Out of the Ashes

by Vicky Newham

  A guffaw spilled out of Indra’s mouth. ‘She hated him. And I don’t blame her.’

  ‘Could she have wanted him dead?’

  ‘In her head, yes. Most of the time. But as for murdering him? I doubt it very much.’ She returned to the table and sat back down. ‘Look, my sister had a very bad time when she first came to the UK and she’s still – how should I put it? – pretty crazy from it. When you go through something like that, your ideal of normal changes. When you need money, you don’t ask questions. You snatch it and run.’ There was a look in her eye which told me that she had been in this situation herself; that life hadn’t ever been rosy with Simas, even in the honeymoon stage of their relationship. ‘My sister isn’t forgiving, and I don’t blame her one bit.’

  ‘Did anyone know that your husband was going to be in the shop yesterday?’

  She shrugged. ‘We didn’t announce it, if that’s what you mean. We closed the shop because Simas had gripas. I had a hospital appointment for the baby, so I left him to it.’

  ‘Didn’t you want your husband to come to the hospital with you?’

  She shook her head. ‘Simas didn’t want children.’

  It wasn’t what I’d asked. ‘We spoke to your brother-in-law, Artem. How did you get on with him?’

  She laughed. It was an irritated cackle. ‘If you spoke to him, you’ll know. Artem likes to make my life as difficult as he can, and that’s included causing trouble with Simas. He tried to kiss me twice when my husband was working and had the cheek to tell Simas that I tried to kiss him. I suppose because I rejected his advances, he’s hated me ever since. He laughs at me, like I’m stupid, saying that Simas still screws other women so why don’t I join his game?’

  ‘And did you?’ I was remembering the things that Artem had said about the baby’s father being anybody.

  ‘No, I didn’t. He’s a liar. He bad-mouths me to everyone. He’s either a bit of a psycho or he’s jealous.’

  ‘How did Simas and Artem get on?’

  Here her face changed. ‘They were close. Brothers, you know? They watched each other’s backs. But something between them has always caused friction. I don’t know what it was.’

  ‘Did you tell your husband about Artem’s advances toward you?’

  ‘Taip. Simas was really angry. He didn’t want to believe me. He went to see Artem, who told him that I’d hit on him. Artem knew that his brother would believe him over me, and he did.’ She shrugged. Defeated. ‘Simas went to see Artem feeling furious with him and came home angry with me. Jis visiškai bastard. Artem has no respect for women. Not me. Not his wife. Not his kids.’ Her eyes closed as though thinking about the situation was painful, and she wanted to block it out.

  I was trying to put myself in her shoes. It was easy to say that you wouldn’t put up with a cheating partner but until you were in the situation, it was speculation. What did you do if you were madly in love with that person? Or were financially dependent on them? Indra struck me as a resourceful woman. Her sister had got a job in Tomasz’ club, and I was sure that Indra could have done something similar if she had chosen to leave Simas. ‘Have you thought about what you will do now?’

  She shook her head. ‘Wait a while. Start again.’ She stared into space. ‘I won’t go back to Lithuania. Marta needs me and, to be honest, I need her right now.’

  A few of the little things that Indra had said about Marta were niggling at the back of my mind. I was aware that they were both each other’s alibis. Neither of them was above suspicion and both had motives for killing Simas and his mistress. I’d discuss it with the team. We needed to corroborate their stories – or dismiss them. What struck me was that, underneath the bravery of Indra’s words, I sensed bitterness, and not unfairly. She was a survivor, I felt sure of that but, having had a miscarriage, she was vulnerable and needed to get her strength back. Against all the odds, Indra’s story was starting to stack up. Then, something occurred to me. ‘Did Simas know about the baby?’

  Indra looked at me, blinking while she gathered her thoughts. ‘No.’ She paused. ‘I told you; he didn’t want children. I got pregnant by accident and I planned to tell him when I passed the first three months.’

  ‘I need to ask you something a bit delicate. Was it Simas’ baby?’

  ‘Žinoma.’ She looked confused. ‘Ah. Artem’s been telling you I’m a whore?’ She rolled her eyes and looked to the heavens. ‘Jėzus Kristus.’

  Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of voices and the front door closing. Giggles and squeals tinkled down the hall. Indra’s sister was home.

