sort of way I suppose I was.
She was like an organ-grinder's monkey ... all over you whether you wanted it or not. That's Laura coming out in her, of course. We just peck each other on the cheek from time to time, but Laura's incredibly tactile. It's very un-Biddulph of her.“ She paused. ”Or was' she said with a touch of surprise. "Thinking back, I don't remember her being at all demonstrative last summer."
The neighbours in Portisfield were eager to help too eager in some cases but disappointingly uninformative. Those who knew Amy hadn't seen her during the two-week period; those who didn't sent the police after red herrings.
"You wanna search the house at the end of Trinity Street.. . There's a bloke in there hangs around the playgrounds .. . deserves a right kicking if you ask me .. ."
“I've seen the mother a few times ... 7 said to my friend: ”What's that eejit Gregory want with a woman half his age?“ ”Dirty old man," she says back to me. Kimberley'll be jealous as sin. You just wait.
They'll be killing each other before long."
"I did see a child very much like this photograph .. . pretty little thing with long dark hair .. . She was with a man in a car .. . they stopped beside me at the traffic lights .. . it was a black car, I think .. . not a Mini or a Rolls .. . those are the only ones I can tell apart.. ."
The police had taken over the church hall next to the Catholic church in Portisfield as their incident room. In one corner, DCI Tyler briefed his superintendent early on Saturday afternoon.
"There's something damned odd going on ... I can't get a handle on it at all. Biddulph's clearly distraught .. . swings between screaming and yelling at Kimberley Logan, and sitting like a zombie .. . then refuses to leave the house or make a plea for Amy. Rogerson's the opposite .. . level-headed, polite, composed, ready to do anything we ask .. . then bursts into tears the minute the cameras point in his direction."
“Why does that surprise you?”
"He was cracking jokes before we went into the press conference.
Anti-women by and large." He rotated his hand to encourage a response.
“What happens when your dishwasher breaks down?”
“I don't know.”
“Kick her.”
“Mmm.” The Superintendent stroked a thoughtful hand down the back of his neck. "It may be his version of screaming and yelling at the Logan girl. We can't all do and say the right thing at the right time." He paused. “You say the parents hate each other.”
Tyler nodded. "Rogerson's quite forthcoming about it, says the age barrier meant they had nothing in common .. . claims he was a fool to marry her .. . should have recognized what was likely to happen .. .
Townsend was an affair waiting to happen. He admits that some of the blame was his because he spent too much time at work, but he says he doesn't bear any grudges, even suggests he's quite pleased to be shot of her.“ He smiled cynically. ”That's what he alleges, anyway."
“You don't believe him?”
Tyler thought about it. "I don't know. He's too insistent that his only concern is for Amy's welfare when, by his own admission, he doesn't pay child support and hasn't seen the kid in nine months. He explains it away by blaming Laura for returning his cheques when she was living with Townsend, then vanishing completely. He says she's manipulating the child's affections to give herself a bargaining chip when it comes to the divorce. You haven't supported her, she doesn't like you, won't want to live with you .. . that sort of thing."
"It happens. Children become footballs in these situations. It's sad but not unusual."
"But that's the point, sir. I can't see that there is a situation.
It's rare for a father to be awarded custody, particularly one who works the hours Rogerson does, so why is Laura convinced she's going to lose the kid? It doesn't make sense. They should be looking for joint custody, then everyone's happy." He paused to consolidate his thoughts.
She was like an organ-grinder's monkey ... all over you whether you wanted it or not. That's Laura coming out in her, of course. We just peck each other on the cheek from time to time, but Laura's incredibly tactile. It's very un-Biddulph of her.“ She paused. ”Or was' she said with a touch of surprise. "Thinking back, I don't remember her being at all demonstrative last summer."
The neighbours in Portisfield were eager to help too eager in some cases but disappointingly uninformative. Those who knew Amy hadn't seen her during the two-week period; those who didn't sent the police after red herrings.
"You wanna search the house at the end of Trinity Street.. . There's a bloke in there hangs around the playgrounds .. . deserves a right kicking if you ask me .. ."
“I've seen the mother a few times ... 7 said to my friend: ”What's that eejit Gregory want with a woman half his age?“ ”Dirty old man," she says back to me. Kimberley'll be jealous as sin. You just wait.
They'll be killing each other before long."
"I did see a child very much like this photograph .. . pretty little thing with long dark hair .. . She was with a man in a car .. . they stopped beside me at the traffic lights .. . it was a black car, I think .. . not a Mini or a Rolls .. . those are the only ones I can tell apart.. ."
The police had taken over the church hall next to the Catholic church in Portisfield as their incident room. In one corner, DCI Tyler briefed his superintendent early on Saturday afternoon.
"There's something damned odd going on ... I can't get a handle on it at all. Biddulph's clearly distraught .. . swings between screaming and yelling at Kimberley Logan, and sitting like a zombie .. . then refuses to leave the house or make a plea for Amy. Rogerson's the opposite .. . level-headed, polite, composed, ready to do anything we ask .. . then bursts into tears the minute the cameras point in his direction."
“Why does that surprise you?”
"He was cracking jokes before we went into the press conference.
Anti-women by and large." He rotated his hand to encourage a response.
“What happens when your dishwasher breaks down?”
“I don't know.”
“Kick her.”
“Mmm.” The Superintendent stroked a thoughtful hand down the back of his neck. "It may be his version of screaming and yelling at the Logan girl. We can't all do and say the right thing at the right time." He paused. “You say the parents hate each other.”
Tyler nodded. "Rogerson's quite forthcoming about it, says the age barrier meant they had nothing in common .. . claims he was a fool to marry her .. . should have recognized what was likely to happen .. .
Townsend was an affair waiting to happen. He admits that some of the blame was his because he spent too much time at work, but he says he doesn't bear any grudges, even suggests he's quite pleased to be shot of her.“ He smiled cynically. ”That's what he alleges, anyway."
“You don't believe him?”
Tyler thought about it. "I don't know. He's too insistent that his only concern is for Amy's welfare when, by his own admission, he doesn't pay child support and hasn't seen the kid in nine months. He explains it away by blaming Laura for returning his cheques when she was living with Townsend, then vanishing completely. He says she's manipulating the child's affections to give herself a bargaining chip when it comes to the divorce. You haven't supported her, she doesn't like you, won't want to live with you .. . that sort of thing."
"It happens. Children become footballs in these situations. It's sad but not unusual."
"But that's the point, sir. I can't see that there is a situation.
It's rare for a father to be awarded custody, particularly one who works the hours Rogerson does, so why is Laura convinced she's going to lose the kid? It doesn't make sense. They should be looking for joint custody, then everyone's happy." He paused to consolidate his thoughts.
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