else?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “How did Mr Latham die?”
“There was an accident. It seems he fell and hit his head.”
“That’s awful.” She chewed her lower lip.
“He was such a kind man. The asbestos notice came through right around the time I was moving William into a care home. I’d been looking after him at home, but it got too much.
Such a difficult decision, but I think it was better for him in the end.
Anyway, when the asbestos notice came, it was too much for me.
I was overwhelmed, but Mr Latham handled everything.
Honestly, I don’t know what I’d have done without him.
” She paused. “I guess I’m going to find out. ”
“Where did the asbestos notice come from?” Lily asked.
“Mr Latham had builders in to repair some floorboards. They discovered it.”
“So the notice came from the builders?”
“Yes. They said it was dangerous for anyone to live there. Mr Latham dealt with getting the tenants out.”
“And then what?” Lily asked.
“It’s all been a lot of red tape since then. We had a quote to remove the asbestos, but it was around a hundred thousand. I didn’t have that kind of money. If I could, I’d sell the building, but it’s not that easy.”
“Because of the asbestos,” Lily mused.
“Exactly. I don’t mean to complain. I’m sure others have it far worse than me, but with the care home payments and no money coming in from the flats, I’ve had a bit of a rough time.
Our old house was too big for just me anyway, I suppose, but I’d have stayed if I could.
It was the place I’d lived with my husband, and I don’t think I’ll ever feel as attached to this place, or anywhere else. ”
Lily’s heart sank. “You sold your house for financial reasons?”
“Yes.”
“Could I ask who you got the quote from for the removal of the asbestos?”
“I couldn’t say.” She shrugged. “Mr Latham handled everything.”
Lily thought as much. “And have you been paying him for his services?”
“Not a lot. He said he wasn’t really doing much, and he felt bad taking my money when I was having a difficult time. Decent like that, he was.”
“I’m very sorry to tell you this,” Lily said. “But I think Mr Latham was a conman.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“He’s been renting out the flats for the last year. The money has been going into his private account.”
“That can’t be right.” She stared at Lily. “The building is uninhabitable. If people are living there, I’m going to end up liable for any health issues.”
“There’s no asbestos,” Lily said. “Mr Latham made it up.”
Mrs Silverton opened and closed her mouth, but was clearly struggling to comprehend the situation.
“I believe he faked a letter from a fabricated building company. I assume you didn’t have any direct contact with the builders?”
“No.” Her chin quivered. “Mr Latham dealt with it all.”
“He faked the letters and evicted the tenants,” Lily explained. “Then he took on new tenants and told them he was the landlord. They’ve been paying rent directly to him with no idea he wasn’t actually the landlord.”
“He must have taken thousands of pounds.” She paused. “Tens of thousands. Or more.”
“I’d guess so.”
“I would have been able to stay in my house,” she said flatly.
“I’m sorry,” Lily said.
“How do you know all this?” she asked, eyeing Lily sceptically.
“It was me and one of the other tenants who found Mr Latham after he died. I noticed a few things which didn’t seem right, so I started asking questions and digging around.”
“There’s definitely no asbestos?” she asked, her brow wrinkling.
“No.”
She covered her mouth as a sob escaped her, and Lily waited a few minutes while she cried quietly. “I’ve been such a fool,” she said. “Why didn’t I check what was really happening?”
“You’re not a fool,” Lily said. “You were overwhelmed and Mr Latham took advantage of that.”
“So what happens now?”
Lily shrugged. “It’s up to you. I don’t know much about it, but maybe you could get a lawyer and see about getting back the money that Mr Latham has collected for the rent.”
Sadly, she shook her head. “I can’t believe this.”
“I guess you could sell the building,” Lily continued.
“Or start claiming the rent from your tenants.” Lily tapped on the tabletop.
“If there’s one thing I can say, it’s that you have really nice tenants in the building.
I’m slightly biased about my boyfriend, but the rest of them seem like good people.
” At least if you overlooked the fact that one of them probably killed Mr Latham.
Aside from that, they seemed to be a good bunch.
“Two of them are outside if you want to meet them, but I suspect you may want a bit of time to take all of this in.”
“Yes. I think I will need a bit of time.” She pressed a hand to her heart. “It’s awful,” she said. “But I suppose it’s also a good thing. I’ve been so worried about the money running out to pay for the care home.”
Lily smiled lightly. “I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that any more.”