High rise mystery, page 11
‘Did you see his clock?’ Norva asked.
‘His what?’ said Pap.
‘The clock,’ I said. ‘It was one of Hugo’s favourite things,’ I said.
Pap shrugged. ‘Have you seen the state of their place? I wouldn’t know what I was looking at.’
I looked through the files on my phone.
‘Pap. Mrs Kowalski said a friend was helping her out on Friday night. Did you see anyone when you were…getting rid of rubbish?’
‘Kowalski said that?’ he asked.
I nodded.
‘So, did you do it together?’ I asked.
Pap slammed his fist on the table. We jumped. My juice went flying, splashing onto the plate of meat. Ringo yelped. He ran straight out of the kitchen and probably into my bed.
‘Do it together?’ he shouted. ‘Did we kill Hugo? Is that what you mean?’
‘No, no! Pap, that’s not what I meant. Not at all! I was wondering if you were helping her. That’s all! I’m sorry!’
Pap put his head in his hands and rubbed his face.
‘I’m sorry for shouting, Nik, I’m so sorry.’ He extended a hand to me, and I took it.
He gazed out of the window.
‘I’m just so tense. Everyone’s talking about me. Everyone. They’re whispering about me all over The Tri. I can feel the eyes all over me – everywhere I go. I saw The Cloud News report. And just last night, when you were asleep, Katie’s boss was here. Her team are crawling all over my office. I got sent home from work. It’s too much.’
He turned to look at us.
‘And now it seems you’re getting caught up in an investigation of your own? Please don’t. Stop. I need you to be safe!’
He picked at the ham on his plate and chewed it slowly.
We ate the rest of our lunch in silence. I choked back potato salad. I couldn’t look at Pap. Or Norva.
I knew she’d have choice words for me shortly.
35
‘That was well tense!’ I said, faking a light laugh. I didn’t know what else to say.
I shut our bedroom door.
Norva turned to me with furious eyes.
‘What are you doing?’ she said, her mouth tense.
‘Trying to solve the case?’ I said. My heart pounded. ‘Facts, evidence, deduction.’
‘I know of someone who needs deducting from this family. And it ain’t Pap,’ Norva said through gritted teeth.
Her words stung. My chest ached. My eyes filled with tears.
‘Norva, I was actually trying to help, I think…’
‘You know what I think?’ Norva cut in. ‘I think you’re pinning this on Pap. You. Just. Won’t. Stop. What will it take for you to quit it? It’s beyond a bad look at this point. It’s disgusting. You’re disgusting right now.’
‘Norva, I’m really not framing Pap. I don’t want him to go to prison, do I!?’
I started to cry.
‘Doesn’t seem like it to me,’ Norva said with a sneer.
‘I’m trying to rule him out! What if he was with Kowalski on Friday, doing their project, whatever that was? He’d be out of the picture! I’m trying to help!’
I lay on my bed and sobbed into my pillow.
‘I’m just being methodological. Procedural. Like the detectives you love on TV,’ I said, mainly to the pillow.
Norva sat on my bed. I felt a hand on my back.
‘I’m sorry, Nik,’ she said. ‘I know. But it isn’t TV, is it? It’s real life. The literal definition of ‘close to home’. Dictionary.com would have our faces next to that entry, girl.’
I laughed and wiped my eyes.
Norva stood up and looked out of the window. She stared across The Tri.
‘I get what you’re doing,’ she said, her back to me. ‘And I know it seems like I’m trying to stop you. I am, basically. I. Am. Freaking. Out. I’m screaming internally. Have been since we found Hugo. Don’t think I’m not.’
‘That’s why we need to look at what we have so far,’ I said. ‘We have to stay in control. And keep going.’
Norva nodded.
I wiped my eyes and reached for my phone. Hugo’s lid was also in my pocket. I forgot about that. My thumb stroked it as I went through the notes.
‘Pap said he’s apologised to Hugo and Hugo replied. We need to find that email, somehow.’ Norva nodded.
