herself tilting forward, her hands against the sofa cushion, leaning into Becca’s words. ‘Did he do a search of the house?’
‘Yeah,’ Becca said. ‘He and this policewoman took our statements and then did their primary search.’
‘Could Daniel have been the one that searched Andie’s room?’
‘Yeah, maybe.’ Becca shrugged. ‘I don’t really see where you’re going with this. I think you’ve been misled by someone, really. Andie was not involved in drugs.’
‘Daniel da Silva was the first to access Andie’s room,’ Pip said, more to herself than to Becca.
‘Why does that matter?’ said Becca, annoyance starting to stir in her voice. ‘We know what happened that night. We know Sal killed her, regardless of what Andie or anyone else was up to.’
‘I’m not sure he did,’ Pip said, widening her eyes in what she hoped was a meaningful way. ‘I’m not so sure Sal did it. And I think I’m close to proving it.’
Pippa Fitz-Amobi
EPQ 23/10/2017
Production Log – Entry 34
Becca Bell did not respond well to my suggestion that Sal might be innocent. I think asking me to leave was proof enough of that. It’s not surprising. She’s had five and a half unwavering years of knowing that Sal killed Andie, five and a half years to bury the grief for her sister. And here I come, kicking up the dirt and telling her she’s wrong.
But she’ll have to believe it soon, along with the rest of Kilton, when Ravi and I find out who really killed both Andie and Sal.
And after my conversation with Becca I think the front runner has changed again. Not only have I unearthed a strong connection between two names on my suspect list (another possible murder team: Daniel da Silva and Jason Bell?) but I’ve confirmed my suspicions about Daniel. He not only had access to Andie’s room after she went missing, but he was probably the first person to search it! He would have had the perfect opportunity to take and hide the burner phone, and remove any trace of himself from Andie’s life.
Web searches bring up nothing useful about Daniel. But I have just seen this on the Thames Valley Police Kilton area page:
Kilton has only five designated police officers and two police community support officers. I like my odds that Daniel will be there. I don’t like my odds that he’ll tell me anything.
Thirty-Two
‘And there are still too many youths loitering on the common in the evenings,’ an old woman croaked, her arm raised beside her head.
‘We spoke about this at a previous meeting, Mrs Faversham,’ a female police officer with ringlet-sprung hair said. ‘They aren’t engaging in any anti-social behaviour. They are just playing football after school.’
Pip was sitting on a bright yellow plastic chair in an audience of just twelve people. The library was dark and stuffy and the air filled her nostrils with that wonderful cosmic smell of old books and the fusty smell of old people.
The meeting was slow and dreary, but Pip was alert and sharp-eyed. Daniel da Silva was one of the three officers taking the meeting. He was taller than she’d expected, standing there in his black uniform. His hair was light brown and wavy, styled back from his forehead. He was clean-shaven, with a narrow up-turned nose and wide rounded lips. Pip tried to not watch him for long stretches of time, in case he noticed.
There was another familiar face here too, sitting just three seats down from Pip. He stood up suddenly, flashing his open palm at the officers.
‘Stanley Forbes, Kilton Mail ,’ he said. ‘Several of my readers have complained that people are still driving too fast down the high street. How do you intend to tackle this issue?’
Daniel stepped forward now, nodding for Stanley to retake his seat. ‘Thanks, Stan,’ he said. ‘The street already has several traffic-calming measures. We have discussed performing more speed checks and, if it’s a concern, I am happy to reopen that conversation with my superiors.’
Mrs Faversham had two more complaints to drawl through and then the meeting was finally over.
‘If you have any other policing concerns,’ the third officer said, noticeably avoiding eye contact with old Mrs Faversham, ‘please fill out one of the questionnaires behind you,’ she gestured. ‘And if you’d prefer to talk to any of us in private, we will be sticking around for the next ten minutes.’
Pip held back for a while, not wanting to appear too eager. She waited as Daniel finished talking to one of the library volunteers and