Lynda La Plante - Twisted

‘We don’t talk about Marcus when she is with me,’ Lena interjected and went on to say it was not a rule but it was just their way of dealing with the separation.

‘Do you see each other when your daughter is at school?’

‘No, we don’t,’ Lena said, glancing at Marcus before she continued. ‘We did meet this Monday with our lawyers and as I said before we have an amicable separation for Amy’s wellbeing.’

‘So neither of you can think of any reason why your daughter would take off without making contact?’

Lena put her unfinished sandwich back onto the tray. ‘I have said this over and over again: this is totally out of character, she is an exceptionally well behaved and thoughtful girl, and she has never ever taken off without telling us where she’s going and leaving us names and addresses. Obviously, we also keep phone contact.’

‘On these occasions when you say she’s “taken off”, where did she go?’ Reid asked without looking at either of them.

‘Well, she’s had sleepovers with school friends, weekend activities with the school, parties that she would be late home from – I meant nothing that would sound alarm bells.’

Reid tapped his pen on his notebook, then said he’d like to see Amy’s bedroom and suggested that Marcus or Lena open their daughter’s locked drawer to see if there was, as suspected, a diary kept inside. He also said that he would like to talk to Agnes, and also Lena’s driver.

Following them up the stairs, he was even more impressed with the immaculate decor and style of the house. Entering their daughter’s bedroom was a surprise as it was so devoid of any girlish designs; everything was in its place, neat and tidy. Too tidy, he thought to himself.

Marcus bent down to use the screwdriver on the locked drawer but Lena stopped him. ‘Wait, let’s try and find the key first. That is a really good piece of furniture, it’s an antique…’

Marcus looked up at her in disbelief. ‘Lena, we’ve got to open it, there may be something in there that can help us!’

‘Of course, you’re right. I’d just hate for Amy to be upset with us when she comes home. It’s her privacy.’

‘This is an unusual circumstance, Mrs Fulford,’ Reid interjected. ‘She’ll understand, but if it makes you feel any better you can tell her that the police instructed you to open it.’ Lena gave him a grateful look and nodded for Marcus to proceed.

Reid stepped towards the wardrobe. ‘Any clothes missing?’ he asked Lena.

‘I don’t know every bit of clothing she owned as she liked to buy things herself. Obviously she would have taken some to Serena’s in the cabin bag. She would wear her own clothes to go back to school, and then bring them to be washed and ironed by Agnes the weekends she stayed with me. She also has a sort of double-up wardrobe of clothes she keeps at her father’s.’

‘Would you know if anything is missing, Mr Fulford?’

‘She keeps a load of stuff at my place, but I honestly wouldn’t know if any were missing.’

Marcus twisted and jerked the lock with the screwdriver but it wouldn’t budge. As Lena bent down and asked him to let her try and he refused, Reid could detect tension between them.

‘You want me to have a go? I maybe have more experience,’ he offered, smiling, but neither of them looked at him, and then there was a click and the lock sprang back. Lena almost pushed her husband aside as she opened the drawer. Inside were three old diaries from years back and Amy’s passport, but nothing else.

‘Where’s her journal?’ Marcus said as Lena took out the three small books. ‘The journal I bought her had “Amy” embossed in gold on the front. Those diaries are years old.’

Lena turned to Reid. ‘Do you still want to have a look?’ she asked. Reid took the diaries from her out of politeness and glanced at them; one had a flap and another a small stud lock, and one was tied with a red ribbon. He opened them, but there was nothing loose between the pages, and as he flicked through he told Lena he would take them with him and examine them thoroughly later.

‘If you find this journal you’ve described, please let me know. It’s good that we found Amy’s passport as that suggests she hasn’t gone abroad. Now, I’d like to have that talk with your housekeeper and driver.’

‘Why do you need to talk to them?’ Marcus asked.

‘Just in case they were privy to anything or aware of something – it’s a formality. I will need to talk to all employees, staff, friends and neighbours.’

‘Don’t you think there has been enough talking?’ Lena asked. ‘Isn’t it obvious that neither Marcus nor I have any idea where Amy is? Shouldn’t you be doing a search or whatever is necessary?’

Reid gave a light touch to her arm. ‘As I said at the station, Mrs Fulford, we will do everything possible to trace your daughter but I need to be aware of anyone close to you, or friendly with you, who may be able to give us further information.’

Reid walked out of the bedroom and headed down the stairs, leaving Marcus and Lena standing beside the empty and broken dressing-table drawer.

A very uneasy feeling was beginning to form in the pit of Reid’s stomach. There was some agenda here he couldn’t quite grasp. The Fulfords’ daughter appeared to be a picture-perfect fifteen-year-old, but he knew that was very doubtful in reality. Her room was too tidy, devoid of any personal items, and he would need to see how it compared with her bedroom at her father’s. He also wanted to have a private interview with Marcus without the presence of his wife; he was all too aware that, while he liked what he knew of Lena, he found the husband rather shallow.

Reid went into the kitchen as Agnes was placing the crockery into the dishwasher. He closed the door, went to the kitchen table and drew out a chair. The plate of uneaten sandwiches was sitting there, wrapped in clingfilm, making him realize he was starving.

‘Mind if I have one of those?’

Agnes had a plate and a fresh mug of coffee in front of him within seconds, telling him to help himself, which he did with relish. Between mouthfuls, he asked if she would sit down, as he needed to have a talk to her. Taking out his notebook, he set it on the table.

Agnes wore two green slides pinning back her thick hair to keep it off her face. She was very articulate, with a slightly haughty voice, and she just didn’t seem the type of woman Reid would have expected Lena to employ as a housekeeper. Though he had to admit he hadn’t met many housekeepers before.

She explained that she worked Monday to Friday from nine to five each day. On the rare occasion she was needed over the weekend, she would stay in a small bedroom on the third floor of the house. She was then able to serve dinner or help if Mrs Fulford entertained. She said she always did the grocery shopping and served lunch to business associates on quite a regular basis, as Mrs Fulford had numerous small companies. She added that the Kiddy Winks business had taken off and for the past six months or more, Mrs Fulford had not entertained anyone on a social footing. It had all been professional, customers coming to the house to discuss the growing orders for the new venture. Reid was on his third sandwich but giving Agnes his full attention and encouragement, nodding and smiling. He wiped his mouth with the napkin.

‘But if Mrs Fulford did entertain in the evenings, you wouldn’t know as you said you leave at five.’

‘Yes, but I would know because, as I said, I do the grocery shopping – that includes the wine and champagne. Also, when she does have anyone visiting, there are always things left to be cleaned: cutlery, glasses in the dishwasher, that sort of thing. I usually leave her a covered plate of salad and cold cuts, but sometimes she has been so busy upstairs in her office she doesn’t bother to eat. Of course, when she does go out, Harry her driver is on call, but he always gives me his itinerary, in case I needed to contact Mrs Fulford.’