‘You’re right. I’ll try and snatch Pap’s phone later. The timings on those emails will be mad important.’
‘We can also see what websites he may have been on, check his location, see who he’s been texting.’
To-do: Get Pap’s phone
‘I think we know who he’s been texting,’ said Norva.
‘Jane,’ I replied. ‘It makes sense.’ I flicked through my photos. ‘Look at the way she’s touching him on Monday.’ I showed her the photo of them outside the bins. She shuddered.
‘Also – it explains how she was able to get into our flat when the door was locked.’
‘Eurgh, she has a key to ours?’
I nodded. ‘Seems so.’
‘How long has this been going on?’ she wailed. ‘Ick, nasty, I hate it.’
‘Can’t say I’m a fan either. But now we know why he was so certain Hugo wasn’t seeing her. Because he was.’
‘Yuck, yuck, yuck,’ spat Norva. ‘Disa-flipping-prove!’
‘Now you know how I feel about you and Mark,’ I said, with a smile.
‘Not the same. Not at all. Mark’s moody, cool and strong.’
‘How strong? Strong enough to move a body?’
Norva was silent. She shrugged. ‘Maybe so. Let’s go back out.’
I agreed. I reached for my trainers. ‘I’m sorry to say this, but Mark has a motive – he thinks Hugo has money, Serena’s seen him around the flats and…’
‘Hold up!’ Norva said suddenly, cutting me off and leaning down to look in the telescope.
‘What? Who can you see?’
She was silent.
‘Norva!’ I demanded.
‘What are they doing together?’ she hissed.
‘Norva – who are you talking about?’ I ran to the window and pushed her away from the telescope. I refocused the lens. Below, Mark and Serena were walking across The Tri.
Mark was sipping a Vitonica. Lucky. Serena was talking, walking quickly to match his pace. She smiled up at him.
I watched them disappear into the lobby of Corner One.
‘What’s that about?’
‘I don’t know, but I don’t like it. At all,’ Norva said, crossing her arms.
36
‘I’m over Mark, you know. He’s well distracting and I gotta focus. I’m done.’
‘Hope so,’ I replied, knowing that she’d be ‘done’ for about four hours. Maximum.
‘That’s for the best. We’re too young for ‘love’ anyway. Now our priorities are in the correct order.’
We put Ringo on his lead.
‘Bye Pap!’ I shouted down the hall. ‘Just walking Ringo, OK?’
Pap looked back at us. ‘Absolutely – as long as you promise to keep yourselves to yourselves?’
I didn’t dare look at Norva. I simply nodded.
‘Sure Pap’ said Norva. ‘Of course.’
And we were gone.
‘When Mark gets out of this lift, I’ll do the talking,’ said Norva. ‘I’m ready to ask questions, dig deep.’
‘I’m sure you are,’ I replied.
The lift arrived. It was empty.
‘Hmm,’ said Norva. ‘Maybe he’s at Serena’s then?’
We got in.
The three flats on Third Avenue had identical red doors. I knocked on Serena’s. No answer.
‘Where did they go then?’ I asked Norva. She narrowed her eyes. ‘Not here, evidently. Maybe The Hub?’
I leant over the Avenue and looked across The Tri. A quiet afternoon. Hot, again. Thirty-two degrees. ‘Where is everyone?’ I said.
Norva shrugged. ‘Calm before the storm, probably.’
I looked at her quizzically. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I don’t know. Something stirring in my waters. Also, I just like saying it. Ignore me.’
Good advice. I took it.
I turned to look back at the flats, the three red doors and their doormats. I rolled my eyes at George’s. ‘Welcome Bach,’ I scoffed.
‘Don’t hate, it’s on-brand at least,’ said Norva.
I looked closer at the walkway around the mats.
Yellow boot-prints.
‘Norva look,’ I pointed. I crouched to take a closer look. ‘I didn’t notice these earlier.’
The footprints were large. Much bigger than our feet, at least. The prints looked fresh. Mostly. I touched one and a small amount of paint stuck to my fingertip. ‘Mildly tacky,’ I whispered.
