The Silent Suspect by Nell Pattison (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud .TXT) 📗

‘There are some things I already know,’ I told him, hoping it would help him to trust me. ‘For instance, I know he had a large loan from a friend.’

Paul let out a snort. ‘Friend? I wouldn’t call Roy Chapman a friend. Oh, I know, he and Lukas are drinking buddies, but all that means to Roy is that Lukas is someone he can use in some way.’

‘Do you know Roy, then?’ I asked, and I realised my eagerness had shown in my voice, because he crossed his arms defensively.

‘I know of him. He’s not the sort of man I associate with.’ A frown had creased his forehead and darkened his expression. ‘I’m a legitimate businessman, and people like Roy Chapman give this town a bad reputation. I’d happily see the back of him, and if I’d known Lukas was going to him for a loan I would have warned him off.’

‘What sort of bad reputation?’ I asked, digging to see what Paul knew.

‘Well, let’s just say that not all of his business is above board, and he seems proud of that fact. He’s a swaggering lout who thinks he’s a cut above others because he’s always one step ahead of the taxman or any other authorities who might be wanting to take a closer look at his businesses, but one day soon that will all come crashing down around his ears, I’m sure.’ Paul’s tone of voice was measured, but I could see his neck reddening as he spoke; he clearly had a great dislike of Roy.

‘Why did Lukas go to him, then?’ I asked. ‘Doesn’t he know that Roy has a shady reputation?’

Paul spread his palms wide, a look of exasperation on his face. ‘I have no idea. Lukas can sometimes be a little too trusting, but I would have thought he’d have enough sense to be able to see through Roy. Nadia spoke to me about it, because she was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to afford to repay the loan. If Lukas had gone to a bank, they could have negotiated their repayments and made sure they could pay it back, but someone like Roy …’ He tailed off.

‘What?’ I asked, urging him to continue.

‘Well, I can’t imagine him being too flexible. And I doubt his interest rates are fewer than three figures. Nadia was worried they’d end up being in debt to Roy for the rest of their lives.’

I paused for a moment and thought about what he was saying. ‘Did Nadia know Roy? Do you think she could have gone to him to discuss the loan, without telling Lukas?’

Paul raised his eyebrows. ‘I hadn’t thought about that.’ He tapped his fingers on his desk, thinking. ‘I suppose it’s possible. She would have done anything to protect Lukas. She was working extra shifts so they could overpay each month, and I always offered her overtime where possible. I mean, if they’d come to me I could have helped them, especially as they needed the money for Nadia’s family,’ he added, his frustration evident. He sat back and folded his arms. ‘Do you think Roy had something to do with Nadia’s death?’

I thought before I answered, not wanting to commit myself or give him too much information. ‘I don’t know about that. I do think the police need to look a little further into different avenues. Sasha also doesn’t think Lukas would ever have hurt Nadia.’

‘I agree with her,’ Paul replied. ‘But I don’t think Roy is the type to get his hands dirty.’

I didn’t answer him, instead pulling my notebook out of my bag. I turned to a page where I’d made notes about Nadia and the people she might have seen on the day she died.

‘How can we find out if Nadia spoke to Roy?’ I asked him.

‘I don’t know. It’s unlikely she would have told anyone about it. She didn’t want her friends knowing how much debt they were in.’

‘Why did she confide in you, then?’

He laughed. ‘She needed to convince me to give her extra shifts instead of sharing them out. Some of the others had started to notice, though, so I wouldn’t have been able to keep it up. There was already some tension between Nadia and the other carers because of the unfounded rumours about thefts. But I wanted to help them out if I could.’ I jotted this down in my notebook, as he continued speaking. ‘I did offer to give her the money myself, but she refused. She didn’t want to complicate things by shifting the debt around, and she was worried Roy would find another way to get some sort of hold over Lukas.’

‘Why would he do that? Lukas was pretty insignificant, in Roy’s world.’

‘Just because he liked to have power over others, I suppose,’ Paul replied with a shrug. ‘I don’t profess to know how a man like that thinks.’

I nodded again, thinking about what he’d said. ‘But he wouldn’t benefit from it, would he?’ I pointed out. ‘With Nadia dead and Lukas in prison, Roy won’t be getting the rest of his money.’

‘He probably didn’t think Lukas would take the blame for it,’ Paul reasoned. ‘Why would he, if he’s innocent?’

‘Good point,’ I replied, and went to write that in my book. Paul looked interested, so I tapped it with my pen and explained. ‘I’m trying to help Sasha, and she wants to get Lukas out of prison. I want to make sure anything relevant is written down, then if I find something that we can take to the police, I won’t forget anything.’

He nodded and glanced away, checking his watch as he did. ‘I’m sorry, Paige, I need to go. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.’

‘Of course. And do try and see Lukas, if you can. It might do him some good to know a friend is thinking about him.’

He agreed and showed me out. As I walked to the