  And she wasn’t alone.

  Maya, 10.45 p.m.

  I left Indra with my thoughts spiralling. It had been a long, exhausting day and part of me wanted to go home and collapse into bed, but my mind wouldn’t settle until I’d told Dan about Simas’ mistress, and found out whether we’d received news on Ali.

  Questions were tumbling over in my mind when I arrived back at the MIT offices, and I hurried over to see if Dan was still here. For once, the office was quiet, and children’s giggles and shrieks rang out in the incident room. Dan was still at his desk, captivated by whatever was on his screen, and didn’t seem to hear me approach. An empty sandwich box sat next to his mug, and his planner showed a page-view of the months in 2020. The full-screen view on his monitor showed his two daughters, Kiara and Sharna. One was spooning breakfast cereal into her mouth while the other plaited her sister’s hair.

  ‘You’ve been saying that for ages,’ Sharna’s voice was thick with disappointment.

  I froze.

  ‘Can you come for my party, Daddy?’ Kiara joined in. ‘Please say you will.’

  ‘Very soon, I promise.’ Dan’s voice was gentle. ‘It depends on my job here, you see.’ He was trying to sound cheerful, but I caught the despondency in his tone. ‘And Mummy’s been offered a new job outside Sydney, so we’re still figuring out how to arrange things.’

  ‘But Daddy, Christmas was ages ago. Like, months and months . . . ’

  Dan was massaging his neck muscles and rotating his head. ‘I know, sweetheart, but these things take time, and . . . Kiara, eat properly. You’ve dropped milk on your uniform and Mummy . . . ’

  I decided to pop to the loo and give them a bit of space.

  In the toilets, I perched on a plastic chair and dumped my jacket down. Dougie would be at home, so I gave him a quick ring and checked my emails for developments. When I stood up, my reflection in the mirror made me chuckle: hair everywhere and barely a scrap of make-up remaining from this morning – but I didn’t care.

  When I got back to our cluster of desks, Dan was off Skype. He was hunched over the desk, with his head resting on folded arms.

  ‘Phew,’ I said loudly to announce my arrival. ‘What a day.’ I dumped my bag down and realised I’d left my jacket in the loo.

  ‘You can say that again,’ he grunted towards the floor.

  ‘There’s a cuppa here for you.’

  He sat up. ‘Think I need something stronger than that.’ I’d rarely seen Dan cry but his eyes were pink and bloodshot.

  ‘What’s up?’ I hoped he hadn’t heard me come in a few minutes ago.

  ‘I thought Aroona was coming round to the idea of moving over here but she’s been offered a job in the outback. It’s a one-year contract to start with, and she’s just told me she wants to take it.’

  Everyone in the team knew how much Dan struggled with being apart from his family. ‘Oh, Dan. I’m so sorry. I know how much you miss them.’ Presumably it would mean the girls going with her, but I didn’t like to ask.

  ‘It’s just . . . oh, never mind.’

  ‘A year will pass in no time.’ I wasn’t sure if this was helpful or not but was grappling for what to say.

  ‘Maybe. Maybe not. The girls would love the outback, and short-term it would be a fabulous experience for them. It wasn’t what I signed up for though. I agreed to the fast-track post here on the understanding that
Aroona and the girls would follow me over, not move even further away.’ He scrunched his sandwich box into a ball and lobbed it into the bin. ‘I know Aroona. This means she’s changed her mind.’

  ‘Why don’t you knock off? Grab a pint somewhere.’

  He brushed crumbs off his desk and shook his head. ‘Nah. I really don’t fancy being on my own right now.’ He closed the Skype tab. ‘How’d you go with Indra? Any developments?’

  I updated him on what had happened. On the board, the image of the female fire victim taunted me, and I added ‘Essex’ and ‘child’ to what we knew about her.

  ‘Do you think Marta and Tomasz are an item?’ He began bustling about, as though he was relieved for the distraction.

  ‘They weren’t employer-employee giggles. Put it that way. When they saw me, they reined it in, but it looked like they’d been drinking together.’

  Dan straightened his back and rolled his neck again. ‘While I was waiting for you I had a read of the update log. According to the police database, Marta Ulbiene first came to London six years ago on a deal from Lithuania which was described as “helping girls to study in Britain”, but which turned out to be a trafficking scheme.’ Dan angled his monitor so I could see the record.