‘Yeah, like you,’ laughed Norva.
‘Funny.’ I looked up at her. ‘These prints look familiar, Norva.’
‘I bet,’ she said wearily.
I reached for my phone. I took a photo. I flicked back between the new photo and the photo of Pap’s boots.
A match. Of course.
I pushed my phone in Norva’s face and switched between the photographs. She dismissed me.
‘Sure, they’re Pap’s. But so what? He was here Saturday. Painting. We been knew. Old intel.’
‘But these are fresh, Norva.’ I said.
‘He was painting today, though,’ she replied.
‘Yeah, but at The Hub, not up here.’
I was silent.
‘Alright, I hear you,’ she said. ‘Even if he was lying, which he wasn’t, what do fresh prints prove? At this point?’
‘I don’t know Norva,’ I said, desperately. ‘But the police might probably match these to Pap’s and draw incorrect conclusions.’
Norva nodded. ‘Maybe.’
‘What if someone’s trying to frame him?’ I added. ‘This could be a good way to do it.’
‘Maybe. Let’s see where they lead.’
To-do: Find out why Pap’s bootprints were on Third Avenue
We walked between the flats and the chute. Back and forth. The prints were everywhere.
We followed them from George’s flat to the chute. From Serena’s to the chute. From Jane’s flat to the chute.
‘What the hell is this?’ said Norva. ‘This is wack! Didn’t realise Pap was so freaking messy. He’s out here like a pre-schooler with a potato stamp!’
‘He’s not messy,’ I said. ‘This can’t be him. He was at the first aid course this morning. What is this?’
We walked back to the chute. It was out-of-order, of course. Cordoned off, covered in blue and white police tape. Katie’s work, probably.
‘Still hums bad, even with, you know, Hugo gone,’ Norva said. ‘And now it’s part of the crime scene, it won’t be cleared for at least a week, I’m guessing.’
‘Or until they’ve made an arrest,’ I replied.
Norva nodded. ‘This is the only time I’ve been glad we don’t have the chute on 22,’ she said. ‘This stench would end me.’
It was foul.
‘The tenants deserve a discount,’ I said.
Norva laughed. ‘No chance.’
There was a camera hanging above the Avenue, pointed at the chute.
Norva peered at it. ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ she asked, staring into it.
‘14:37. Why?’
No answer. She took down her braids, flicked them side to side and gave the camera a peace sign. She made an idiotic kissing face.
‘Really, Norva?’
‘Alright, alright. I’m done, I’m done,’ she said, holding her hands up. ‘Timeline marked.’
She ducked under the Police tape and opened the chute. As it creaked open, a strong cloud of stench wafted up.
‘Hello!’ Norva shouted into the void. She breathed in the fug, and immediately gasped.
‘Regrets,’ she said, between coughs.
We looked into the chute and down into the refuse area.
‘Oi!’ Officer Burnett shouted up at us. ‘You’re officially trespassing. This is a murder scene, and you know it.’
‘So sorry, officer!’ Norva shouted. ‘Our mistake!’
Ringo barked, backing up Norva.
Officer Burnett’s radio buzzed nosily, and he reached for it.
The voice at the other end was garbled to us, but the message was very clear to him.
‘Copy that. Over,’ he said, walking briskly away.
We ran to the lift.
37
Pap was deep in conversation with Jane outside The Hub.
‘Eurgh,’ said Norva. ‘Let’s break this cozy couple up. I’m gonna ask him about those prints.’
We skipped over.
‘…you need to tell them, Jane, what if they…’
Their conversation ended abruptly.
‘Ayy, Pap,’ Norva addressed him with a smile. ‘Jane,’ she said coldly, looking her up and down, pursing her lips. ‘Alexanders Assemble, Pap? We gotta chat. Real talk time.’
‘Alright,’ he said. He looked to Jane. ‘We’ll continue this conversation later, OK?’
Jane nodded, seemingly exasperated.
She walked away.
‘That’s right, off you pop,’ said Norva under her breath.
