‘We don’t know yet, Tilly. We’re hoping you might be able to help us with that. You told my colleague that Samantha lives here, at this address…’
‘Yes,’ she nods. ‘They live here together, her and Milo. He’s attacked her before, you know, this isn’t the first time… but I never thought it would come to this! I never thought…Oh God…’ She starts to rock back and forth on the sofa, hugging herself. ‘He came at me… I was in fear for my life… it all happened so quickly…’
‘OK… it’s OK.’ I touch her forearm gently. It’s hard to imagine someone of her stature attacking anyone. Overall, her demeanour smacks of a victim’s, though I know that at this stage keeping an open mind is essential.
‘Have you any idea where Samantha might be now? Could she have gone to a friend’s house perhaps, or a family member?’
‘She doesn’t have any family, or none that I know of anyway. I’m her best friend, heronlyfriend. Milo, he didn’t like her having friends, you see. He was trying to isolate her. He was so controlling…’
‘Does Samantha have a job?’
She shakes her head.
‘She wanted to work, but he wouldn’t let her. He wouldn’t let her doanything. She was practically a prisoner in her own home.’
She looks up at me then, and I notice that beneath the large black frames, her eyes are a bright emerald green.
‘I got a message from her earlier today, on Snapchat. She said he’d really flipped out this time and that he was going to kill her!’
‘Why didn’t you call the police, Tilly? That would’ve been the sensible thing to do, wouldn’t it?’ I keep my voice soft, mindful not to sound like I’m chiding her. I can tell she’s teetering dangerously on the edge as it is and I don’t want to push her over it.
‘I know!’ she wails. ‘But she begged me not to! She just wanted me to come and get her, take her away somewhere safe… I know I should’ve called you, but she said it would only make it worse for her. She wouldn’t listen… and… and now look! Oh my God, I’ve killed him! I’ll go to prison!’
She starts bawling again, stringy mucus streaming from her nostrils and mouth as she sobs. I take a pack of tissues from my inside jacket pocket and pass them to her.
‘I’ve always got some to hand.’ I smile, trying to bring the emotionally charged atmosphere down a notch. ‘I’m a dad of three.’
‘I can tell.’ She manages a thin smile in return as she wipes the snot bubble from her nose.
‘Listen, we’re going to get you down to the station soon, Tilly, get you cleaned up and checked over by a doctor, take some samples for forensic purposes, and then we can talk all of this through properly.’
I squeeze her arm in reassurance.
‘The officer here will need to caution you, OK?’
She gives me a terrified nod without looking up.
‘Try not to worry.’ I realise the ridiculousness of this statement given the gravity of the situation, but it’s the best I can do in the circumstances.
‘Are you going to cuff me?’
My stomach lurches again.
‘It’s standard practice, Tilly, given the nature of the incident, but it’ll be OK, OK?’ She grips onto my arm once more.
‘Will you be there, at the station? Will you come with me?’
‘One of the officers here will be with you the whole time, OK? You need anything, then you speak to one of them, anything at all.’
She drops her eyes back down into her lap. She’s shivering, and I suspect she’s going into shock. I need to get a grip on exactly what’s taken place here, but realise she’s in no fit state to give a coherent statement at this point.
‘Tilly, I need to ask you, could your friend Samantha be using a different name for any reason?’
‘A different name?’ Her brow crinkles with confusion. ‘No, I don’t think so… Why?’
‘Well, we’ve run some checks on her and that name doesn’t come up as being registered to this address.’
She looks at me blankly.
