AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Before I could close the door, the wind slammed it shut for me. The banging sound alerted Neil to my presence. He turned and locked eyes with me. I cautiously approached, stopping a few steps short of the edge, unwilling to go any closer.
Neil leaned back on the barrier, hands in his pockets. “You came.”
“Of course. You asked me to.”
“I thought you might think twice.”
“I was worried about you.”
Neil smirked. “Why? Did you think I might fall?”
“I don’t know. Yes. It seems dangerous. My heart is pounding just seeing you lean on the wall like that. Can you please stop?”
He acquiesced. “There. Is that better?”
“Much better.”
He stepped closer to me. “You’re brave to come here. Or foolish. Let me ask you something. Did it ever cross your mind that I might have killed Alex?”
I stared at him in shock.
“Well?” he asked.
“Of course it crossed my mind!”
“Yet you were willing to go alone to meet me on the roof?”
“Because I trust you now.”
“Trust no one, Amelia.”
“Well, I trust myself, and I don’t believe you’re a villain.”
“Life is not black and white. There are no heroes and villains.”
I crossed my arms, starting to get tired of his bullshit. “Okay. I get it. Cut it out and tell me why you came here.”
A pensive look replaced his smirk. “Talking to you last night… it got me thinking.” He focused on the ground and made a precise step towards the barrier. “There used to be a chalk mark right here. This is the approximate position Alex fell from.”
“Oh God.” I backed away, shuddering.
“It’s common knowledge that Alex used to come up to the roof several times a day to smoke, so it’s not surprising he was up here.” Neil measured the height of the barrier with his hand, placing it somewhere between his waist and his chest. “The wall is not particularly high. One could easily climb over it if they intended to jump. Or they could be pushed. An accidental fall seems unlikely, even in winds such as this, but who knows? If one leaned too far over and lost their footing… Perhaps it’s possible. I’m unwilling to put it to the test.”
“Maybe he liked to sit on top of the wall while he smoked.”
“Maybe.”
“What do you think happened?”
“The police were certain no one else was on the roof, but even if I take that as fact, I’m still of two minds. Daniel could have threatened Alex, provoking him to jump. ‘Kill yourself or I’ll have your children killed.’”
“That’s awful!”
“That’s how he operates. Though maybe not in such plain words. He’ll threaten whoever you care about the most in order to manipulate you. On the other hand, maybe no such threats were required. It could be as the police concluded. Alex’s mental health struggles were well-documented, and he would have been worried about his mishandling of the company’s finances coming to light.”
“Could there be another explanation? There was a rumour someone tampered with the railing, but I see now that it’s a solid wall. What about his cigarettes?”
Neil tensed. “What do you mean?”
