‘Six.’
‘And then what happened?’
‘I have to tell you ... later ... Clarkson ...’
There was a rustling through the phone and then a voice growing louder. Something clicked and rattled, and a new voice replaced Daisy’s.
‘Nella?’
‘Ian. How are you?’ She tried to swallow the prickle of annoyance. What had Daisy been about to tell her?
‘I found him ... Nella, I ... that was fucked up.’
She wasn’t a therapist. ‘Ian, what happened when you got there?’
‘I went to disarm the security system, but it was weird ... Normally it beeps, but there was no sound.’
‘So the security system wasn’t on?’
‘Nope. I called out “Anyone here?” Lieu’s car was still outside, so I figured it was just him, but still, I had a feeling, you know? I couldn’t hear anything but he’d been typing and incessantly calling people all afternoon ... His door was slightly open, so I figured he would have heard me. I thought maybe he’d popped out the back.’
‘That’s what I would have assumed too.’
‘Yeah, so anyway, I didn’t want to disturb him, so I figured I’d just grab my bag and go. But then ... I dunno what it was, Nella, I think I heard something ...’
‘Ian, be specific. What did you hear?’
‘Ah, shit, I dunno, it all happened so fast, but it sounded like the back door.’
‘You heard the back door open?’
‘No, I thought I heard it close – it sounds different when it closes, kind of like a whine. So I went out back and it was unlocked, but that’s not weird – normally the last person out locks it.’
Nella made a mental note to check with Daisy and Pearl if they’d locked the back door or if they’d left it, assuming Clarkson would lock up. ‘Then what happened, Ian?’
‘Well, there was no one in the alley and I called out, just in case, you know, it was some kid mucking around, but there was no answer. So I figured I’d check on Lieu.’ Ian’s voice wavered.
Nella clutched the phone tighter as if it was his wrist.
‘I ...’ He took a shuddery breath. ‘I called out, asked if everything was okay. There was no response, so I ... I pushed open the door ...’
‘It’s all right, pet.’Nella heard Pearl’s voice muffled through the phone.‘You’re all right.’
When Ian’s voice came back it was thick and throaty. ‘He was on the ground. Belt ... belt around his neck ... must have fallen ... The fan was still ... swinging.’
Nella squeezed her eyes against the image Ian’s words conjured. Clarkson, face pale, neck angled, legs hanging in his expensive suit like it was drying on a washing line. Clarkson, who she’d laughed with, kissed, had a small crush on; Clarkson, who was going to save her family from the La Marca lawsuit.
Dead.
‘Ian, I know this is hard, and I know you’ve probably already told the cops this, but is there anything else, anything you were worried about saying to the police, anything you thought they wouldn’t care about or you thought was insignificant? You can tell me. I’ll protect you, I promise. I won’t let anything bad happen.’
Empty words from a boss who’d kicked him into the deep end after he finished his final year of law school, thinking he was moving all the way to Bindi Bindi Cove to learn from the rising legal star that was Antonella Barbarani.
‘I’ve told you everything I told them, Nella.’
‘You said there was a belt around his neck? What colour was it?’
‘I don’t know ... Brown, I think.’
