Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
The silence only lasted a few seconds, but Lily felt the intensity of it in her whole body. Finally, it was Liam, perched on the windowsill and staring outside, who spoke.
“Mr Latham wasn’t a good person,” he said. “If someone killed him, they did us all a favour.”
“Liam!” Caroline snapped. “Don’t say things like that. No one deserves to die.”
“He did.” Slowly, Liam turned to face the room. “What if someone killed him by accident?” he asked. “Should their life be ruined too?”
Caroline moved to stand beside her son. “Don’t talk like that,” she said.
Lily leaned forwards. “Why do you think someone killed him by accident?”
For a moment she didn’t think he was going to answer. “Maybe I know what happened,” he said levelly.
“Liam!” Caroline snapped, but he spoke over her.
“What would happen if someone killed him by accident?” he asked.
“Manslaughter?” Mrs Patel whispered.
“What if it was self-defence?” Liam asked.
Lily’s heart raced. “What happened?” she murmured.
“You killed him?” Aiden asked, still slouched as though this were an everyday conversation.
“Of course he didn’t kill anyone,” Caroline growled. “Liam, don’t say any more. This is crazy.”
Liam’s eyebrows pulled together as he stared at his mum. “What exactly did you think I was going to say?”
“I don’t know, but you’re clearly talking nonsense. You don’t know what happened to him. How would you know that?”
“Wait…” A flicker of amusement flashed in Liam’s eyes. “Do you think I killed him?”
“No! Of course I don’t think that. You’d never hurt anyone. Even someone like him who probably deserved it.”
Lily’s eyes were fixed on Liam. “How do you know what happened?”
“He doesn’t,” Caroline spat. “Leave him alone.”
“Mum,” Liam said calmly. “Stop being weird. I didn’t kill him.”
“What do you know?” Mr Patel asked kindly. “You can tell us.”
“It’s not for me to tell,” he said, eyes flicking outside again. “I won’t tell anyone. Ever. Because I think he deserved it. And I don’t think the person who killed him deserves any kind of punishment. And I don’t think they should feel guilty about it either.”
“You saw it,” Gigi whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
Liam shrugged.
“Saw what?” Mrs Patel asked. “What happened?”
Liam held Gigi’s gaze, the two of them locked in some unspoken exchange.
“You saw,” she said again.
He nodded.
“It’s okay,” she said tearfully. “You can say. I’m going to go to the police, anyway.”
Liam’s features creased. “Why?”
“Because I did something terrible.”
“No,” Liam said firmly. “He did something terrible.”
“I need to confess,” Gigi said, eyes flicking to Lily.
“I was always planning on telling the police, but on the day the police questioned me I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
They’d have arrested me and taken me away.
I just wanted one more day with Pixie, and then I was going to hand myself in.
And I know it’ll look like I was going to keep quiet, but I swear I would’ve said something, eventually.
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
Lily gave her a reassuring smile. “What happened?”
“I pushed him,” she said. “He hit his head on the table. I didn’t even call for help. Maybe if I had done, he’d have been okay.”
“That’s not what happened!” Liam shot off the windowsill. “It didn’t happen like that. You can’t tell that to the police. They’ll definitely arrest you.”
“You were there?” Lily asked Liam.
He nodded. “I was just coming home. Mr Latham’s door was open, and I could hear arguing. I went inside to see what was going on.” A quiet sob from Gigi interrupted him, and he waited a moment before he continued.
“Gigi said she was going to call the police on him. Except when she turned to leave, he grabbed hold of her. Really hard. He had her arm, and then he took hold of a chunk of her hair.” His chin quivered madly.
“I wanted to help, but I felt frozen.” He leaned into his mum when she put an arm around his shoulders.
“Gigi wriggled away and pushed him. He stumbled over Pixie and smacked his head on the table when he fell.”
Gigi was crying in earnest now, and Mrs Patel passed her a box of tissues.
“It was self-defence,” Liam said. “He attacked her, and she only pushed him away.”
Lily gave Gigi a moment while she blew her nose and wiped at her damp cheeks.
“What were you arguing with him about?” she asked.
“I should never have gone up there,” she said. “I was just so angry.”
“Tell us what happened,” Mrs Patel coaxed.
Again, she looked at Lily as she spoke. “It had been happening more and more often that Pixie was escaping. Mr Latham kept insisting I didn’t close the door properly, but I’d double and triple check.
I thought I was going crazy. But then I noticed it always seemed to happen when I was having a bath or a shower.
And usually Mr Latham would be the one to find Pixie, and he’d act all heroic and make out that I owed him.
He’d tell me I should take him out for a drink. ”
“Yes,” Mrs Patel agreed. “I saw him do that.”
The nods around the room confirmed that everyone had witnessed it.
“So, that evening, I turned on the shower and let the water run.”
“He could hear the water running in the pipes,” Lily mused.
“Yes.” Gigi inhaled a full breath. “The shower had only been on for a couple of minutes when the front door opened. Mr Latham panicked when he saw me, and tried to say he was walking past and noticed the door open, but he still had the key in his hand and, from the way Pixie went crazy, I was certain he had dog treats in the other.”
“Oh my god,” Aiden breathed. “The sicko had been using a spare key to open your door and lure Pixie out?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “I’d suspected it, but I was stunned to find out it was actually true. He left quickly, and I should have called the police straightaway, but I was so angry. I followed him upstairs to confront him.”
“What did he say?” Lily asked.
“He tried to deny it. He invited me in and said we could talk it through.” She paused and wiped away more tears.
