The Perfect Lie

Chapter 5

5 Saturday 4 August, 12.25pm.

I’ve cried myself into exhaustion. I don’t think I was asleep — just catatonic.

The sound of my cell door opening jolts me back into the present, and I sit up on the blue mattress that is my bed, my sweaty skin slipping against the plastic as I try to move myself.

‘Amy, your solicitor’s here to see you,’ the police officer says.

I immediately thank my lucky stars that Roger has sent someone to help me. It’s exactly the sort of thing he’d do. He’s a true family man, and he’s always got everyone’s back. It’s a couple of seconds before I arrive back in reality and register that this is the duty solicitor the police said they’d arrange for me.

Because Roger is dead.

And they think I killed him.

‘Follow me,’ the officer says.

I stand, or at least try to. My legs feel like jelly. Eventually, I manage to put one foot in front of the other and I follow him out of the cell.

My stomach is churning, and I feel like I’m going to be sick. My whole body is a whirlwind of confusion, and I really don’t see how I’m going to be able to hold on to any of this. Everything has been turned upside down and I can’t see any way out.

I’m led into a small side room with a desk and two chairs. It’s barely the size of a broom cupboard. A man in a suit comes in a few seconds later with a leather case under his arm.

‘You must be Amy. I’m Brian Conway,’ he says. ‘I’m the duty solicitor today. How are you?’

‘Uh, I don’t know. Confused. Upset. I feel sick.’

‘Okay. Well, you just give me a shout if you want to stop at any time, alright?’

I nod.

‘Right. So, you’ve been arrested on suspicion of the murder of your father-in-law, Roger Walker. Is that right?’

I nod. ‘I think so.’

‘Okay. And what happened?’

I look at him. ‘When?’

‘Roger’s death. Talk me through it. Were you at the scene?’

‘No! The first I heard of it was when the police knocked at my door and arrested me. I didn’t even know he was dead.’

‘Alright. So do you have any idea why the police arrested you? As I understand it, he was only killed this morning. It’s very strange for the police to immediately turn up and arrest you without having good reason to think you were there. Did you go out at all this morning?’

‘No. I’ve been at home since I got home from work last night. I was sitting out in my garden reading a book, and I came inside and heard a knock on the door and… And that was it. They were there.’

‘Is there anyone at home who could verify that?’

I rub my forehead. ‘Brendan, my husband, and our boys were at home with me all night. They went to football early this morning.’

‘And you’ve been on your own since?’

‘Yeah.’

‘At home?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Okay. Well the lack of an alibi isn’t massively helpful, but the onus is on them to prove that you were at the scene, not on us to prove you weren’t. So if you weren’t, then presumably there’s no way they can prove it and no way it’ll go to a charge.’

I look at him. ‘Presumably?’

‘Well, if what you’re telling me is correct, I mean.’

‘And why wouldn’t it be?’

‘It’s a very serious charge, Mrs Walker. I don’t expect anyone to sit down with me and tell me they did it. But I’m working for you, and if you tell me you were at home all morning and the first you heard of your father-in-law’s death was when the police turned up at your door, I will take your word for that. It’s up to the police to prove otherwise. A large part of my job is making sure they do theirs properly, and ensuring justice is done. Now, the next stage is going to be a formal interview. That’ll be with Detective Inspector McKenna. She’s tough. She’ll try to crack you. This is the first time you’ll hear their reasons for suspecting you, and it’s the first opportunity I’ll get to examine any evidence or reasoning they have. At this stage I’d advise you to answer “no comment” to all of their questions.’

‘Why?’ I ask. ‘Doesn’t that just make me sound guilty?’

‘Not if you’re not. Like I said, it’s their job to prove it — not ours to disprove it. If there’s nothing they can prove, you don’t want to go down the line of incriminating yourself by saying something you shouldn’t. You have the right to say nothing, and in this situation I’d strongly advise that’s what you do. Understood?’

I look down at the table and nod.