  ‘Christ. Poor Marta.’ I remembered the impression I’d had when I’d talked to her at the hospital, and what Indra had just told me about her not being forgiving.

  ‘She and six other girls ended up in a prostitution ring run by fellow Lithuanians in Beckton in a council flat.’ Dan was paraphrasing. ‘She was lucky to survive, by the sounds of it. One of the girls died of a heroin overdose and one was beaten to death by the men running the girls. Indra came over to the UK to look for her, reported her missing, and eventually the police busted the ring and Marta was saved. Indra stayed here to look after her sister, who was in a bad way. That was when Indra met Simas, and they got married soon after.’

  ‘No wonder Marta’s angry. The trafficking thing is bad enough but to be betrayed by fellow Lithuanians?’ What an awful time the two of them had had. ‘Is there any link with Tomasz Feldman?’

  ‘At the moment, no, apart from the fact he’s her employer. What happened at the flat when they arrived?’

  ‘There was some hurried talking between the two sisters in Lithuanian. Tomasz clocked me, made out it was a common occurrence that he dropped Marta home, and made a swift departure.’

  ‘Definitely an item then.’ Dan laughed.

  ‘Back in a sec.’ I nipped over to the toilets to fetch my jacket and was carrying it back when I saw that Dan was waving the landline receiver in the air.

  ‘Maya, quick,’ he bellowed across the office. ‘Someone on the blower. Insists on speaking to you.’

  ‘Who is it?’ I dumped my jacket down.

  ‘Someone’s found a petrol can and a bag in their back garden. She’s seen you on the appeals.’

  I felt a lurch of excitement. ‘Can you track the call?’

  ‘I’ll have a go.’

  ‘What’s her name?’

  ‘She wouldn’t say. Husband found them.’

  I had to be quick before she rang off. I grabbed the receiver, took a deep breath to calm my voice and released the mute button. ‘You’re through to the incident room at Limehouse Police Station, DI Rahman speaking. I gather you’ve found something in your garden?’

  ‘Yes, um . . . hello.’ The woman’s voice was shaky. ‘I saw the press thingy on the news earlier. It’s about the fire at the old bagel place in Brick Lane. . . Well, I think it might be.’

  I tucked the receiver under my ear and reached for my notepad. Looked at Dan to see how he was getting on. ‘Go on.’

  ‘It might be nothing, but my Sid’s just locked up the shop and was having a smoke in the back garden. He spotted one of them jerry cans. Stinks of petrol, he says. We’re on the same side of the road as the soup place, three shops along. The off-licence. There’s a bag too, one of them canvas hold-all things. It’s all over-grown with weeds and whatnot out back, so we didn’t see them before now. He reckons someone must’ve lobbed them over the fence. D’you think it’s got anything to do with the fire?’

  *

  Fifteen minutes later, Dan and I were back in Brick Lane, on tenterhooks in the alley behind the shops while the CSI team picked over every inch of the Walkers’ back garden for evidence.

  ‘You don’t have to stay,’ I said to Dan. ‘There’s no point us both being shattered tomorrow.’ My body ached with exhaustion.

  ‘Nah. You’re alright. They might need someone to deliver samples to the lab. Speed things up.’

  ‘I know it’s not a case priority, but I can’t stop thinking about Ali. Uniform kindly agreed to pop into some of the youth centres on their patrols. Hopefully someone will have seen him.’

  Dan shook his head. ‘After what he said about Kyle, he’s probably gone to ground.’

  ‘In another filthy squat?’ It felt wrong. ‘With another load of druggies and criminals?’

  ‘I know you won’t want to hear it but whenever I’ve seen a kid look that scared, it’s rarely ended well.’ He scratched the stubble on his chin. ‘I’m worried about you, Maya. Don’t get too involved. It won’t help anyone. Plus – the ID of the woman in the fire is more urgent than Ali. Nothing has happened to him yet.’

  I rolled my eyes in protest although I knew what he was saying was right. ‘Thanks for the pep talk, Guv.’ I forced a laugh to conceal my reaction. ‘While you were on HOLMES earlier, is there anything new on Kenny?’

