All the Rage (DI Adam Fawley #4) - Cara Hunter Page 0,5
She looks tired. Tired and immediately defensive.
‘Mrs Appleford?’
She eyes me and then the women. ‘Yes. Who are you?’
‘I’m Detective Inspector Adam Fawley. This is DC Everett and DC Somer.’
She grips the door a little tighter. ‘Faith was quite clear – she doesn’t want the police involved. You have no business –’
‘Faith is your daughter?’
She hesitates a moment, as if divulging even so bare a fact is some sort of betrayal. ‘Yes. Faith is my daughter.’
‘The passer-by who found her was extremely concerned for her well-being. As, of course, are we.’
Somer touches my shoulder and gestures back behind her. I don’t even need to turn round. I can almost hear the sound of curtains twitching.
‘Could we come in, Mrs Appleford? Just for a moment? We can talk more easily inside.’
The woman glances across the road; she’s spotted the nosy neighbours, too.
‘OK. But only for a couple of minutes, all right?’
The sitting room is painted pale mauve, with a sofa and armchairs which are obviously supposed to match but the colour’s just far enough off to mess with your head. And they’re much too big for the space. It never ceases to baffle me why people don’t measure their rooms before they buy their furniture. There’s a strong smell of artificial air freshener. Lavender. As if you had to ask.
She doesn’t invite us to sit down, so we stand awkwardly on the narrow strip of carpet between the seats and the glass-topped coffee table.
‘Was your daughter here last night, Mrs Appleford?’
She nods.
‘All night?’
‘Yes. She didn’t go out.’
‘So you saw her at breakfast?’
Another nod.
‘What time was that?’ asks Somer, slipping her notebook discreetly from her jacket.
The woman wraps her arms about herself. I’m trying not to draw conclusions from her body language, but she’s not making it easy. ‘About 7.45, I think. I left with Nadine just before 8.00, but Faith had a later start today. She’d have left around 9.00 to get the bus.’
So she doesn’t actually know what her daughter did this morning. Just because something always happens, doesn’t mean it always will.
‘Nadine’s your daughter too?’ asks Somer.
The woman nods. ‘I drop her off at school on my way to work. I’m a receptionist at the doctor’s in Summertown.’
‘And Faith?’
‘She goes to the FE college in Headington. That’s why she gets the bus. It’s in the opposite direction.’
‘Did you have any contact with Faith during the day today?’
‘I texted her about tennish but she didn’t reply. It was just a link to an article about Meghan Markle. You know, the wedding. The dress. Faith’s interested in all that. She’s doing Fashion. She has real talent.’
‘And that was unusual – that she didn’t reply, I mean?’
The woman considers then shrugs. ‘I suppose so, yes.’
My turn again. ‘Does she have a boyfriend?’
Her eyes narrow a little. ‘No. Not at the moment.’
‘But she would tell you – if she did?’
She gives me a sharp look. ‘She doesn’t keep secrets from me, if that’s what you’re getting at.’
‘I’m sure she doesn’t,’ says Somer, placatory. ‘We’re just trying to work out who might have done this – if it could have been someone she knew –’
‘She doesn’t have a boyfriend. She doesn’t want a boyfriend.’
There’s a silence.
Somer glances across at Ev. Why don’t you have a try.
‘Were you here,’ Ev says, ‘when the cabbie brought her back?’
The woman looks at her then nods. ‘I wouldn’t be, normally. But I’d forgotten my reading glasses so I popped back.’
Ev and Somer exchange another glance. I suspect I know what they’re thinking: if Mrs Appleford hadn’t chanced to be at home the girl might well have tried to hide what happened from her as well. As for me, I’m more and more convinced Ev is right: there’s definitely something off here.
I take a step closer. ‘Do you know why Faith has decided not to talk to us, Mrs Appleford?’
She bridles. ‘She doesn’t want to. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?’
‘But if she was raped –’
‘She wasn’t raped.’ Her tone is unequivocal. Absolute.
‘How can you be so sure?’
Her face hardens. ‘She told me. Faith told me. And my daughter is not a liar.’
‘I’m not saying that. Not at all.’ She’s not looking at me now. ‘Look, I know rape investigations can be traumatic – I wouldn’t blame anyone for being daunted by that prospect – but it’s not like it used to be. We have properly trained officers – DC Everett –’
‘It wasn’t rape.’
‘I’m very glad to hear it – but we may still be looking at a serious crime.