All I can think about are my boys and what they must be thinking right now. Are they scared? Angry? Do they even know I’ve been arrested? Did I make the right call asking Fiona to look after them? Ryan and Sonny are more comfortable around Tia and Ed, but how could I have asked Tia, when her own brother is the person who arrested me?
Ash barely said two words to me on the drive to the station. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions about Sophie. About why I’d been arrested. The only thing he did say was that I was entitled to my own legal representation. But it’s Saturday night and I can’t get anyone here until at least Monday. My only other option is to use the duty solicitor. So that’s what I’ve agreed to do. I can’t afford to waste hours or days looking for my own lawyer. Ash said the duty solicitors are pretty good. Despite him being the one to arrest me, I still trust him. Ash isn’t the type of person to twist the law to his own advantage. At least I hope not.
A jangling of keys and the creak of the door handle jolts me from my thoughts, and I sit up straighter in anticipation of what’s next. The door opens. It’s Ash.
‘Hi, Kelly. The duty solicitor is waiting to see you. Do you want to come with me?’
I stand up on shaky legs and follow Ash down a brightly lit, blue corridor, past several more cell doors. I have so many more questions to ask him, but it would be a waste of time. I’ll save them for my solicitor.
Ash knocks on a door and opens it. Inside the interview room, seated at a table, is a dark-haired man in a grey suit. I’d guess he’s around my age, but his confidence and stature makes him seem infinitely older and wiser. He stands when I come in and holds out his hand to shake mine. Ash nods at us both and leaves the room.
‘Hi, Kelly. I’m Saul Barker, your solicitor. Officer Dewan has been filling me in on your case. Please, have a seat.’ He gestures to a chair across from him and I do as he asks. ‘There’s a cup of tea for you on the table.’
I notice the mug in front of me.
‘Do you take sugar?’
I shake my head. I have so many questions that I need to ask him, but I don’t know where to start. It’s as though my whole body has gone numb and my brain has floated off somewhere else.
Saul takes a sip of his tea and straightens out the notepad and sheaf of papers on the table in front of him. ‘So, Kelly, just to let you know, I’m the duty solicitor on call tonight; I’m a criminal defence solicitor and I’m here to ensure that your legal rights are observed.’
‘Okay. Thank you.’
He gives a curt nod. ‘You’ve been arrested for the false imprisonment of Sophie Jones.’
‘Which is ridiculous,’ I say.
‘Okay, so you’re denying it?’
‘Yes I am. Absolutely. I don’t even know how they came to that conclusion.’
Saul looks down at the sheet in front of him. ‘Sophie Jones claims that she was being held captive in your attic, tied to a chair by her wrists and ankles. She says she managed to shuffle over to the window and smash it, calling down to a passer-by for help. Whereupon a neighbour spotted her and called the police.’ Saul is reeling off this information as though it’s some kind of boring shopping list. There’s no judgement or emotion in his voice. Which is more than can be said for howI’mfeeling.
My face is heating up and my throat has gone completely dry. I take a sip of the tea in front of me. It’s lukewarm and really strong but at least it lubricates my vocal cords. ‘Are you kidding me? She actually said all that?’
‘Yes. She says she’s been held against her will since Wednesday. She also inferred that you’re mentally ill. How do you know Sophie Jones?’ Saul’s grey eyes meet mine for the first time.
I realise my mouth is hanging open as I try to process what he’s telling me. I close my mouth and swallow. ‘I don’t really know her at all. She showed up at my house on Wednesday morning. She was scared out of her mind so I said she could stay for a few days.’
‘And had you met her before this?’
‘No.’
‘So, let me get this straight, you invited a stranger to stay in your house?’
I take a breath. ‘When you phrase it like that it sounds a bit crazy, I know. But she was terrified. When I found her in my garden, she was literally shaking with fear. It was obvious that she was trying to get away from someone. I felt sorry for the girl so I said she could come in for a few minutes to catch her breath and have a cold drink.’
‘Did she tell you that someone was after her?’
‘Not at that point, no. I think she said that she was in danger and needed somewhere to hide.’
‘Did you not think it would have been better to call the police?’
‘Of course. That’s the first thing I suggested. But as soon as I said that, she started heading out the door.’
‘So why didn’t you let her go?’
‘I felt sorry for her. I told her that I wouldn’t call the police if she didn’t want me to. I also suggested contacting a shelter, but she wasn’t keen on that either. She just seemed kind of shell-shocked and I thought it would be nice to give her the chance to catch her breath without putting pressure on her to contact the authorities.’
