The truth? This may sound paranoid, but my biggest fear now is that maybe ‘A’ has been following me.
CHAPTER 40
THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR
Mel has put Alex in the interview room early so they can watch him on computer screen via the live camera feeds.
He looks cocky. Almost bored.
‘What do you make of him, Matt?’ Mel leans in closer to the screen.
‘Hard to read. He’s arrogant. Manipulative. Likes to have the upper hand.’
‘Capable of shooting Gemma?’
Matthew lets out a long breath. It’s so hard to call what people are capable of. So many with dark minds live perfectly ordinary lives, holding down demanding jobs. Matthew’s learned to keep an open mind. Always.
‘He’s controlling. So possibly. Who knows what went on between them over the break up? Do we have any more from his family?’
‘Yes. Very interesting. They’re here but he’s refusing to see them. Adoptive parents. They’re in bits. Seem genuine. Their story is that the relationship’s been especially bad since Alex went to uni. He’s become obsessed with finding his birth mother but hasn’t been able to trace her yet.’
‘Could be why he’s so fixated on the baby.’
‘What I was thinking.’
‘Wish you’d let me interview him, Mel.’
‘He’s our prime suspect for sending the dolls, including the one to your house. Best not.’ Mel pauses. ‘But I’m going to lead myself.’
‘Won’t that put more noses out of joint?’ Mel’s sergeant will be expecting to take the interview.
‘I think that boat’s sailed.’
Matthew laughs. Mel has a reputation for doing what works rather than what’s popular, especially when she’s under pressure from the suits upstairs. She leaves the room and a few minutes later appears on the screen as she enters the interview room, with the sergeant alongside her.
As Matthew puts on the headphones, Mel starts the recording of the interview and dives straight in. ‘Recognise these, Alex?’ She slides pictures of the dolls across the desk.
Alex glances at them, then shrugs. ‘Never seen them before.’
It’s hard to read his eyes, but Matthew remembers the car park. Alex’s ability to play games.
‘Someone sent these dolls to Gemma Hartley’s parents, among others. Someone with a very nasty mind. Was that you, Alex?’
‘Um, no. Why would I do that?’
‘For the same reason you caused a nasty scene at the hospital. And in the centre of town. Because you can’t accept that Gemma ended your relationship.’
Alex looks up to the ceiling. He doesn’t reply. Mel waits.
‘I understand you’ve had some family issues lately. This past year. Is that what this is all about?’
‘My family is none of your business.’
‘Well, I beg to differ. Is that why you’re so wound up over Gemma’s pregnancy? The baby? Because of your own background, Alex?’
‘I want a lawyer.’
‘I thought you said you didn’t want a lawyer. That you’d done nothing wrong and you didn’t need one.’
‘Well, I’ve changed my mind.’
Matthew narrows his eyes and leans in to take in Alex’s expression. So the uber-confident Alex is feeling the pressure after all.
CHAPTER 41
THE FATHER – NOW
They’ve had a message that DI Sanders will be with them in half an hour. Rachel’s refusing to leave Gemma so it’s not an option to go to the police station together.
They’ve been sitting in silence, each pretending to read again. Gemma has the bloody headphones on still. Ed wonders if he’s wrong – if she really can hear the running water and the wind through the leaves. All that meditation stuff Rachel loves.
His own mind is all over the place, darting between theories. He glances up to the blank TV screen – switched off since Alex’s arrest. He’s still struggling to understand why on earth Laura would be in the country. He simply can’t make the leap to see her being capable of violence, but none of this is making sense. Why would she follow Rachel?
Of course her illness makes her irrational and it could make her seem alarming; he of all people knows that. But she’s unwell; she’s not a bad person. His heart is telling him there has to be some other explanation. She wouldn’t harm Gemma.
He’s confused – much more inclined to put this whole dreadful business down to Alex. I mean – just look at his outburst at the hospital. And the car-park fiasco. It’s hard to believe they didn’t see through him earlier; that they actually welcomed him into their home. Their lives. How the hell could they have missed the signs?