A Good Girl's Guide to Murder(11)

Pip:

Who would Andie be wanting to punish? Him?



Ravi:

I don’t know, I didn’t push it. I didn’t know her well; she only came around a handful of times. I mean, I presumed the ‘someone’ Sal was talking about was Andie’s dad.



Pip:

Jason Bell? Why?



Ravi:

I just overheard some stuff when she was here. I figured she didn’t have the best relationship with her dad. I can’t remember anything specifically.



[Phew, he says ‘specifically’ not ‘pacifically’.]



Pip:

Specifics are what we need. So when did the police contact Sal?



Ravi:

It was that Saturday afternoon. They called him and asked if they could come over for a chat. They arrived at, like, three or four-ish. Me and my parents came into the kitchen to give them a bit of space, so we didn’t hear any of it really.



Pip:

And did Sal tell you what they asked him?



Ravi:

A bit. He was a little freaked out that they recorded it and st–



Pip:

The police recorded it? Is that normal?



Ravi:

I don’t know, you’re the sergeant. They said it was routine and just asked him questions about where he was that night, who he was with. And about his and Andie’s relationship.



Pip:

And what was their relationship like?



Ravi:

I’m his brother; I didn’t see all that much of it. But, yeah, Sal liked her a lot. I mean, he seemed pretty chuffed he was with the prettiest, most popular girl in the year. Andie always seemed to bring drama, though.



Pip:

What kind of drama?



Ravi:

I don’t know, I think she was just one of those people who thrives on it.



Pip:

Did your parents like her?



Ravi:

Yeah, my parents were cool with her. She never gave them a reason not to be.



Pip:

And so what else happened after the police interviewed him?



Ravi:

Err, his friends came around in the evening, you know to check if he was OK.



Pip:

And is that when he asked his friends to lie to the police and give him an alibi?



Ravi:

I guess so.



Pip:

Why do you think he did that?



Ravi:

I mean, I don’t know. Maybe he was rattled after the police interview. Maybe he was scared he would be a suspect so he tried to cover himself. I don’t know.



Pip:

Presuming Sal’s innocence, do you have any idea where he could have been between leaving Max’s at 10:30 and getting home at 12:50?



Ravi:

No, because he also told us that he started walking home from Max’s at like 12:15. I guess maybe he was alone somewhere so he knew that if he told the truth he’d have no alibi. It looks bad, doesn’t it?



Pip:

I mean, lying to the police and asking his friends to as well does look bad for Sal. But it’s not absolute proof that he had anything to do with Andie’s death. So what happened on the Sunday then?



Ravi:

On the Sunday afternoon, me, Sal and his friends volunteered to help put up some missing posters, handing them out to people in town. On the Monday, I didn’t see much of him at school, but it must have been pretty hard for him because all anyone was talking about was Andie’s disappearance.



Pip:

I remember.



Ravi:

Police were about too; I saw them looking through Andie’s locker. Yeah, so that night he was a little down. He was quiet, but he was worried, that’s what you’d expect. His girlfriend was missing. And the next day –



Pip:

You don’t have to talk about the next day if you don’t want to.



Ravi:

(Small pause) It’s OK. We walked into school together and I went off to registration, leaving Sal behind in the car park. He wanted to sit outside for a minute. That was the last time I ever saw him. And all I said was ‘see you later’. I . . . I knew police were at the school; rumour was that they were talking to Sal’s friends. And it wasn’t until like two-ish that I saw my mum had been trying to ring me, so I went home and my parents told me that the police really needed to speak to Sal and had I seen him. I think officers had been searching his bedroom. I tried calling Sal too, but it just rang out. My dad showed me this text he got, the last time they’d heard from Sal.



Pip:

Do you remember what it said?



Ravi:

Yeah, it said: it was me. I did it. I’m so sorry. And . . . (small pause) it was later that evening when the police came back. My parents went to answer the door and I stayed in here listening. When they said they’d found a body in the woods, I was so sure for a second that it was Andie they were talking about.



Pip:

And . . . I don’t want to be insensitive, but the sleeping pills . . .