us. He was . . . chirpy, I’d say was a good description.
Pip:
And what about when he returned from Max’s?
Ravi:
I had already gone up to bed. But the next morning, I remember him being in a really good mood. Sal was always a morning person. He got up and made breakfast for us all and it wasn’t until just after that he got a phone call from one of Andie’s friends. That’s when we all found out she was missing. From that point, obviously, he wasn’t chirpy any more, he was worried.
Pip:
So neither Andie’s parents nor the police rang him during Friday night?
Ravi:
Not that I know of. Andie’s parents didn’t really know Sal. He’d never met them or been to their house. Andie usually came around here or they hung out at school and parties.
Pip:
How long had they been together?
Ravi:
Since just before Christmas the year before, so about four months. Sal did have a couple of missed calls from one of Andie’s best friends at, like, 2 a.m. that night. His phone was on silent, though, so he slept through them.
Pip:
So what else happened on that Saturday?
Ravi:
Well, after finding out Andie was missing, Sal literally sat on the phone, calling her every few minutes. It went to voicemail each time, but he figured if she’d pick up for anyone, it’d be him.
Pip:
Wait, so Sal was calling Andie’s phone?
Ravi:
Yeah, like a million times, throughout that weekend and on the Monday too.
Pip:
Doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you’d do if you knew you had murdered the person and they would never pick up.
Ravi:
Especially if he had her phone hidden somewhere on him, or in his room.
Pip:
An even better point. So what else happened that day?
Ravi:
My parents told him not to go to Andie’s house, because the police would be busy searching it. So he just sat at home, trying to call her. I asked him if he had any idea where she’d be, and he was stumped. He said something else I always remembered. He said that everything Andie did was deliberate, and maybe she’d run off on purpose to punish someone. Obviously by the end of the weekend he realized that probably wasn’t the case.
Pip:
Who would Andie be wanting to punish? Him?
Ravi:
I don’t know, I didn’t push it. I didn’t know her well; she only came around a handful of times. I mean, I presumed the ‘someone’ Sal was talking about was Andie’s dad.
Pip:
Jason Bell? Why?
Ravi:
I just overheard some stuff when she was here. I figured she didn’t have the best relationship with her dad. I can’t remember anything specifically.
[Phew, he says ‘specifically’ not ‘pacifically’.]
Pip:
Specifics are what we need. So when did the police contact Sal?
Ravi:
It was that Saturday afternoon. They called him and asked if they could come over for a chat. They arrived at, like, three or four-ish. Me and my parents came into the kitchen to give them a bit of space, so we didn’t hear any of it really.
Pip:
And did Sal tell you what they asked him?
Ravi:
A bit. He was a little freaked out that they recorded it and st–
Pip:
The police recorded it? Is that normal?
Ravi:
I don’t know, you’re the sergeant. They said it was routine and just asked him questions about where he was that night, who he was with. And about his and Andie’s relationship.
Pip:
And what was their relationship like?
Ravi:
I’m his brother; I didn’t see all that much of it. But, yeah, Sal liked her a lot. I mean, he seemed pretty chuffed he was with the prettiest, most popular girl in the year. Andie always seemed to bring drama, though.
Pip:
What kind of drama?
Ravi:
I don’t know, I think she was just one of those people who thrives on it.
Pip:
Did your parents like her?
Ravi:
Yeah, my parents were cool with her. She never gave them a reason not to be.
Pip:
And so what else happened after the police interviewed him?
Ravi:
Err, his friends came around in the evening, you know to check if he was OK.
Pip:
And is that when he asked his friends to lie to the police and give him an alibi?
Ravi:
I guess so.
Pip:
Why do you think he did that?
Ravi:
I mean, I don’t know. Maybe he was rattled after the police interview. Maybe he was scared he would be a suspect so he tried to cover himself. I don’t know.
Pip:
Presuming Sal’s innocence, do you have any idea where he could have been between leaving Max’s at 10:30 and getting home at 12:50?
Ravi:
No, because he also told us that he started walking home from Max’s at like 12:15.