Free What She Left: Enhanced Edition by T. R. Richmond Page B

somewhere ‘real’. I’m glad I got away from your city. Academia was a horrible, tribal existence. A small world, too, and I was tainted.
     
She’s not some sort of join-the-dots exercise, Jem, some dusty archaeological artefact for you to brush off and exhibit. She isn’t
yours
. Enough people have raked over her life. Hunt someone else and leave our Alice alone. Don’t do what you always did – run away with an idea, confuse facts with fiction, warp the world to fit
your
reality. No, I most certainly won’t be joining you for a drink – I quit a long time ago and I can’t imagine my husband being exactly enamoured by the prospect of us meeting in a social capacity. He’s a sensitive man, so I haven’t mentioned us emailing; please have the decency to treat this contact in confidence.
     
Was going to make another point, but lost my thread … don’t bother replying – unless that is you’ve worked out how to bring the dead back to life and I’m assuming even an esteemed anthropologist like you hasn’t quite managed that yet.
     
I’ll ask you once more nicely. Whatever you’re doing, stop. I’ll beg if I have to. I miss my baby girl so very much, Jem.
     
Liz
     

Statement issued by solicitor acting on behalf of Holly Dickens, Sarah Hoskings and Lauren Nugent,
6 February 2012, 10 a.m.
     
     
Alice Salmon was a kind, generous and wonderfully warm human being and it’s incomprehensible that she’s been taken from us.
She was bright, beautiful and popular and we’ll always count ourselves lucky to have been among her many friends. We feel an immense weight of grief, but our sadness and loss is dwarfed by that of her family. We can’t begin to comprehend the pain they must be experiencing. Our hearts go out to them.
As has been widely commented, the three of us spent the early and middle part of the evening of Saturday the fourth of February with Alice in Southampton city centre. Obviously we have cooperated with the authorities in every way we can, and will continue to do so. We are confident – and sincerely hope – that they will soon configure the tragic chain of events that immediately preceded Alice’s death. This won’t bring her back, but may offer a fragment of comfort to her family. Regrettably, we are unable to shed any light on Alice’s movements or whereabouts after about 10 p.m.
It’s torture to think of what our friend might have done or where she might have gone in the few short hours betweenthen and her death. We’ll regret not taking better care of her, and not preventing what came next, for the rest of our lives. For that, we are truly sorry.
We collectively feel the way we can now show most respect to Alice is to not fuel the fire of speculation. For this reason, we have elected to not speak publicly about her. Indeed, the police have recommended we adopt this course of action. Meanwhile, we would urge everyone to respect the Salmon family’s right to privacy.
     

Letter sent by Professor Jeremy Cooke,
30 May 2012
     
    I’ve had rather a shock, Larry.
    Some raggedy urchin barged into my office this morning and announced: ‘You’re the bloke who’s bringing the dead girl back to life, aren’t you?’
    ‘I wouldn’t exactly describe it like that,’ I replied.
    He slapped a rucksack down on my desk, pulled out a CD, a pair of trainers, a mug and an earring.
    ‘What the hell –’
    ‘I come bearing gifts,’ he said. ‘These are Alice’s.’
    ‘You stole these?’
    ‘That’s one way of putting it. Not that she gave a toss about me, but I was mad about her and seeing as we weren’t going to get it together I decided to at least nab a few reminders!’
    ‘If this is genuine, you should give it to Liz. Elizabeth Salmon, her mother.’
    ‘It’s genuine all right.’
    ‘Who are you? What’s your name?’
    ‘That’s not relevant.’
    ‘It’s important – for completeness, for my records.’
    ‘Put me down as an interested party,’ he said. ‘Yes, a very