I did as I was told, getting out of there before she had a chance to turn her anger on me any further, but I didn’t leave the station. I wanted to know who was under arrest – had they found the murderer?

Chapter 38

Fifteen minutes later, Singh spotted me hanging about in the police station lobby.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked, keeping his voice quiet. ‘Forest will throw a fit if she finds out you’re still here.’

I shrugged. ‘She told me to get out. I took that to mean get out of the room, not the building.’

He looked at me for a moment, then burst out laughing. ‘You’re sneaky, you know that?’

‘I wouldn’t have got where I am today without it,’ I replied. ‘Anyway, what’s going on?’

Singh looked behind him, checking that Forest was nowhere to be seen, then took me back through the doors to a waiting room.

‘Stay here. I’ll come and get you in a while.’

‘Do you need me to interpret?’

‘No, but I think this is still an interview you deserve to hear.’

Puzzled, I opened my mouth to ask another question, but he shook his head and left the room. I spent twenty minutes pacing in there, tensing every time I heard footsteps approaching, but each time they passed by.

My phone buzzed, and I felt a jolt of nerves when I saw that it was a text from Max.

Sorry for being a dick. xxx

It made me smile, and it lifted a weight from my heart that I hadn’t even realised was there. After the bombshell of Cassie’s announcement, I’d almost forgotten about our argument.

Come over tonight? he asked.

Sure :) xx

I kept expecting Forest to appear in the doorway, telling me to go home, but when the door finally opened it was Singh again.

‘Come with me,’ he said quietly, leading me through the corridor and directing me into a room. When I got in there I realised it was an observation room, and on the other side of the glass panel in front of me was an interview room. The walls were stark, breeze blocks painted a bland beige, and the only furniture was a single table and three chairs. Forest was sitting in one of them with her back to me. Mike was facing me, his expression neutral, but I could tell it was an act as his eyes were darting from side to side.

‘What’s going on?’ I said quietly, unsure if sound would travel through the mirrored glass.

‘You’ll see,’ he said, backing out and closing the door behind him, then reappearing a moment later in the room on the other side of the glass.

‘Right, we’re ready to begin,’ Forest said, leaning forward and pinning Mike with a steely glare. ‘Mr Lowther, can you explain to us what happened to you yesterday afternoon?’