‘No!’ I screamed. Why would he do something so stupid? There was no way he could reach us from the ground floor.
I don’t care what you say, I’m opening the window, I told Lukas, grabbing the sash and hauling it upwards. It was old and it stuck on the way up, but I put my full strength behind it and it groaned as it eventually slid upwards, a bit of the old window frame splintering as I did. I felt the rush of cool air and took a deep breath, and when there was no answering rush of flame behind me I called out to Singh.
‘Rav! You can’t get in. The fire’s in the front room.’
He looked up at me, over to the other officers, then back at me. ‘Is there anything in there that you can throw down?’
‘There’s a mattress, but there’s no way we can get it through this window.’ I looked back at the room. There was an old armchair, but the cushions weren’t big enough to provide any sort of platform for us to land on.
The street was filling up with people, as uniformed officers escorted neighbours out of their houses and along the street to wait at a safe distance. I could hear sirens in the distance, which told me there were fire engines on the way. A coughing fit overtook me and I doubled over, moving out of sight of the window.
‘Paige? Paige!’ I could hear the panic in Singh’s voice and I tried to hold up a hand to let him know I was okay, but I felt too dizzy. I tried to suppress the coughing, but that just made it worse, and in a moment I was on my knees. Lukas appeared beside me, trying to help me up to the window ledge so I could get some fresh air, but I felt like my limbs had been filled with lead.
Outside, I could hear Singh shouting my name, until the sound of the sirens drowned him out. I tried to move, but I was exhausted, and I curled up on the floor.
I have no idea how long I was lying there before I felt hands on my arms and legs, pulling me upwards and tipping me over something solid. As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I realised I was being held tightly over someone’s shoulder as they carried me out of the house. Cool air was all around me, and faces drifted in and out of my vision. There was a pressure on my hand that remained constant, and on impulse I squeezed back against the hand that was gripping mine.
A mask had been placed over my nose and mouth, and I felt myself coming round a little bit. The coughing had subsided slightly, and I blinked tears out of my eyes. From the bright lights above me, and the man dressed in green to my side, I realised I was in the back of an ambulance.
‘Where’s Lukas?’ I tried to say, but my tongue felt thick in my mouth, and the oxygen mask muffled my speech further. Moving it away from my face, I asked my question again, but the paramedic shushed me and replaced the mask.
I lay there for I don’t know how long – minutes, maybe longer – staring at the roof and wondering what had happened to both Lukas and Paul, before Singh climbed up into the back of the ambulance. He took my hand, and something about the warmth of it made me realise he was the one who had been holding my hand as I was carried out of the house. I smiled at him, but he just shook his head, seemingly unsure of what to say.
‘Is Lukas okay?’ I asked. My voice was a lot croakier than I expected, and pain seared my throat. I tried to swallow, but the dryness made me cough again. Singh moved out of the way as the paramedic checked me over, and it was only once he gave the okay that Rav answered my question.
‘As far as I know, yes. He’s in another ambulance, being checked over. It looks like you inhaled more smoke than he did.’
I nodded, knowing I’d breathed in plenty while I was trying to fight Paul off me in the kitchen.
‘Paul?’ I asked, but Singh shook his head.
‘We haven’t found him yet.’
I squeezed my eyes shut. If Paul Ilford got away because I hadn’t managed to stop him, I’d kick myself. I knew he would have set fire to the house and killed Lukas even if I hadn’t knocked on the door, so that wasn’t my fault, but I could have kept him occupied longer until the police arrived.
‘I’m sorry,’ I began, but he glared at me and shook his head. I wasn’t going to be deterred, so I continued. ‘I didn’t know he’d be here. I spoke to Forest earlier and told her about Nadia thinking there was something suspicious about the death of Paul’s mum. I wasn’t going to go anywhere near him, but when I got here to speak to Lukas, it was Paul who answered the door.’
There were tears in my eyes, and I could hear the pleading in my own voice. Singh squeezed my hand a bit tighter and gave me a tight smile.
‘It’s okay, Paige. Please, don’t worry about it.’
‘But …’
‘Don’t. You’re okay, and that’s what matters right now.’
I looked at him closely. ‘I keep screwing things up, but you’re still here.’
He laughed gently and stroked my face. ‘I was about to run into a burning building for you. I’m not great at talking about how I feel, but that should tell you something.’
Chapter 38
Friday 26th April
I had been discharged from hospital the
