Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Roy moved to rummage in a drawer before returning with a pen and paper. It took a good couple of minutes of watching him scribble away before Lily recognised the crude drawing to be a sketch of Riverview Close as it was at the time of the fire. The houses were labelled with their occupants.
“Bert was the one who raised the alarm,” he said, tapping the pen against his house on the map.
“He told me. His dog could smell the smoke, I guess.”
“Yes. Bert was trying to get inside when I arrived, but the smoke was too thick. I told him to come away and wait for the fire brigade.”
“What were his feelings regarding the property developer? He and his wife wanted to sell?”
“Yes. The whispers around the village were that they were having financial difficulties.”
“That seems as though it was true since he downsized to a boat,” Lily said.
“In Richard Harper’s files, there’s mention of a conversation with Mr Thatcher about him asking for a guaranteed place in the retirement home for him and his wife.
” She glanced down at the map. “That gives him motive, doesn’t it? He wanted the project to go through.”
“You think he set the fire and then raised the alarm?” Roy asked dubiously.
“It would take some suspicion off him,” Lily argued.
“And I can imagine whoever set the fire didn’t intend to hurt anyone.
I think they wanted to cause enough damage that moving would look appealing, or just cause my parents enough stress that they might like the idea of a fresh start somewhere new. ”
“It makes sense,” Roy mused. “There were decorating materials in the house that made the fire spread quickly and caused toxic fumes. I’d assume if someone started the fire, they wouldn’t have factored that into their plan. Or maybe they did and were working on the basis that no one was home.”
Lily tapped the paper. “What about the Grahams? What do you know about them?”
“They were new to the close. Seemed like a sweet young couple. They were there on the night of the fire. Shocked, like everyone.” He looked thoughtful.
“I think they were bemused by the whole thing. They bought a house in the sticks, and then they had a developer offering to buy them out, and then the fire.”
“Samantha said she thought they’d have sold.”
“Yes, but I don’t think they could have had anything to do with the fire. At least not if the same person was responsible for Clara’s fall.”
“Why?”
“Their house is right next to the steps, so I went straight over there after the accident––”
“What?” Lily stared at him, realising she didn’t have all the information about her grandmother’s fall. “Where did she fall? In Malporth?”
“Yes. Where did you think?”
“I don’t know.” She stretched her neck. “I thought she was going shopping near her house… but I don’t know why I thought that.” She growled to herself. Apparently, she’d let her brain make up a story around it. “I don’t even know where she lived.”
“She lived in Falmouth, so not too far away, but she spent a lot of time in Malporth when you were little. The night she fell, she’d been to visit Marcie, but had got agitated and left to go for a walk.
It turned out she went up to the close to ask more questions.
On the way back, she fell down the steps. ”
Lily pressed her hand over her mouth, recalling how treacherous those steep steps had looked. “Who found her?” she asked eventually.
“Marcie got worried when she didn’t return from her walk, so set off to look for her. The paramedics said Clara was lucky she found her when she did.”
Lily let the new information settle. “What were you saying about the Grahams? About their house being next to the steps.”
“I went over the next day to ask if they’d seen or heard anything, but they weren’t there. They were on holiday in Mexico for a fortnight.”
“So it couldn’t have been them,” Lily mused. “They were definitely away?”
“Yes. There’s no way they could have had anything to do with it.”
“What else do you remember?” she asked, nudging the map Roy’s way as though it might trigger something helpful.
“I can tell you what was odd.” He dragged his fingers through his beard.
“Martin Weston was about the only person who wasn’t outside during the fire.
All the other residents came out to see what was going on.
There were fire engines, ambulances, police cars.
It was chaos. But he claims to have slept through it. ”
“The fire wasn’t late, was it?” Lily asked, sure she’d read about it in the report Flynn had got for her. “Ten o’clock?”
“I arrived shortly after ten,” he confirmed.
“Pretty early to be in such a deep sleep,” Lily said. “For an adult, anyway,” she added, since she’d thankfully been sleeping soundly.
“Yes. I always thought it was odd. In the following days, I spoke to everyone multiple times. Not because anyone was under suspicion, just so we had a picture of what happened. Also, everyone knew me so people talked to me when I was off duty too – in the pub or in passing. Martin mentioned a couple of times that he slept through the whole thing, and I thought it was strange. But his wife confirmed it, and his car was on the drive.”
“I don’t see why he’d lie about that,” Lily said, pondering. “If he’d been involved in the fire, having an alibi that he was somewhere else would have been a good thing.”
“Yes.” Roy’s eyes flickered with something Lily couldn’t read.
“What are you thinking?”
He sighed. “I’m thinking that if he did set the fire, maybe he couldn’t face watching the aftermath. So he hid away inside.”
