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Elliott frowns. “We turned up at the hospital to interview him, and he confessed straight away. Says he’s prepared to make a full statement.”
“To what? What does he say he did?”
“He persuaded Griffin to let him inject him with a painkiller, then used a potentially lethal amount of diamorphine. But he wants to speak to you first. Alone.”
Jess’s legs feel weak. She leans against the wall.
“What does he want to say to me?” she whispers.
“That’s what we’d like to know. It’s against protocol, but we think he knows something. Something that might help us find the Echo Man.”
Jess’s head snaps up. “He’s not involved with that.”
“Really, Jessica?” Elliott says. “This guy tries to kill my brother in exactly the same way as Britain’s most prolific serial killer, and you don’t think it’s connected?”
Jess shakes her head over and over again. “He’s not. He can’t be.” Not him. Not Nav.
DCI Elliott opens the door. Jess can see determination on her face. It reminds her of Griffin.
“Let’s go see, shall we?” the detective says.
CHAPTER
66
JESS LOOKS THROUGH the small window in the door. She can just see Nav slumped at the table. He’s wearing a gray tracksuit, a light blue blanket draped around his shoulders. His hands are handcuffed in front of him, his head is bent.
She looks at DCI Elliott, standing next to her.
“What should I do?” Jess asks.
“Let him lead the conversation. He’s asked to see you, so there must be something he wants to say. But there’s no way I’m letting you in there without listening to your conversation—your every move will be taped, every word recorded. Understand?”
Jess nods. Elliott opens the door and Nav turns, going to stand up when he sees Jess.
“Sit down,” DCI Elliott says sternly. “You have ten minutes.” And she closes the door behind them.
“Jess, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” Nav slumps back into the chair again. He puts his hands over his face and starts to cry, shoulders heaving. Jess reaches over and takes his hand.
He looks up at her. He looks awful. His eyes are red and bloodshot, his face drawn. She grips his hands tightly; they’re clammy and hot.
“Nav,” Jess says softly. “What happened? They’re saying you tried to kill Griffin, but that’s not right, is it?”
She has to struggle to keep her emotions in check. She wants to scream at him, shout at him to stop being so stupid, but she has to stay calm. She has to help him.
He shakes his head. “I’m so sorry. He told me I had to.”
Jess feels an icy shiver run through her body. “Who told you, Nav?”
Nav looks up, and his eyes fix on the black dome in the corner of the room. “They’re recording us?”
“Yes.”
He leans forward toward her, lowering his voice to an almost imperceptible murmur. “They can’t know, Jess. He said.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. I had a note left in my locker. It said he’d be back in touch soon. There was a memory stick with it.” He looks down at his hands, crying again. “I plugged it into my computer. It was a video file. It was you, Jess. With a man.”
