‘Why did you do it?’ I asked, but I don’t think he heard me.
‘I liked Nadia, I actually fancied her. Was a bit pissed off when she went out with Lukas. I mean, what could he offer her compared to me?’ He held his hands out, as if to suggest the house we were in would impress anyone. I remembered the size and luxury of his own house, and was once again appalled that he’d been living like that while leaving his mother in these conditions.
‘So when she kept pushing you about how your mother died, is that when you lured Mariusz into your little gang?’
Paul laughed, an unpleasant sound that echoed in the kitchen. ‘He didn’t need much luring. That kid was always going to be open to a bad influence.’
‘You thought you could use him to threaten Nadia. But even that didn’t work, did it?’
Paul shook his head. ‘She was persistent. I even used her house for my business dealings for a couple of days, with Mariusz’s help, to show her what hell I could make her life. But she was a stubborn bitch. Told me she would give me one last chance to admit what I’d done before she went to the police.’
‘So you went round there when Lukas was out at the pub, and killed her,’ I said softly. ‘Then you set fire to the house to cover up what you’d done.’
He gave me an incredulous look. ‘You think I set those fires? Why the hell would I do that? Every time I pick a new house to use as a base, I keep finding someone sets fire to it just after I move in. Some even before.’ He made a low noise in the back of his throat. ‘Never mind – it’ll work in my favour. When they find your body and Lukas’s in the remains of this house, they’ll assume it was the same person.’
That was when I smelled the smoke. At the same time Paul swung a fist at my head.
After
Paul looked down at Nadia’s lifeless body, the cord he had used still held tightly in one fist. She had been one of his best workers, but she’d been unable to keep her nose out of things. He’d thought that she’d be easy to fool, and to control, because she was deaf. In fact, she’d been completely the opposite.
When he’d picked her to be his mother’s carer, he’d already known what he was going to do. He needed the old hag out of the way, but he didn’t want anyone to spot what had happened, which was why he’d used one of his own carers but run it off the books. Nadia hadn’t minded. She’d thought she was just doing him a favour, and he’d offered her some extra cash, which he knew she was desperate for.
She had actually thought that by talking to him, he’d see the error of his ways and turn himself in to the police. He shook his head as he thought about it. Killing her had been too easy. He’d just waited until her back was turned and slipped the cord round her neck. He was stronger than her – easy to overpower her.
Should he try and get her body out of the house and hide it somewhere? If he did that, it might be a while until anyone realised she was dead. Lukas would come back from the pub, drunk of course, and find that she wasn’t there, but he might not report her missing until tomorrow, if he thought she’d gone out. He peered out of the front window and noticed an old man over the road sitting in his chair, looking out at the street. No, there was no way he’d be able to get her body out of the house without someone like that old bastard seeing him. She’d have to stay there.
He went back into the living room and pulled a cloth from his pocket, using it to wipe down any surfaces he might have touched, including door handles. He’d slipped on a pair of gloves before killing her, and he kept them on until he was in the car. The front door closed quite loudly behind him, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible. If anyone had seen him, he’d tell them he was dropping off Nadia’s new rota.
As he drove away, he pictured the police coming to the office the next day to tell him one of his employees had died. He practised his best shocked and sad faces, then reminded himself to tell them just how drunk Lukas could get some nights. Yes, that should be enough to do it.
Chapter 37
Paul swung for me but I dodged his punch and he caught me on the shoulder, which sent us both sprawling onto the floor. I had no idea where he’d set the fire, but the smell of smoke was getting stronger, so I needed to find a way out of there as quickly as I could.
My mind went back to something Paul had said: that they’d find Lukas’s
