“Yes.”
“Malik said that wasn’t where he put it.”
River’s eyes widened.
“I’ve asked for the previous takes when Barney was climbing. I don’t have those yet. Malik is the one who worked out the route, checked, chalked and tested it. In saying that wasn’t his mark, he could be trying to protect himself. He should have spoken out before now. He admitted he didn’t climb the route that day. He said he was told by the assistant director that there was no need. The take had to be done quickly because of the light and it was the last day they could film there.”
Max turned to River. “Were you told that? Do you remember?”
River frowned. “Li…light? Don’t know.”
“You think someone deliberately altered the route River was going to take in order that he’d fall?” Newt said.
“Yes, I do.”
River made a quiet moaning sound. “Not ex…ass…accident.”
“It appears not. I also found out that Malik didn’t actually see Barney when he went to check on him. He heardhim throwing up though. It sounded like food poisoning but no one else was ill. He didn’t see a doctor.”
“Is this connected with the letters?” Newt asked.
“I don’t know. The letters show awareness of the fall but not that it was engineered. But then, maybe whoever is writing is being careful not to incriminate themselves.”
“Have you told the police?” Newt spoke through gritted teeth. “Someone is sending him hate mail. They should know.”
“No,” River said. “Ba…bad pub…pub…city.”
“Bad publicity?” Newt gaped at him. “I thought any publicity was good.”
“Don’t want…them…” River took a deep breath. “To come…to see me fall.”
Oh.Now Newt understood.
“The police in Croatia weren’t suspicious. An actor not trained to climb, slips and falls. It looks like an accident. No one suggested otherwise. They investigated and were satisfied. The director was negligent, you shouldn’t have been pressurised to climb, but that’s another matter. You shouldn’t have agreed to climb, so… Until recently, Malik hadn’t seen the footage I’ve just shown you. He’s as keen as you are to find out who’s behind this. He feels terrible.”
“Did they interview everyone, crew and actors?” Newt asked.
“Yes, but I’ve spoken to more senior people in the company now we have this footage and I’ve also involved the British police.”
River’s hand had crept over Newt’s and Max’s gaze settled on it.
“The pair of you need to be careful.”
“Show me how to check the CCTV around the house,” Newt said.
“I want…to talk to Max,” River said.
Newt got the hint and left them.
Twelve
River was quiet after Max had left. Newt wondered how he’d feel if he’d discovered someone had tried to kill him, or at best, seriously injure him. He’d be scared. And angry. It made him think of the night his world had collapsed. The actions of his family had broken him for a long while. Maybe part of him would always be broken. The part of him that allowed him to trust. He’d loved and trusted Phelan. The one person he’d been able to rely on—always. From that night on, Newt had been on his own.
Apart from him and River being careful, there wasn’t much they could do. Max had shown him the CCTV system, which transmitted images from the cameras outside and could be viewed remotely via an app. Thankfully, the system only saved the last seven days’ data so there was nothing to see of their return from the river.
Newt couldn’t help but wonder why Max hadn’t shown this to him before. Maybe hehadbeen spying on them. But even as the thought came into his head, Max had said, “I didn’t see the point in telling you about this earlier, but it’s important now. Check to see if there is any movement at night or when you come back after you’ve been out. Keep River safe.”
He’d do his best, though Newt thought CCTV was more useaftersomething had happened than while it was happening. This place was already well protected with window locks, complicated door locks and an alarm system.And me.Newt would always do his utmost to protect River.He was the first friend he’d ever had.
