Chapter 70
NICK
I put the phone down, my hand shaking. I can hardly take in what Jodie told me. George has been attacked by an intruder, and Lizzie is down at the police station being questioned. ‘Lizzie wanted me to tell you,’ Jodie says. ‘She’s in pieces, Nick.’
I can’t understand why Lizzie phoned Jodie instead of me. Surely I should have been her first port of call? And why is she being questioned? I asked Jodie that and she replied that she presumed it was because Lizzie was at the scene of the crime.
I can’t get my head around it. Who would want to kill George?
I want to go to the police station and see Lizzie, but the kids are asleep and even when they wake I can’t really take them with me, can I?
I’ll have to wait until they are at school.
I realise for the first time how frustrating it must be for Lizzie to not be able to go and check on her mum when she wants to. To be so close yet unable to pop in.
Suddenly a message pings in. It’s from Jodie.
I’ve just thought, do you want me to come over and sit with the kids while you go to the station and see what’s happening? It’s no problem. I’m awake anyway feeding Freddie, and Millie is with Kyle.
I reply straight back to say I’d be really grateful if she could do that, and she texts that she’ll be here in ten minutes.
I have a quick shower and pull on jeans and a top. The kids will be awake in a couple of hours but they’ll be fine with Jodie, they’re used to her. She’s like an aunt to them.
I’ve just got downstairs and am grabbing a drink of water when Jodie messages:
I’m here.
I open the front door.
‘I didn’t want to ring and wake the kids,’ she whispers as she follows me inside, carrying Freddie in his car seat.
‘This is really good of you,’ I say.
‘Lizzie is my best friend. I’ll do anything to help her.’
One thing is bugging me. ‘I thought she was staying at yours? What was she doing at her mum’s house at this time of night?’
‘She was at mine. We both went to bed. The next thing I know I’m woken by a phone call from Lizzie, saying someone has attacked George and she’s at the police station. She swears she didn’t do it. And I believe her.’ Jodie fixes me with a hard stare.
I fidget uncomfortably. ‘Are the police accusing Lizzie?’
‘No, not yet, anyway. But from what Lizzie told me she thinks you will. Or George’s family.’
‘Look, I’m worried about Lizzie, yes, but I don’t think she would attack George. She would never hurt anyone on purpose.’
‘Are you saying she might have done it accidentally?’
I think about it. ‘Maybe,’ I say reluctantly. ‘I think Liz is having some kind of breakdown, Jodie. She’s got this idea that someone is out to harm her mum.’
Jodie settles Freddie’s car seat by the sofa then looks up at me. ‘I know and I pooh-poohed the idea too, but now, well, considering the events of tonight, I’m thinking that she could be right.’
We stare each other out for a few seconds. I’m the one to break it. ‘I’d better go. Thanks again, Jodie.’
I head out to the car, Jodie’s words going over and over in my mind.
Why did Lizzie sneak out in the middle of the night and go to her mum’s?
Did she attack George, convinced in her anxious state that he was harming Judith?
I wonder if anyone has told Kenny, Sheila and Alison.
I decide to wait until I get to the hospital and see what the situation is, then I’ll notify them.
As I pull up in the police car park, my phone rings. It’s Alison.
‘George has died,’ she stammers, her voice shaking. ‘They couldn’t save him.’