  He shook his head. ‘His sort are good at keeping their identities concealed. This is his area of expertise to a tee.’

  ‘Do you think that Kenny might be Frazer from the forum?’

  ‘It’s possible.’ He kicked a can and sent it flying. ‘It’s what’s so frustrating. There are so many strands to the investigation, it’s difficult to know who’s a person of interest and who’s a suspect.’ He turned to face me. ‘What was your impression of Indra when you interviewed her? Do you think she’s a contender for the arson still?’

  ‘She certainly has a motive with her husband’s infidelity. Simas didn’t have a life insurance policy but the business is well-insured. She’s understandably angry but she doesn’t seem particularly upset about losing her husband.’ I stopped. I knew that people felt and expressed emotion differently. ‘She seems genuinely broken by the news that he was still having affairs, and by losing the baby, but I’m not convinced by her alibi or Marta’s. They’ve both used each other which is rather convenient.’ If Indra had loved Simas, even if she was angry with him, wouldn’t she have been more upset? Perhaps Simas had been simply a means of security or maybe she’d finally fallen out of love with him? That might have made it easier for her to have put up with his cheating, turn the other cheek, pretend to be bothered by it while all the time getting on with her own life. Particularly when she found out that she was pregnant. Perhaps she was planning to leave him all along? ‘What about Marta? Indra told me that the trafficking had left her full of rage. She said Marta’s idea of what was “normal” had gone awry. She also said that Marta hated Simas and she “hoped” Marta hadn’t killed him.’

  ‘Not that she definitely hadn’t?’ Dan seemed to have read my mind.

  ‘No.’ I recalled Indra’s face when she said it. ‘She didn’t seem certain at all. She also told me that Simas didn’t want children and that she hadn’t told him she was pregnant. She said he was definitely the father of the baby, but Artem told us that he wasn’t so sure.’

  ‘Ah. Don’t kill me. With Mrs Walker’s phone call, I forgot to tell you. Alexej checked who was listed as the baby’s father on the hospital records.’ Dan put his arms up, pretending that I was going to hit him. ‘I’ll bet you a tenner you can’t guess who it is.’

  ‘Spill.’ I made as though I was going to clip him round the ear.

  Shouts from Dougie interrupted me. ‘Maya. Maya. We’ve found something.’

  I felt hope soar.
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  ‘Stay there. I’ll bring it out.’

  Dan reached the gate before me.

  ‘There’s petrol on the inside of the hold-all so I reckon it was used to transport the can,’ Dougie told us. ‘But this . . . ? Looks like a burner to me.’ He held up an evidence bag with a mobile phone in it and handed it to me. ‘I’ll get the hold-all processed. We’ve got the prints we need, so your techs can get cracking on the comms data.’

  ‘Cheers,’ I said.

  ‘With any luck,’ Dougie added, ‘they’ve been as careless with the phone as everything else.’

  11.30p.m.

  When the girl opened her eyes, her head was spinning.

  Click, clack. Click, clack.

  Someone was sitting at the end of the bed, playing with beads. A dark figure, like on the telly. And wearing a hood.

  ‘Thirsty,’ she mumbled. ‘Please may I—?’

  A gloved hand loomed towards her and everything went black.

  Maya, 11.30 p.m.

  ‘For God’s sake, don’t keep me in suspense any longer’, I said. ‘Who’s the father of Indra’s baby?’

  Dan and I had the burner and were on our way back to the office.

  ‘It’s Tomasz Feldman.’

  ‘Tomasz? That’s a bit messy, if we’re right that he’s seeing Marta now. And I only spoke to Indra a few hours ago. She told me she’d been faithful to Simas, and that he was definitely the baby’s father.’

  ‘That’s another lie she’s told us,’ Dan said knowingly. ‘Doesn’t make her word seem reliable, does it?’

  ‘I agree.’ The dashboard clock said eleven thirty. ‘Tomasz’ bar has a late licence at weekends and will still be open. Let’s pay him a visit and find out what’s going on. If Tomasz and Indra were having an affair, that might increase Indra’s motive and give Tomasz one too.’

  Once we arrived back at Limehouse Police Station, I waited in the car outside while Dan delivered the mobile phone to the technicians. I reviewed the day’s events. It had been full of nasty surprises, and I doubted it was about to get much better.