Chapter 22 #2
I sat down in a different chair this time, Vinny taking the spot I had previously. Andrew Smith stayed standing, hovering near the bay window and glancing out from time to time, as if he was expecting someone else.
“What was it you wanted to tell us about?”
He stayed silent, his jaw clenching, his hand curled into a fist. “I’m not a bad man, detectives.
I believe in what we’re doing at The Holding; that’s why I dedicated the best part of my life to it, an ideal where the land is supported by its people, and in turn we help each other.
Life is simpler when it’s simple; fewer distractions, less things to go wrong, less things to worry about.
And there’s something so satisfying about being able to support yourself, to be truly independent. ”
I stayed quiet, waiting, as if this was Smith’s run up before he dived into whatever he was about to tell us.
“Amanda was a big part of The Holding, and I cannot tell you the grief I feel at her death. Micky was also a good friend, a man who believed in what we were doing. He wasn’t around when Roselea caught fire, so he never met Peter or the boys.
He was lonely without his daughter being around, so he wanted the community, someone to be bothered if he wasn’t around.
I feel terrible that they’re dead.” He sat down on his chair, hands clasped in front of him.
“If you weren’t responsible, why do you feel terrible?” Vinny’s world was often simple.
Andrew Smith looked at him rather than me. “Because Amanda stopped thinking that Lily started the fire. Your colleague told me this morning that Amanda was looking to bring about a wrongful conviction. I obviously already knew that.”
“When did you find out?” I asked, interested in how he was preferred directing his words at Vinny than me.
“A month or two ago. Amanda mentioned Stefan. It was the first time I’d heard his name in a few years; I’d thought everyone had forgotten about him.
” He looked at his hands. “I only heard from him when he needed money, but that had stopped.” He looked up.
“Stefan found his life’s calling a long time ago and followed his dreams. I was proud; he had a career and was happy. He didn’t need or want me anymore.”
“What was his job?”
“Something in the services. I was never quite sure.”
“Did Amanda think Stefan was involved in the fire?” Vinny asked, leaning forward, elbows on his thighs.
Andrew nodded. “She thought he was responsible, and she wanted to know why the fees I paid to his boarding school increased after the fire. I don’t know how far you’ve got in your investigation yet, Detective,” he looked over at me. “But the fees increase after the fire, quite substantially.”
“You moved him further away.”
“I did. He was getting into trouble at his school already and absconding to hang around here. He was friends with Lily; she would be with him when she could. I needed him out of the way.” He sat back in his chair, relaxed for the first time I’d seen.
“Did you think Stefan was involved in the Goodhew fire?” Heat spread from my feet to the rest of me, pieces clicking.
“He could’ve been. I didn’t know where he was that night, but my car was missing in the morning, and I found it near the church where Lily turned up.
Stefan could drive and thought nothing of taking my car when he felt like it.
He was a good driver though and managed not to get caught.
” He paused. “The police were quite happy to look the other way, but I’ll let you find out why. ”
“You let Lily take the blame?”
“You do what you can to protect your children, Detective, even when it’s the wrong thing to do.
But he’s done well since, having a good career, keeping out of trouble.
” He stood up again and walked back to the window.
“I told him that Amanda was looking into Lily’s conviction.
I shouldn’t have done that. No one was going to reopen the case; I was pretty sure of that. ”
“So why did you tell him?” I could see Vinny typing something on his phone, probably to get Lachy and the team to start looking into where Stefan Smith was now.
Andrew Smith shrugged slightly. “So he’d stay away and not be found. Just in case Amanda did find anything that pointed the finger at him. Stefan had liked setting fires when he was younger. He was fascinated with the patterns it left and how it travelled.”
“Do you think he was responsible for the murder of Amanda Goodhew and Micky Mulligan, Mr Smith?” I said, quietly, trying not to pay attention to how much my heart was racing.
He left the window again, a car engine in the distance.
“I don’t know, but I suspect he might have been involved.
