I hesitate, chewing my lip.
“Dominic, who did it?”
“They don’t know yet,” I lie, hoping I sound halfways convincing. “They’re chasing up some leads, but they don’t know right now. It’s all speculation.”
I can feel Charlotte’s gaze boring into the side of my face, even as she directs me to a Korean restaurant near her flat. When we get out of the car, she takes a hold of my arm, and still I can feel her glancing up at me as though she can somehow force me to admit what I know.
Nothing gets past this one.
Charlotte insists on eating in as she doesn’t feel like going home yet, and we take our place at a table at the back of the dimly lit restaurant. Once we give up our orders, Charlotte fixes me with another piercing look, and I brace myself for an interrogation.
“So, you gonna tell me?” She asks, tapping her fingers against the table in a rhythm I’m convinced it meant to hypnotise me. “Because I can see you’re mulling something over.”
“Like I said, it’s all speculation right now.”
“Right and what are they speculating on?” Charlotte snaps.
I sigh and run a hand over my head. “They asked me about enemies that Mia might have, anyone who would want to do her harm.”
Charlotte scowls and shakes her head. “Enemies? Mia doesn’t have enemies.”
“Then they mentioned Paulie Hardcastle.”
Charlotte’s eyes almost bug out of her head. “That little shit weasel? They think he’d have the guts to burn down Mia’s house? Why the fuck would he do that, he’s obsessed with her?”
“I think it might be because of me.” I glance up at Charlotte warily, and her frown deepens.
“Because of you?”
“After Paulie knocked her into the car, and after the fiasco with her dad’s death, I went over to Paulie’s to… warn him off.”
“Oh, you beat him up.” Charlotte raises her eyebrows. “Right? That’s what you did.”
I nod, and she leans back in her chair with a huff.
“But then he’d set your place on fire, not Mia’s.” Charlotte looks back at me. “Wouldn’t he?”
“Not if he wants to get back at me by hurting her.” I lean on the table on my crossed arms. “What if this is my fault? What if I’ve put Mia in danger because of… all this?”
I realise that we still haven’t properly spoken to Charlotte about our relationship in the days since we’ve been at her house, she just accepted it and didn’t ask any questions. I suppose she and Mia have had their chats about it, but Charlotte hasn’t once been strange or unwelcoming. But maybe now, if our relationship is actually putting Mia in danger, she’ll feel differently.
She reaches across the table and gives my arm a pat, smiling warmly.
“Please don’t think that.” She shakes her head. “I don’t think I’ve seen Mia this happy in a long time. You know, aside from the hospital visit. But since she started spending more time with you, she’s like a different person. Happier, more carefree.”
“But what if it gets worse? What if it comes out that Hardcastle did this because of me, and then-”
“Dominic, stop.” Charlotte squeezes my arm. “Please, put this out of your head for tonight. There is no point driving yourself mad over it when Hardcastle may well have not done anything. It could be anyone, some deranged fan or, god knows. But you’re not hurting Mia.”
My phone pings, and I excuse myself to answer it.
“Is it the hospital?” Charlotte asks.
I shake my head, my eyes scanning over the message. “No, it’s… It’s Barry.” I sigh heavily. “Fuck.”
“What?” Charlotte sits up straighter, craning her neck to see. “What happened?”
I hold up my phone to show her the awful caption on the photo. It’s a post from some social media platform I don’t use, a grainy photo showing a dark-haired figure being rolled into A&E on a gurney. Underneath, the caption screams,Premier League’s Yoko Ono Taken to St. Mary’s after mysterious fire at Knightsbridge home.