“I shouted at him. But then I was in his living room and I saw he had a photo of me, framed. It was so creepy. That’s when I realised I’d made a mistake.
I wanted to leave, but when I said I was going to call the police on him, he went crazy.
Like something in him flipped. It was like Liam said – he grabbed hold of me and I just wanted to get him off so I could get away and call the police… ”
“You shoved him,” Lily finished for her. “And he hit his head.”
“Yes. And then I stood there looking at him, waiting for him to get up. But he didn’t move. I panicked, and I ran.”
“That can’t be right.” Lily had believed the story until that point, but Gigi had forgotten quite a significant detail. “You moved the bookcase. You put it there so it would look like an accident.”
Gigi shook her head. “That’s the weird thing.
I didn’t touch it. I don’t know how that happened.
It’s partly why I didn’t say anything to the police.
I was listening at my door the next morning and I heard everyone talking, saying the bookcase had fallen on him.
And I didn’t understand, but I also thought it might be a good thing. They thought it was an accident.”
“The bookcase didn’t just fall,” Lily said harshly. “Someone removed the screws. And whoever did that also planted the screws in my possession.”
“Oh my god,” Caroline muttered, her fingers steepled in front of her face and muffling her words. “What did I do?”
“It was you!” Lily said. Maybe she hadn’t been far off with her investigating after all.
She nodded. “I panicked. I just panicked, that’s all.”
Lily’s mind whirred, trying to piece it all together. “You thought it was Liam?” she asked after a moment.
“You seriously thought I killed Mr Latham?” Liam asked, his voice an uncertain mix of shock and disbelief. “Why would you think I killed him?”
“I was waiting for you to come home,” Caroline said.
“You were late as usual. I dozed off on the sofa. Something woke me. I heard angry voices and then a crash. I was half asleep, but the next thing I knew you burst into the flat. When I had a go at you for being late, you ignored me completely.” She looked at him sadly.
“You always argue with me, but you went and laid on your bed to stare at the ceiling. I thought you must have fallen out with a mate or had some girl problems. I heard a noise out in the hall and I went to look.”
She rubbed her forehead. “Mr Latham’s door was open, and it seemed so strange. I knew something was wrong. I went inside and found him dead.”
“So you assumed I killed him?” Liam asked, wide–eyed.
“I thought it would have been an accident,” Caroline said defensively. “You never liked the man, and I imagined you might have got into an argument with him.”
She looked at the others in the room. “I panicked. But I wasn’t going to have my boy’s future destroyed because of that horrible man.
He wasn’t nice,” she said, directing the remark at Lily.
“He had this charming act, but it was all fake. He used to point out any dirty marks on the stairs and in the hall and tell me I better watch out or he’d have to put my rent up.
And he’d say it in this jokey tone, but it wasn’t a joke – it was his way of making sure I knew I was at his mercy.
He was a sad little man who used other people to make himself feel powerful. ”
“You moved the bookcase?” Lily asked, trying to get her back on track.
“Yes. No one just falls backwards and cracks their head. I thought if I made it look like an accident, the police wouldn’t ask questions.”
“You forgot the screws,” Lily whispered.
“It was a stressful situation,” Caroline said. “I forgot the screws and went back for them the next day.”
“Why did you put them in my pocket?”
“You were snooping around. I’d gone to all that effort to make sure no one figured out it wasn’t an accident, and I couldn’t have you ruining my efforts.”
“What exactly was your plan?” Lily asked.
“I don’t really know. But when I came home and Liam said you were in Mr Latham’s flat, I decided I needed to do something. I slipped the screws into your pocket. I thought that if the police started asking questions, I could nudge them in your direction.”
“And you’d have let me take the blame?”
“He’s my boy,” she said, clutching Liam’s arm. “I’d do anything for him.”
“Lovely,” Lily said, running a hand across her face.
“I’m sorry,” Caroline said. “It’s been a stressful few days, and I wasn’t thinking straight. I needed to protect Liam.”
“Fair play,” Aiden muttered.
Mr Patel nodded repeatedly. “Family should always come first, Caroline. What you did was admirable.”
“What about the key?” Lily mused aloud. “Did you really use to clean his flat?”
“No,” Caroline said sheepishly. “I made that up. When I moved the shelves I was worried I might have overlooked something. I spotted his spare key on the hook so I took it, just in case.”
Lily gave a faint smile. She didn’t like Caroline’s willingness to point the finger at her, but she kind of liked her style.
“What shall I tell the police about the shelves?” Gigi said, looking searchingly at Caroline. “I don’t want to drag you into this.”
“It’s all right,” Caroline said. “As long as Liam is okay, it’ll be fine. You tell them the truth.”
Gigi hugged Pixie tightly, then looked at Mr Patel. “If the police take me away, would you take care of Pixie? She likes you, and I know you’d take good care of her.”
“Absolutely,” Mr Patel said. “You won’t have to worry about her. Not for a moment.”
“Oh, be quiet, Henry!” Mrs Patel barked. “We’re not taking Pixie in.”
“I’m sure it wouldn’t be for long,” Mr Patel protested. “And she’s no trouble.”
Mrs Patel shook her head. “We’re not taking her in because Gigi isn’t going anywhere.”
“They’ll take her in for questioning at least,” Aiden said. “If what I’ve seen on TV is true to life, anyway.”
“Nobody’s going to question her,” Mrs Patel declared. “Because she’s not going to tell them anything.”
“I have to,” Gigi said. “They’re going to open an investigation. It’s better I speak up at the start.”
“They’ll never find out what really happened,” Mrs Patel said. “I have a plan to make sure of it.”