Free From the Cradle by Mark Edwards, Louise Voss Page A

was pretty unusual, from a well-brought-up fifteen-year-old from an upper middle-class family in Teddington.
    She nodded, refusing to meet his eye.
    ‘OK. So, did you see or hear anything unusual at all?’
    ‘No. Nothing.’
    ‘Have you seen anybody or anything out of the ordinary near your house recently?’
    ‘Like what?’
    ‘Like, for example, people hanging around. Watching the house. Men you don’t recognize.’
    She wrapped her arms even more tightly around herself. ‘Oh god, that’s too creepy. No, I haven’t.’
    ‘Did you have anybody over last night?’
    A second’s hesitation, and her eyes flickered briefly up and to the right. ‘No.’
    Patrick, who had been acting as casually as he could when he asked her that question, looked up from his notepad and said, ‘Are you sure?’
    ‘Yeah, of course I’m sure. I’m not senile.’
    ‘You didn’t have your boyfriend round?’ asked Carmella. ‘Larry?’
    ‘No! Who told you that?’
    Carmella raised her palms. ‘No one. I was just checking. I mean—’ she leaned forward conspiratorially, ‘—I was a teenage girl once. I’d always have friends round if my parents went out.’
    Alice sniffed. ‘Well, I didn’t. And I don’t see how any of this could help find Frankie anyway.’
    ‘We just want to know if there were any other potential witnesses,’ said Patrick. ‘Did you speak to anyone?’
    ‘I might have talked to Larry on the phone briefly. Yeah, I did. And I Snapchatted Georgia. That’s my best mate.’
    Patrick had a vague idea this meant sending a photo that almost instantly deleted itself.
    ‘And did you drink anything? Alcohol, I mean.’
    She lifted her chin defiantly. ‘I had a little glass of wine. Dad lets me have wine at home. He says most British teenagers turn into binge drinkers because they see alcohol as something forbidden. I’m not like that.’
    ‘What about drugs?’
    ‘Does my dad let me take drugs? Of course not.’
    ‘I meant, did you take anything, smoke anything, last night?’
    ‘For fuck’s sake – sorry – no, I didn’t.’
    ‘What about cigarettes? You didn’t pop out for a fag at any point?’
    ‘I don’t smoke.’
    ‘Did you know the back door was open when your dad and Helen got home? Did you open it?’
    ‘No.’ Her eyes were wide.
    ‘Are you absolutely sure? I’m sure your parents – I mean your dad and stepmum – aren’t going to care right now if you went out the back and had a crafty cigarette.’
    ‘I didn’t. I swear.’
    ‘You definitely didn’t open the door?’
    She looked sick. ‘No. Listen, do you really think I would hide anything? All I want is for my little sister to come back. I want you to find her. I’m not going to tell you lies. I didn’t . . .’
    She started to cry and Sally gave Patrick a withering look, pulling Alice into a hug.
    ‘End of interview,’ Patrick said. Carmella switched off the video recorder.

    ‘She’s lying about the boyfriend,’ Carmella said, as soon as Alice and Sally had gone.
    ‘I know. But why lie about him coming round? That little speech she gave at the end sounded pretty convincing.’
    ‘I expect she thinks that he didn’t see or hear anything either, and she doesn’t want to get into trouble. Her dad isn’t going to be impressed if Frankie was taken while Alice was in her room shagging her boyfriend. But let’s talk to him, see what his story is.’
    ‘He won’t want to talk to us. According to the info Helen gave us, he’s seventeen and Alice is under age. He’s going to think we’ll do him for statutory rape.’
    Patrick rolled his eyes. ‘We’ll have to convince him we don’t give a shit about that. Unless we can use it in some way. Right, you get his address and, in the meantime, let’s sort out this press conference .’
    As they left the interview room, DS Staunton hurried around the corner towards them.
    ‘Sir, there you are.’
    ‘Mike?’ Patrick asked, but from the expression on Mike’s face