Forest wrinkled her nose, and I wondered if she was going to refuse to reply, but she shuffled a couple of papers on the table then looked back at me. ‘Mrs Ilford had given Paul the money he needed to start his business, over twenty years ago, and in return he’d given her a large share of it. This was back in the days when it was a legitimate care agency, without any other, illegal streams of income. Anyway, she still owned that part share and there was no legal way of Paul getting it back. When she died, it all reverted to him.’
Even though this was the man whom I had seen set a house on fire with two people inside it, I was stunned. ‘Couldn’t he have just waited for her to die naturally?’
‘She was seventy-one, and in pretty good physical health, even if her memory was declining. The only reason he had a carer going in was to save himself from having to visit her. She might have lived for another fifteen or twenty years, and that was hindering the growth of the illegal branch of his business.’
I blew air out of my cheeks, trying to take it all in. At least I knew I was safe now, and so was Mariusz. I didn’t know what would happen to the gang he’d been part of, but I knew Lukas would be keeping a much closer eye on his son now, and would make sure he knew what was happening in Mariusz’s life.
Forest told me we’d finished, so I picked up my bag and stood up to leave.
‘Is DS Singh around?’ I asked, trying to keep my voice casual. She turned to me with a nasty smile.
‘I’m sure he is, somewhere. He has a disciplinary meeting to attend, after all.’
I felt a swooping sensation, as if someone had just tilted the room. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Oh, didn’t I mention? He’s now on his final warning, for giving information about an ongoing inquiry to a civilian. Any other indiscretions and he’ll be suspended.’ With that she gave me one last smug look then swept out of the room.
I had to lean on the wall for support, or I thought I might be sick. What had I done? That was why Forest had been so pleasant to me, because she was waiting to drop that bombshell. She was the only one who had known that Rav told me about the cuckooing, so she must have reported him. How could she do that to one of her own team? Did she hate me that much, that she had to destroy the career of someone I cared about?
In a daze, I left the interview room and glanced around. I couldn’t go hunting for him – I didn’t know my way around the police station – so I went back out into the car park and looked for his car. Once I found it, I leant against it, sent him a text to let him know I was there, and waited.
It took about twenty minutes for him to come outside. When he saw me waiting by his car, he stopped and shook his head.
‘Not now, Paige.’
‘Rav, please. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I can do to make this better.’
He held up a hand. ‘You can’t. It’s done now.’
‘You’ll be okay, won’t you? She can’t have you suspended because of this?’
He swallowed, and I realised he hadn’t looked me in the eye yet. ‘I don’t know. Forest has been gunning for me for a while, and now she’s got the perfect ammunition.’
Ammunition I had given her. He might not have said it out loud, but we both knew that was what he was thinking. After everything we’d been through together, after everything he’d done for me, I couldn’t believe this was happening. I reached out to touch his arm, but he took a step back so he was out of my reach.
Again, I felt as if the ground had lurched beneath me. Throughout the last couple of weeks, I felt like he and I had been getting closer; I knew I hadn’t imagined him kissing me back the other night. But suddenly a chasm had opened up between us, and what made it worse was that it was a chasm I had created.
‘Rav, you know I never meant this. It was a stupid comment I made to Forest, and I am so sorry, but I didn’t mean for this to happen.’
He pushed past me and opened the back door of his car, putting the bag he was carrying in there, then looked up at me.
‘I know you didn’t mean to do it. But that doesn’t change the fact that you did, and now I need to be careful. I can’t be seen talking to you, Paige.’ He was battling to keep his voice even, but I could see him almost shaking with the effort.
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself not to burst into tears. He was so angry, and it shook me that I was the cause of it.
‘She can’t make these things stick,’ I said, not even convincing myself, and he let out a harsh laugh that felt like a stab to my heart.
‘I’m glad you have confidence in that, because I don’t.’ He paused, then took a deep breath. ‘Excuse me, I’d like to get in my car now.’
He reached past me to open the door and as he did, I grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn and look at me. The look in his eyes was a mixture of hurt and frustration, and I was about to step back when he closed the gap between us and kissed me. Before I had time to react, he’d pulled away again, shaking his head.
‘I’m sorry, Paige. I can’t lose my job. Try not to get in any more trouble.’ He forced a smile but I could see the pain in his eyes as he got in the car.
I
