Gina felt her hackles rising. ‘If your daughter was here now, how would she feel knowing her own father was spying on her? You can see right through to her lounge from the hall.’
‘I’m sorry. I just needed to know she was safe and that none of the people visiting were weirdos. That’s all,’ he yelled.
‘You betrayed her trust. Did you go one step further and begin to stalk her because you couldn’t bear her starting a life without you? Maybe she didn’t call you often enough and you couldn’t bear not to know what she was up to at all times.’
‘No.’
‘Did you watch her every move, angry that she was enjoying her life without you, going out and having fun after being under the same roof as a father that stifles her?’
‘No.’
‘Mr Slater. Did you kill your daughter, Amber Slater?’
‘No! I would never hurt her. I was stupid. I watched her because I couldn’t bear to let her go. I love her and she was all that I had and I feel like there’s a big gaping hole in my life. I just wanted to protect her and keep an eye on her. I was stupid, so stupid but my intentions were good.’
‘And how about the woman in your bedroom video?’
He shook his head and gasped. ‘I recorded a woman while I had sex with her. Why? Because I’m an idiot. I sussed out the surveillance equipment and I don’t know, I got carried away. I admit it. I was wrong. I was stupid and you know something, I’ll never forgive myself for not keeping a closer eye on Amber. I wish I had stalked her now. I sent those stupid messages as BearBoy because I wanted her to be put off that stupid app and look where it got me. I tried to explain that she was too nice to be on it.’
‘You used spyware on Amber’s computer too. We found it.’ Jacob dropped another photo on the pile so that Theo Slater could see it. ‘We found it linked to your computer. You knew everything your daughter was up to. She had no privacy at all except for the burner phone we found in her apartment. Did you get angry when she gave her number to BearBoy? Upset that you couldn’t see what she was up to?’
Gina remained still even though she needed to shiver. ‘And that must have driven you crazy knowing that she’d broken away from your constant spying on her. Is that why you killed her?’
‘I didn’t.’
‘Where did you take her?’
He stood again and threw the chair at the door. ‘I. Did. Not. Kill. My. Daughter.’
It was no good. Gina had to push him harder. Kapoor’s life was at stake. ‘Where were you on Tuesday evening? Were you anywhere near Cleevesford Hospital?’
‘I was at home.’ He began to pace and seethe. ‘Get me out of here.’
‘Can anyone confirm that?’
He slammed his palms on the door. ‘Get me out. Now.’ His booming voice filled the room. ‘Bastards! You’re trying to fix me up. I want to leave. I need to get out.’
‘Where is Jhanvi Kapoor?’
‘What?’ He kicked the door over and over again.
‘My client has had enough for now. I’d advise him not to say another word and he is clearly distressed.’
Gina scooped up the photos from the table and stared at the solicitor. ‘My colleague is missing and believed to have been taken by the same person who took Amber Slater. A young woman has been killed. Another young woman was attacked on Tuesday evening and is in hospital.’
‘And my client needs a break or I report you for misconduct. That’s enough for now.’ The solicitor placed his Montblanc pen in his top pocket and went over to Theo Slater. ‘We can talk about this in a bit okay? You need to have a drink, something to eat and a break.’ As they left, Mr Slater’s yelling and swearing filled the corridor.
‘Interview suspended at sixteen fifteen on Wednesday the twenty-seventh of January.’ Jacob stopped the recording.
Briggs hurried through. ‘Damn it! You went in too quickly. Even with his solicitor’s statement, he was talking. We could have got more out of him.’
Gina’s brows furrowed. ‘He knew exactly what he was going to confess to and what he was going to hold back on. He couldn’t dispute the chain of evidence that we had but we don’t have any evidence linking him to the murder of his daughter. We don’t have any evidence linking him to Madison Randle’s attack and we have no evidence that he’s ever come into contact with PC Kapoor. We went in with nothing apart from a man who was guilty of a shameful act and we hoped that it was him and that he’d crack. It’s not him. He doesn’t have Kapoor.’
‘I’m sorry. We’re all on edge. I shouldn’t have gone off like that.’ Briggs lowered his head and shook it. She glanced up at him, feeling the tension between them. This wasn’t about the interview, it was about him being on AppyDater and her finding out.
Jacob leaned on the back wall as he gathered up the file.
Backing down, she swallowed. Now wasn’t the time. ‘I know I could have played it better. We’re desperate. Every time I think, Kapoor is in my mind. I picture her bound to a chair waiting for a painful death. I see the knife wound through Amber’s heart, driving through Kapoor’s and I—’ She slammed her fist on the table, making the recorder jump. ‘We have to find her and it’s desperate. Time is running out and we’re no further to the truth. In Mr Slater we have a despicable person who has committed a despicable crime, but murder? We are no further forward. That’s the frustrating thing.’ She knew that to Kapoor every minute would seem like forever and the not knowing what would happen, or anticipating the worst, would take its toll. ‘Right, I think we need to call a briefing, find out where we are with everything. Back to the bloody drawing board.’
