the word I’m looking for. She had a different outlook and it was infectious, if I’m honest. I felt like it brought me out of myself, if that makes sense.
FM: It sounds as if your relationship with Emma gave you a sort of zest for life that perhaps you hadn’t ever experienced before?
JC: It did feel like that, yes. I felt excited about us. I felt a sort of pull to be with her.
FM: Did you meet at work?
JC: We did.
FM: Did you see a lot of each other outside of work?
JC: As much as we could. By the time the case went live, she’d kind of moved in with me.
FM: So things were getting quite serious for you?
JC: She kept her own flat, but she stayed over most nights. We didn’t really discuss it, it just sort of happened.
FM: Did you introduce Emma to your family?
JC: Yes, she met them twice, both times when my parents came up to Bristol and we went out for a meal.
FM: How did that go?
JC: It was very nice. They really liked her. She even charmed my dad.
FM: Did you meet Emma’s parents?
JC: No.
FM: Any reason for that?
JC: Not really. I suppose I figured I’d meet them at some point, when she was ready. I knew she wasn’t close to them. She never went to visit them and they never came to see her, or not that I knew of anyway.
FM: Did you wonder why that was?
JC: She said they’d had a falling-out.
FM: Did she say why?
JC: She didn’t really explain. I got the impression her dad was quite strict, classic army type, not an easy man, but I’m not really sure, to be honest. That was one thing about her—she was very private about her family.
FM: Weren’t you curious?
JC: A bit. But she didn’t make a big deal about it, and we had a lot else going on so I didn’t really think about it.
FM: So you recommended Emma for the FLO role?
JC: I did, yes.
FM: Was that a risk?
JC: I didn’t think so, no. I thought she’d do a fantastic job. Emma was one of the best new DCs to come through in years, everybody said so.
FM: Was it professional of you to recommend her, given that you were having a relationship?
JC: It wasn’t unprofessional.
FM: Are you sure about that?
JC: Yes, I’m sure. Look, I broke a personal rule getting involved with Emma. I never wanted to have a relationship with somebody at work, but when it happened, it felt… it felt totally right. So I went with it, but when this opportunity came up I thought she was absolutely the right person for that role. Genuinely. Why would I put my neck on the line otherwise?
FM: OK. I understand that. It’s clear from your report that this case was a very big moment in your career. “Bring it on,” are the words you used, I think.
JC: That’s how I felt.
FM: You were excited.
JC: The challenge of it, the possibility…
FM: To shine?
JC: I suppose so. I wasn’t going to put it quite like that. It was my first chance to be involved in a very high-profile investigation.
FM: You wanted to prove yourself?
JC: It was a chance.
FM: And your first big task was to prepare for the press conference?
JC: After the initial interviews, yes.
FM: I watched the footage of the conference.
JC: I think everybody did. Once seen, never forgotten.
FM: Indeed. You were there too. I saw you.
JC: I was chairing it.
FM: Why not Fraser?
JC: She believes in giving people a chance. She gave me the responsibility for running it and for drafting the statement that we wanted Rachel Jenner to read. I worked with the forensic psychologist on that. It was a big responsibility.
FM: So your aim was to appeal to Ben’s abductor, to use the mother to obtain their sympathy with the hope that that might persuade them to get in contact with you?
JC: With us, or with somebody around them, somebody they trusted. It was important that they saw Ben as a real person, not just an acquisition, or a means to their own end. It would give him the context of a loving family. It was equally important not to alienate the abductor. We wanted to make them aware that it wasn’t
FM: It sounds as if your relationship with Emma gave you a sort of zest for life that perhaps you hadn’t ever experienced before?
JC: It did feel like that, yes. I felt excited about us. I felt a sort of pull to be with her.
FM: Did you meet at work?
JC: We did.
FM: Did you see a lot of each other outside of work?
JC: As much as we could. By the time the case went live, she’d kind of moved in with me.
FM: So things were getting quite serious for you?
JC: She kept her own flat, but she stayed over most nights. We didn’t really discuss it, it just sort of happened.
FM: Did you introduce Emma to your family?
JC: Yes, she met them twice, both times when my parents came up to Bristol and we went out for a meal.
FM: How did that go?
JC: It was very nice. They really liked her. She even charmed my dad.
FM: Did you meet Emma’s parents?
JC: No.
FM: Any reason for that?
JC: Not really. I suppose I figured I’d meet them at some point, when she was ready. I knew she wasn’t close to them. She never went to visit them and they never came to see her, or not that I knew of anyway.
FM: Did you wonder why that was?
JC: She said they’d had a falling-out.
FM: Did she say why?
JC: She didn’t really explain. I got the impression her dad was quite strict, classic army type, not an easy man, but I’m not really sure, to be honest. That was one thing about her—she was very private about her family.
FM: Weren’t you curious?
JC: A bit. But she didn’t make a big deal about it, and we had a lot else going on so I didn’t really think about it.
FM: So you recommended Emma for the FLO role?
JC: I did, yes.
FM: Was that a risk?
JC: I didn’t think so, no. I thought she’d do a fantastic job. Emma was one of the best new DCs to come through in years, everybody said so.
FM: Was it professional of you to recommend her, given that you were having a relationship?
JC: It wasn’t unprofessional.
FM: Are you sure about that?
JC: Yes, I’m sure. Look, I broke a personal rule getting involved with Emma. I never wanted to have a relationship with somebody at work, but when it happened, it felt… it felt totally right. So I went with it, but when this opportunity came up I thought she was absolutely the right person for that role. Genuinely. Why would I put my neck on the line otherwise?
FM: OK. I understand that. It’s clear from your report that this case was a very big moment in your career. “Bring it on,” are the words you used, I think.
JC: That’s how I felt.
FM: You were excited.
JC: The challenge of it, the possibility…
FM: To shine?
JC: I suppose so. I wasn’t going to put it quite like that. It was my first chance to be involved in a very high-profile investigation.
FM: You wanted to prove yourself?
JC: It was a chance.
FM: And your first big task was to prepare for the press conference?
JC: After the initial interviews, yes.
FM: I watched the footage of the conference.
JC: I think everybody did. Once seen, never forgotten.
FM: Indeed. You were there too. I saw you.
JC: I was chairing it.
FM: Why not Fraser?
JC: She believes in giving people a chance. She gave me the responsibility for running it and for drafting the statement that we wanted Rachel Jenner to read. I worked with the forensic psychologist on that. It was a big responsibility.
FM: So your aim was to appeal to Ben’s abductor, to use the mother to obtain their sympathy with the hope that that might persuade them to get in contact with you?
JC: With us, or with somebody around them, somebody they trusted. It was important that they saw Ben as a real person, not just an acquisition, or a means to their own end. It would give him the context of a loving family. It was equally important not to alienate the abductor. We wanted to make them aware that it wasn’t
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