Pap turned to us. ‘Good timing, actually,’ he said. ‘I need to come clean about Frid…’ he started.
He didn’t finish.
A deafening siren wailed and screamed at us. Lights blinked brightly in the afternoon sun. The police had returned to The Tri, and oh, what an entrance.
A car screeched to a jerking halt in front of us, three rabbits in the blue lights.
The car door opened and Katie stepped out. She put her hat on and smoothed her uniform. She walked over to us, her fists clenched. She bit into her lip. Her eyes were red.
My heart fell through my chest and settled in my stomach.
‘Katie,’ Norva whispered quietly. ‘No. Don’t. Please.’
‘Joseph Alexander?’
‘Erm, Yes?’ Pap replied. Confused. Slightly laughing, ‘You know who I am, Katie.’
Katie closed her eyes. A tear rolled down her face. She took a deep breath. Her eyes opened. She focused.
‘Joseph Alexander. You are being arrested on suspicion of the murder of Hugo Knightley-Webb. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be…’
Pap’s face fell.
Katie’s voice faded away, and my ears rang.
My stomach rose into my chest, through my throat and into my mouth.
Norva dropped to her knees. Her eyes were wild, wide open. Shock and terror.
The scene unfolded around us in slow motion.
People leaned out of their windows. People rushed out of Bermuda’s and Better Buy. People surrounded us. They held their phones high in the air, capturing every single moment.
I grabbed Norva’s hand and she gripped mine in return.
The shouting began.
‘Joe – wha ya do?’
‘He merked Hugo for real?’
‘Nah, I’m not having this! Joe would never!’
From the left: ‘Stay schtum Joe. Not a word. We got you!’
The right: ‘Knew it –Sasha you owe me a score.’
Another: ‘Sissy called it!’
Officer Burnett, who was standing next to Katie, stepped forward. He unclipped a pair of handcuffs and slipped them on Pap’s waiting wrists.
Pap was silent, shocked and stern.
Officer Burnett walked Pap to the car. He pushed his head down. He pushed him into the back seat.
‘I’m innocent!’ Pap screamed. ‘I’m innocent!’ He shouted from the back of the car.
He kicked the seat in front of him.
‘Joe say nothing, calm down!’ shouted a voice behind us. ‘Don’t upset the feds!’
Pap stopped struggling immediately.
‘Jane?’ His eyes scanned the crowd.
‘Jane!’ He found her. ‘Get the girls!’
I turned to see Jane nodding frantically behind me. She blinked in shock and terror.
‘Girls – my place. Now.’ She pushed her way through the crowd.
Officer Burnett slammed the passenger door and sat in the driver’s seat. Ringo jumped at the window. His frantic paws clawed and scratched at the paintwork.
Pap looked at us, and down into his lap. The car screeched away.
Norva remained on the ground. Her left knee bled slightly. She held a weak grip on Ringo’s lead as he licked at her face, concerned. She looked up at me.
‘I should have taken you more seriously,’ she said.
38
All of the eyes on The Tri focused on Norva and me. I pulled her to her feet.
‘We need to go. Now.’
Tears fell down her face as Norva stood up. She brushed her dress off, wiped her eyes and threw her head back.
‘You’re right. They can’t see me like this.’ She held her nose in the air. Back straight. The crowd parted, silently. I turned to look at them. They stared at us. Phones aloft.
May Burton from Cloud News appeared with her camera crew.
‘No comment!’ Norva screamed at her.
Not now. Not ever.
I pushed Norva and Ringo into the lobby of Corner One. My heart pounded. I burst into tears.
‘You were right, Nik!’ Norva said.
I wiped my eyes.
‘About Pap being the ‘obvious’ suspect? Considering the evidence, that was clear. We both knew this. I just accepted it, I suppose.’
‘I need to ask you – be straight with me. Do you think he did this?’ She stared in my eyes.
‘Norva, I 100% don’t,’ I said, holding her gaze. ‘Pap wouldn’t do this. We know this. But we need to prove it. Belief is not enough.’
