authorised me to meet and talk to Mrs Fancourt. Mrs Fancourt suggested we meet at Chompers Cafe Bar in her
health club, 'Waterfront' (Saltney Road, Spilling), at 1400 hours on Sunday
28 September. I told her that was impossible and suggested Monday
29th. Mrs Fancourt became agitated and said she didn't think she could
wait that long, but I told her I couldn't see her sooner. I said the police station might be a more suitable venue than Chompers, but Mrs Fancourt
insisted that she wanted to meet somewhere 'less official and intimidating'
She then told me that Vivienne Fancourt was also a member of Waterfront, but that she never went to Chompers Cafe Bar because she thought
it was 'a hell-hole' Just in case Vivienne Fancourt went to the health club
on the same afternoon, Alice Fancourt said that I should not go in via the front door and the main lobby area, but rather I should enter the cafe bar
through the door on Alder Street. That way, Mrs Fancourt was certain that,
even if her mother-in-law was on the premises, she wouldn't see me. I said
that this sounded too complicated and again asked her to come to the
police station. She refused, became hysterical, and said that if I didn't meet
her where she said, she wouldn't give me the new information she had. She
said that Chompers was the one place Vivienne Fancourt could be guaranteed not to go to because she 'boycotts the place on principle'
/ told Mrs Fancourt that / would seek my sergeant's approval and that
she should call me back in ten minutes. / then consulted DS Zailer and told
her that / was worried about the unusual nature of Mrs Fancourt's
demands, but she said we should agree to her terms in order to obtain
whatever new information she had. Mrs Fancourt phoned back four minutes later and we agreed to meet at Chompers Cafe Bar in the Waterfront
Health Club complex at 1400 hours on Monday 29th September. Mrs Fancourt then said that if she wasn't there by 1430 hours, / shouldn't wait any
longer. She said that she feared she might not be able to leave the house.
She sounded frightened when she told me this, and said goodbye and
hung up immediately afterwards.
9/29/03, 2 PM
Area: Chompers Cafe Bar at Waterfront Health Club, 27 Saltney Road,
Spilling. 1400 hours: when I arrived, Alice Fancourt (see index) was
already there, sitting at a table in the non-smoking part of the room. The
conditions in Chompers were as follows: full, noisy, smoky, very warm.
There was a lot of background noise of talking and laughing and loud pop
music coming from speakers all round the room. On one side of the
room, there was a children's zone, full of toys, a paddling pool containing
plastic balls, a small plastic climbing frame and a Wendy house. There were
ten or so children, between the ages of approximately two and seven, playing in this section of the room.
As / sat down, Mrs Fancourt said to me, 'Look at the parents. They don't even glance over to check they're okay. Clearly none of them has ever seriously feared for the safety of their children. 'l pointed out that there was
nothing to fear, and Mrs Fancourt replied, 'I know. I just wish / could tell
them how lucky they are' She seemed calm at first, but as she started to
talk, she became more distressed. She said she had a favour to ask me. She
wanted me to help her to track down her husband's father (name
unknown), about whom she has been told almost nothing except that he
left the family home when David Fancourt was six and has not been in
touch with his son since. / explained that / couldn't do anything without
the authorisation of my sergeant, and that Sergeant Zailer would definitely
not allow me to track down David Fancourt's father because there was no
good reason to do so in relation to any of our active investigations.
/asked her why she wanted to find her father-in-law and she said, 'I want
to ask him why he left, why he just abandoned his son. What sort of a father
would do
health club, 'Waterfront' (Saltney Road, Spilling), at 1400 hours on Sunday
28 September. I told her that was impossible and suggested Monday
29th. Mrs Fancourt became agitated and said she didn't think she could
wait that long, but I told her I couldn't see her sooner. I said the police station might be a more suitable venue than Chompers, but Mrs Fancourt
insisted that she wanted to meet somewhere 'less official and intimidating'
She then told me that Vivienne Fancourt was also a member of Waterfront, but that she never went to Chompers Cafe Bar because she thought
it was 'a hell-hole' Just in case Vivienne Fancourt went to the health club
on the same afternoon, Alice Fancourt said that I should not go in via the front door and the main lobby area, but rather I should enter the cafe bar
through the door on Alder Street. That way, Mrs Fancourt was certain that,
even if her mother-in-law was on the premises, she wouldn't see me. I said
that this sounded too complicated and again asked her to come to the
police station. She refused, became hysterical, and said that if I didn't meet
her where she said, she wouldn't give me the new information she had. She
said that Chompers was the one place Vivienne Fancourt could be guaranteed not to go to because she 'boycotts the place on principle'
/ told Mrs Fancourt that / would seek my sergeant's approval and that
she should call me back in ten minutes. / then consulted DS Zailer and told
her that / was worried about the unusual nature of Mrs Fancourt's
demands, but she said we should agree to her terms in order to obtain
whatever new information she had. Mrs Fancourt phoned back four minutes later and we agreed to meet at Chompers Cafe Bar in the Waterfront
Health Club complex at 1400 hours on Monday 29th September. Mrs Fancourt then said that if she wasn't there by 1430 hours, / shouldn't wait any
longer. She said that she feared she might not be able to leave the house.
She sounded frightened when she told me this, and said goodbye and
hung up immediately afterwards.
9/29/03, 2 PM
Area: Chompers Cafe Bar at Waterfront Health Club, 27 Saltney Road,
Spilling. 1400 hours: when I arrived, Alice Fancourt (see index) was
already there, sitting at a table in the non-smoking part of the room. The
conditions in Chompers were as follows: full, noisy, smoky, very warm.
There was a lot of background noise of talking and laughing and loud pop
music coming from speakers all round the room. On one side of the
room, there was a children's zone, full of toys, a paddling pool containing
plastic balls, a small plastic climbing frame and a Wendy house. There were
ten or so children, between the ages of approximately two and seven, playing in this section of the room.
As / sat down, Mrs Fancourt said to me, 'Look at the parents. They don't even glance over to check they're okay. Clearly none of them has ever seriously feared for the safety of their children. 'l pointed out that there was
nothing to fear, and Mrs Fancourt replied, 'I know. I just wish / could tell
them how lucky they are' She seemed calm at first, but as she started to
talk, she became more distressed. She said she had a favour to ask me. She
wanted me to help her to track down her husband's father (name
unknown), about whom she has been told almost nothing except that he
left the family home when David Fancourt was six and has not been in
touch with his son since. / explained that / couldn't do anything without
the authorisation of my sergeant, and that Sergeant Zailer would definitely
not allow me to track down David Fancourt's father because there was no
good reason to do so in relation to any of our active investigations.
/asked her why she wanted to find her father-in-law and she said, 'I want
to ask him why he left, why he just abandoned his son. What sort of a father
would do
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