He and Lily thought they were Romeo and Juliet, especially the secrecy part.
I knew more than he thought but I didn’t say anything.
She was the reason he wanted to come back at weekends or whenever he could, but that meant I got to see him more and I’d do anything for that. ”
I thought he wanted me to say that I understood, but I didn’t, not from experience, not from my parents. “When did you last see him?”
“He phoned me from an unknown number a few nights ago to ask where the paperwork was that Amanda had about the accounts for The Holding. I told him she kept it at Roselea, and he cursed and hung up. It didn’t make me believe anymore in his innocence.
” He sat back down on the chair. “He was worried you were on to him.”
“You think he hurt the boy at Roselea.” It wasn’t a question.
“I don’t know, Detective. I just don’t know.”
Vinny had put his phone away. “I think you just don’t want to admit it to yourself.”
“Maybe. That’ll be my cross to bear.” His gaze was on the cabinet in the corner, glass doors protecting a line of liquor that looked as if it hadn’t been touched in years. I suspected it would be after we’d gone.
“Do you know where your son is?” I stood up, seeing we’d get no more from him. He wanted us to leave, to be alone with his thoughts and the guilt that had been realised too late.
“No, I don’t. I would imagine Lily Goodhew knows, wherever she is. There is no way Stefan would’ve ever left her alone.”
“Carly saw Lily entering and leaving Afflecks,” Vinny said as soon as we got in his car. “She was definitely there.”
“But no one remembered seeing her.” I double checked my seatbelt was secure.
“We don’t know where she went once she was in. She used the side entrance both times, the stairs that led to the toilets where you were locked in.” He did a loud U-turn on Andrew Smith’s road.
“Did you have to do that?”
“I wanted you to witness my skills.” His grin was lethal, or it would’ve been if I didn’t know him as well as I did.
“Save them for someone who cares. I’m worried about him.” I gripped the handle.
“Who?”
“Andrew Smith. Who we’ve just spent the last half an hour talking to. Have you taken your meds today?”
“Perfection doesn’t need medication.”
“No, but the longer I spend with you, the more I do. Seriously, I think we should send a car out to check on him later. If his son thinks his dad’s spoken to us, we might have another fire on our hands.” It was making me feel guilty.
“Call it through. Have a unit check on him later if it makes you feel any better. And on Lily too. It could’ve been Stefan Smith who was following her today, if it wasn’t a figment of her imagination.
” He managed to get through a set of lights before they turned red. I imagined he was cheering inside.
“She said she was staying at Damien’s, one of her clients. That place is secure enough and I’m not calling her to check.” I was done with Lily for the day, possibly longer. “She has my number and will use it as today has proved.”
“Get a car to drive by both and check. If Stefan’s snooping around, we might catch him.” He joined the motorway and put his foot down. I gripped a little tighter.
“Andrew said he’d gone into the services. It’s obvious, but if he was obsessed with fire, the fire service isn’t a bad shout.”
“The fire service is full of arseholes so he wouldn’t stand out.” Vinny gripped the steering wheel tighter. “But like you said, that’s too obvious. He could’ve been in the army.”
“Lachlan was looking into finding him and Verity was chasing up the school, but that’s going to take ages.” Unless I knew someone who could do a bit of illicit digging.
That someone had been at my house, as I found when I got home. My kitchen looked tidier than when I’d been there and there was a note on the table.
Food in fridge from Mama Taz. Needed to sort something out in Birmingham, so will be back Thurs. Bathroom should be finished Sat.
There were more Polish dumplings in the fridge, with some other containers, labels written in the now familiar handwriting. I followed the instructions, microwaving a selection, more than I’d probably manage to eat but starving suddenly.
All of the times Taz had popped up when I hadn’t imagined he would, and the one time I needed him, he was out of range, and I still didn’t have his number.
I cursed him while eating his mother’s cooking and admiring the tiling in the bathroom, finding the energy to have an under-pressured shower on the top floor before dragging myself to bed and dreaming of being locked in damp toilets with no way out.