‘I think it’s best we talk a little about Adah Okafor and your relationship with her.’
DI Cousins says this sentence in a very businesslike way, apparently oblivious to the effect it has on me. I feel the hairs on my skin prickle and my temperature starts to drop so rapidly I have to draw my thick woollen cardigan round me. I try not to visibly shiver. DC Malik notices. I see his eyes move, but he doesn’t say anything.
‘Ms Marchland?’ DI Cousins prompts, when I don’t answer.
‘Erm … yes … I’m sorry.’ I pull my sleeves down so they cover my cold hands, trying to stop the wave of ice taking hold across me.
‘Are you quite all right?’ she asks, sounding more impatient than caring.
‘Yes. I’m sorry. It’s just … the subject of Adah is a very difficult one for me to talk about.’
Both police officers stare at me for a few seconds, then DI Cousins says, ‘Well, you’ve managed to write a whole book about your experiences, so it can’t be that hard.’ She doesn’t bother trying to cover her frustration. ‘And anyway, you’ve come all this way to do this interview, so you may as well speak to us openly.’
Her words echo around us for a few beats before she adds, ‘It really is for your benefit, Katherine. Help us out now, and we might be able to avoid this becoming very, very serious.’
I look up at this. ‘It is serious.’
‘Serious for you, I mean. And your future. So please, talk to us honestly and answer our questions fully.’
I watch her blank face, the lines starting to crease around her eyes as middle age takes hold.
‘I only came,’ I say, choosing my words slowly and carefully, ‘because you threatened to arrest me if I didn’t agree to come in for questioning.’
I see DI Cousins’s nostrils flare a little, but it’s DC Malik who responds.
‘Katherine, we really are just trying to get to the truth in all of this.’ His tone is soft and calming, and he places a hand on the desk in front of him, almost as if he were laying a hand on my arm. ‘Avoiding our questions now is only going to delay that, and as my colleague says, that might make things difficult for you. Not cooperating might send a negative message when we have our meetings with various other people about whether or not to take this case further. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
His hazel eyes seek out contact with mine, and eventually, grudgingly, I give in and look at him properly. ‘Yes,’ I say.
He gives me a small smile and nods.
‘Thank you,’ he says, still speaking in a slower, kinder voice than DI Cousins had been moments before. ‘Now, I realise this must be terribly distressing for you, having all these old memories brought up, but one of the most important things for us, as I’m sure you can imagine, is working out where Adah fits into this puzzle.’
As I give him a little nod, to show I understand, a few tears slip from my eyes. I don’t brush them away. I just let them fall.
‘Katherine, the fact is we can’t put this matter to rest until we’ve got a full picture of the situation,’ he says, leaning in a little. ‘A full picture of the circumstances surrounding your friend’s death.’