Does anyone know the significance of the pool door being unlocked at Lula's apartments?

[Trishé]

When I was reading this novel (which I really enjoyed) there were several times when it was mentioned that the pool door was unlocked at Kentigern Gardens. I thought that this bit of information would later be important in the murder plot, but as I understood it, it was not. I can't remember a time when it was ever mentioned WHY the door was left opened, who opened it? This point while minor, is kind of driving me crazy. Does anyone know the significance of it? Did I glaze over something as I was reading or is this just a flaw in the story? A loose end that was forgotten to be tied in to the overall plot? Any incites would be helpful.

[Cheryl]

I noticed this as well and thought perhaps when Wilson recalled slipping in water it might have been from the pool but alas...

[Valetta]

Yeah, I noticed too, I think Rowling was trying to mislead us.

[Peter]

It's a red herring. Every mystery has to have a couple of 'em.

Yes, I spent a fair amount of time wondering if someone had been hiding in the pool area, or using it as a way in or out. And wondering if the mysterious water in the stairwell had come from someone who'd been near the pool. But that's what red herrings are for.

It also underscores the general irony of super-high-end apartment blocks coming with expensive "sports facilities" that almost never get used. There's a sort of meta-irony here (there's a swimming pool in Kentigern Gardens that never gets used by the residents, and there's a possible entrance/exit route for the murderer in the book that never gets used).

I like meta-irony :-)

[Grace]

I read this part too; I think the author was trying to give his reader a clue that Lula's death was not a "suicide" ...