“It’s possible,” Lily agreed. “From what I’ve heard, he desperately wanted the deal with the developers to go through.”
Roy nodded. “There’s something else you should know if you’re considering motives. Charles Bramford got into an argument with your dad a couple of days before the fire.”
“About selling the house?”
“Yes. I heard about it from the pub landlord. Charles told your dad he’d be a fool not to sell, and something derogatory about him letting his wife make decisions.”
“Do you know what my dad said?”
“Apparently he refused to rise to it. He let Charles have his rant, and then he left. Which sounds about right. Your dad wasn’t the sort of person who’d get into arguments in public. He’d let stuff wash over him. Wasn’t reactive like some people.”
Lily bit her bottom lip, wishing she could have known him. “Is it still the same landlord at the pub?”
“No. There’ve been a couple of new owners since then. I can’t even remember his name.”
“Never mind.” She picked up her mug of tea. “Is there anything else you can think of?”
“No,” he said, but stared at his sketch with an odd look on his face.
“What are you thinking?” Lily probed.
“Nothing useful.”
“Tell me anyway. Please.”
“In all the chaos of that night, there’s something that stuck with me.”
Lily waited patiently while he seemed to debate whether to tell her what was on his mind.
“Johnny Weston was there,” he said eventually.
“He must only have been eleven or twelve. I don’t know why Samantha didn’t send him inside, but she was fairly hysterical so she probably just wasn’t thinking.
Johnny was right there when the firefighters brought out…
” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. ”
“It’s okay.” She took a breath and pulled her shoulders back. “Please tell me.”
“It wasn’t the fire that got to them, it was the smoke.
You should know that. They must have heard the smoke alarms and tried to get out.
The firefighters went in through the upstairs windows and found them in the hallway.
The fire hadn’t got there yet, but with the toxic fumes, they didn’t stand a chance.
They looked like they were sleeping, that’s all. ”
“Thank you,” Lily whispered hoarsely.
He took a breath. “Johnny was there when they brought your parents out. I went over and suggested he should go inside, but his mum was clinging to him and crying. I should have insisted she take him inside or taken him myself. Not that it really mattered at that point.”
He sighed heavily. “Charles Bramford came over and tried to calm Samantha down. He said he’d keep an eye on Johnny, so I left them to it.”
He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “I told you it wasn’t helpful. It’s funny the things your mind fixates on. That night was a sequence of horrific moments, but what stayed with me was the look of horror in Johnny Weston’s eyes.”
They fell silent for a few moments, and Lily stared at the sketch in front of them, as though it held the answers she was looking for.
“I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful,” Roy said eventually.
“It’s really helpful,” Lily said. “I’ve found that investigating is mostly about gathering as much information as you can until you finally find the important bit.”
“What do you do for a job?” he asked, one eyebrow quirked.
“I own an ice cream shop,” she said. “Sometimes I investigate things too, but not in any professional sense.”
“I wanted to investigate the fire more,” he said. “But I was a PC and had to report to higher-ranking officers. Professionally, I was told to leave it alone, and I didn’t feel I had any choice in the end.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” she said quietly.
“I just wish I could have done more.”
“My boyfriend is a PC,” she told him. “I know exactly the position you were in.”
“He’s not local, is he?”
“No. Flynn works in London.” The corners of her lips lifted into a small smile at the thought that he only had two more shifts left in the Met.
“The rumour mill must be slacking,” Roy said. “I’d heard you were visiting alone. No one mentioned your boyfriend.”
“He’s in London,” she said, grimacing at her earlier lie. “I didn’t know you and didn’t want you to think no one knew where I was.”
He nodded approvingly. “Good call. If you’re going to ask questions about the fire, you’d be wise to be on your guard.”
“Is that why you wanted to come back here?” Lily asked. “Were you concerned about someone seeing us, or overhearing the conversation?”
“I hope it’s paranoia, but there aren’t many people in Malporth who I fully trust.”
“Who do you trust?”
“Nancy Weston.”
“Are you in contact with her a lot?”
“A bit too much for my liking, thanks to my daughter’s obsession with cats.”
Lily smiled lightly. “Nancy’s a veterinary nurse.”
“Yes. She also used to babysit Mia. I’ve always liked Nancy. After you left, she’d pester me every time she saw me, asking where you were and why I couldn’t track you down. It hit her hard.”
“It’s been good catching up with her,” Lily said. “I’m glad to hear she’s one person you’re not suspicious of.”
“She was six years old at the time of the fire, so I think it’s safe to rule her out of your investigation.”
Lily refrained from saying that she tried not to rule anyone out. In this instance, she could make an exception.