Human Remains

arm or something. I was never violent or anything like that.’
    ‘Did she talk to you about wanting to take her own life?’
    ‘Oh, yes.’
    ‘What did she say?’
    ‘I think she said she felt sometimes that she would be happier if she ceased to exist.’
    ‘Did you suggest she seek help? Talk to someone about how she felt?’
    ‘She was talking to me about how she felt.’
    ‘But you didn’t think you should try and stop her from ending her life?’
    ‘No. That was her decision. She was a grown adult.’
    ‘And you didn’t report her death?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘Surely that sort of thing should be up to one’s next of kin, shouldn’t it?’ I give Lewis a cheerful smile which he does not return.
    ‘Did you say anything to try to dissuade Rachelle from taking her own life?’
    ‘Not at all. Once she had made the decision to die, she was much happier. That was a good thing, don’t you think?’
    Lewis does not answer the question. Instead, he looks across at Topping for the first time since the interview started. He’s way out of his depth already and we’ve only been talking for five minutes or so. I almost feel sorry for him.
    After that brief wobble, he comes back from another angle. ‘Did you give Rachelle a mobile phone?’
    ‘Yes, I did.’
    ‘Why did you do that?’
    ‘So I could keep in touch with her.’
    ‘Did she ever call you using the phone?’
    ‘No. I called her on that number a few times.’
    ‘And did you take Rachelle’s own mobile phone away from her?’
    ‘Yes, I did. She wanted to cease all contact with her family. She didn’t need the phone any more.’
    ‘You took it without her permission?’
    ‘No, she gave me permission to take the phone away.’
    ‘What did you do with the phone?’
    ‘I got rid of it.’
    ‘How did you do that?’
    ‘I can’t remember exactly. I might have put it in a dustbin somewhere.’
    Lewis sighs heavily and consults his notes. Then he says, ‘Going back to the mobile phone you left at Rachelle’s house. You said you called her on it a number of times. What did you say to her when you called?’
    ‘I don’t remember exactly. I was calling to check if she was alright, if she needed anything.’
    ‘Did you know she was starving to death?’
    ‘Yes.’
    They look at each other again and I smile. This is such a lot of fun. I wish I’d owned up to it all months ago.
    ‘Did you not think, then, that she might have needed food?’
    ‘No. That was the way she had decided to die. If I’d brought her food I would have been going against her wishes. She’d already chosen that path. That was her right.’
    Lewis raises his voice slightly for the first time. ‘“She’d chosen her path”?’
    ‘Yes, indeed,’ I say cheerfully. ‘We all choose our own paths, DC Simon Lewis. You’ve chosen your path, too, haven’t you? And you, DC Keith Topping. It’s only when we’ve chosen our path and taken steps towards it that we can realise what it means to be truly happy. Don’t you agree?’

Annabel
     
     
    Sam’s car pulled into the side entrance to the police station car park and swung round so that it was facing back to the main road. I opened the passenger door and got in.
    ‘Everything OK?’ he asked.
    He hadn’t been expecting me to finish so early, judging by the surprised tone of his voice when I’d called his mobile. I had considered getting the bus or a taxi back to my house and sending him a text to say I’d gone home, but he would only have turned up there. Shutting the door and leaving the world behind me was no longer an option.
    ‘Yes and no. I’m off the case. Apparently I shouldn’t have been allowed back in the MIR after that man made me into a victim.’
    ‘Is that the good news or the bad news?’
    ‘The good news is that they’ve made an arrest and he’ll be interviewed, probably later this afternoon.’
    ‘Really? Who is he?’
    ‘Sam, I can’t talk about it.’
    ‘What do you think I’m going to do? I can’t name him if he hasn’t been charged, you know that. Tomorrow’s issue’s already gone to press. There’s bound to be an official announcement about the arrest on tomorrow’s local news. By Tuesday morning everyone and his uncle will know all about it.’
    ‘Alright, then, I don’t
want
to talk about it. Is that better?’
    He went quiet and I felt bad. It wasn’t his fault; none of it was his fault. The car windscreen was speckled with rain and when he used the wipers