The man shrugged. ‘A bit sad, if I’m honest. He’s alone all the time. His daughter hardly ever visits him. He’s been quieter lately. Normally he drops into mine or one of the other neighbours for a chinwag and a cuppa, but lately, it’s as if he’s been preoccupied. I mean before his daughter went missing. We played bridge with a couple of other neighbours on Saturday evening and he was quiet then.’
‘What time was he with you that night?’
‘Until he received the call about his daughter. He came over about seven. When we have these nights, we normally have a takeaway first. I know it’s all been hard on him so I said that if he needed me to help or keep an eye on Cally while he got his chores done, he’d only needed to ask. I have four children myself. All grown up but I’m used to having kids around. My wife loves them too.’
‘Has he asked you to look after Cally at all?’
‘I’m capable of looking after kids.’
‘I wasn’t suggesting otherwise. It’s just important that we establish what has happened.’
He relaxed a little. ‘Yes, we looked after both Cally and the dog on Monday evening. Doug needed to do a bit of shopping and he said that Cally was in bed. My wife and I went to his. He didn’t want to wake Cally to take her or leave the dog. He’s left Milo alone a couple of times and he’s chewed the bottom of the door and barked nonstop.’
‘How long was he gone?’
‘Maybe an hour or longer. He said he was going to Sainsbury’s. He needed petrol too. He came back with his shopping just after nine thirty. He even gave me a pack of beer even though I said he shouldn’t have. Doug is a lovely man, one in a million. He’d do anything for his daughter or Cally.’
‘Thank you.’ Gina made a note to see if his whereabouts could be verified by the supermarket’s CCTV.
‘Have you seen Cally this evening?’
‘I heard her talking about an hour ago. It sounded like she walked past my house. I was in the bedroom, drying off after having a shower. The place had steamed up so I opened the window, that’s how I could hear her.’
‘Did you hear Mr Latham?’
‘No, only Cally. I didn’t hear what she was saying, I just caught the ring of her high-pitched voice. She sounded okay, by that I mean not distressed. My thought was that they were taking the dog for a walk until I heard a car pulling away.’
‘Did it sound like Mr Latham’s car?’
‘I don’t know.’ The man scratched his chin. ‘Has someone taken her?’
‘That’s what we’re trying to establish. Is there anything else you heard or saw that might help us?’
‘I did see something but I don’t know if it’s related.’
Gina stood aside as PC Smith set the cordon up, looping the tape around a lamp post. ‘What was that?’
‘Someone was pacing around the path in the night, up and down. I was going to call the police but by the time I looked back, they were gone. I thought it was a burglar.’
‘When was this?’
‘Early hours this morning. Maybe about four or five.’
‘Can you describe them?’
‘As you can see, we all have a hedge separating our gardens from the path so I could only see the top half of this person from my bedroom. They were wearing dark clothing. I couldn’t tell you whether it was a man or woman from what they were wearing as the jacket was padded. You can also see that there are no street lamps just outside my house so it was dark. This person was walking almost silently, like they had trainers on. They were wearing a hat, like a winter hat pulled over the ears. It wasn’t Doug. Whoever it was moved a bit smoother than Doug. He doesn’t move with speed as it makes his sciatica worse, this person seemed fitter.’
‘Thank you. That’s really helpful. An officer will come to take a statement in a short while.’
‘Okay, you know where I am.’ A woman wearing a dressing gown pulled the curtains apart, her dark hair up in a clip. ‘Best get back in.’ He waved at the woman.
Gina hurried over to Wyre.
‘What was he saying, guv?’
‘He saw someone loitering between four and five this morning. His description doesn’t help us pinpoint anyone. He couldn’t tell whether it was a man or woman. He was certain that it wasn’t Mr Latham.’
‘What are your thoughts on Annabel’s father?’ Wyre stepped back, placing her weight on the other foot.
