The Silent Suspect

for any sign of life inside. Smoke was pouring out of the upstairs windows, making me cough so hard my bones shook. I put my arm across my face but it didn’t do much to shield me from the smoke. There was another loud cracking noise from inside the house and I froze in fear. Was I in danger?
People had emerged from neighbouring houses and I could see the panic on their faces. A couple of them pointed at me and gesticulated for me to get away – I knew they were right, but I needed to be able to tell the fire brigade if someone was inside. Some of the onlookers started to bang on neighbours’ doors, and I could see others with phones pressed to their faces. The emergency services were already on their way, but they were bound to receive a few more calls about the fire.
Where was Lukas? I looked around at the faces in doorways and on the street, but I couldn’t see him. I wanted to make sure he was safe, but I didn’t want to go any closer to the house. Even I knew better than to run into a burning building, whoever might be inside.
In the distance I could hear sirens, and a moment later two fire engines pulled up outside the house.
‘Are you the home owner?’ one firefighter asked me as the others busied themselves with their equipment.
‘No, but I called you.’
‘Is anyone inside?’
My mouth gaped for a moment as I panicked. Had Lukas gone inside to look for Nadia? Fear gripped me as I imagined how desperate someone would have to be to run into a burning building.
‘I don’t know. Maybe,’ I replied, angry with myself for not being able to provide a definite answer. ‘A man called Lukas lives here, and his wife, Nadia. They’re both profoundly deaf.’
‘Okay, anyone else?’
I nodded. ‘Sometimes his son, Mariusz, I think. He’s sixteen. But I don’t know if he’ll be here or at his mum’s. I can probably find out, though.’
The man turned back to his colleagues and they huddled round to hear what I’d just told him. Looking back at the house, another ripple of fear went through me. If anyone was inside, I didn’t see how they could survive that.
A police car and an ambulance pulled up and I looked over, wondering if I would know the occupants from any previous cases I’d worked, but two unfamiliar uniformed officers stepped out. I should have realised CID wouldn’t have been there, not until they knew if the fire had been started deliberately. It had probably been an electrical fire, I thought. A lot of these older council houses had a backlog of maintenance issues.
One of the PCs approached me.
‘You’re going to have to move back,’ she said with a frown. ‘It’s not safe.’
‘Sorry,’ I replied. ‘I thought I could be useful.’
‘How?’ she asked, unable to keep the doubt from her face.
‘I’m Paige Northwood,’ I told her, digging my ID out of my pocket. ‘I’m a British Sign Language interpreter. I had a call from the tenant, Lukas Nowak, and he asked me to call 999.’
‘Why didn’t he call himself?’
Now I was the one resisting the urge to roll my eyes – I would have thought my job would have given her a clue.
‘He’s profoundly deaf. He doesn’t speak.’
It seemed like a lot more than fifteen minutes since Lukas had called me. I shivered at the memory of the terror on his face.
‘Why you?’ the PC asked, still suspicious of me.
‘I work with his social worker, Sasha Thomas. She’s profoundly deaf herself, and I’m her interpreter. Lukas has my number so I can support him if he needs an interpreter.’
She gave me a long stare, then nodded. ‘Fine. But I’m going to need you to move back. It’s not safe for you to be anywhere near the house.’ She pointed away from the house and I obediently stepped back and into the road.
I watched as the two PCs set up a cordon to keep the neighbours away from the blaze, and comforted those whose properties adjoined Lukas’s. The fire didn’t seem to have spread beyond the one house yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time, unless the fire brigade managed to get it under control very quickly.
Checking my phone, I saw three missed calls from Max. I fired off a quick text to let him know I was okay and would call him later, but I didn’t want to call him back in case I was needed. Lukas’s call couldn’t have come at a worse time, and I felt bad for leaving Max hanging. I was actually glad I had a bit of breathing space before I had to answer Max’s question, but even thinking that brought a wave of guilt.
There was a shout from a firefighter and I looked over just as one of the downstairs windows shattered, sending a spray of glass out onto the pavement. I ducked instinctively, even though the glass hadn’t come anywhere near me.
‘Get back!’ someone yelled at me, and I swiftly obeyed, moving as far back as I could whilst still being able to see the front door. Where the hell was Lukas? He hadn’t been inside the house when he called me. Had he gone in, looking for Nadia or Mariusz?
Sweat dripped down my back, my proximity to the fire sending adrenaline coursing through my veins. Wasn’t there anything I could do to help? There was another shout from the firefighters, and someone came out of the front door – a man kitted out in full protective gear, his tan and yellow uniform blackened by the smoke. There was a bundle over his shoulder, and as he rushed over to the waiting paramedics I could see it was Lukas.
Finally, I could be of use. I ran over to the ambulance, but pulled up when the same police officer stepped into my path, hand held out in front of her.
‘You can’t come