BECKY: ‘Yeah, I did, in Bethalls Park. I never knew anything about it. None of us did, and I can’t see her keeping something like that to herself, so we always put it down to more BS. There was so much of it back then, in the press, you know – stuff none of us had ever heard about, but hey, maybe some of it was true.’
CRISTY: ‘We’ve heard mention of a local vicar? And an older man, living in Wiltshire? Possibly married.’
BECKY: ‘Hah! Vicar Robbie Williams? You’ve heard about him. His real name was Nick Hopkins – or it might have been Neil. Yeah, that’s right. Neil. He was a nice bloke, too good-looking for his own good, if you ask me, but do I think he was the one who knocked her up? No, I don’t. For one thing, she never seemed as interested in him as the rest of us, and for another, he was too clever to get mixed up with a bunch of teenage girls.
‘As for the older bloke in Wiltshire … I know someonementioned it back then, but I can’t tell you who he was, or even if he really existed.’
She glanced down at her phone as it buzzed, read the message and sighed while putting it aside again.
BECKY: ‘This is what’s always bothered me …Ifshe was telling the truth about burying the cat … Well, first up, what the hell happened to it after – that’s what I’d like to know? But second – and here’s the thing no one’s ever answered – if someone came into the house when she was down at the woods, how the heck did they get a couple of year-old babies out without anyone seeing?
‘You know where the house is, right on the main road, and there was two-way traffic back then. Cars and buses would’ve been passing, neighbours coming and going, so surely someone would have spotted something … Plus, how did they know no one was in the house when they went in? OK, they could have been watching, waiting to seize their chance, but you can’t see the back from the front, so how did they know when she went down to the woods?’
Cristy watched Becky blink slowly, sadly, clearly puzzled by her own thoughts.
BECKY: ‘Maybe she’d arranged it with someone to come in and get them so she could say they’d been stolen, but even if that’s true, how come they found blood in the house?’
CRISTY: ‘There was only mention of traces in court …’
BECKY: ‘I know, and most of it belonged to animals. Really weird that, don’t you think? Takes you straight back to thinking about a cult. Or it does me, anyway.
‘And now tell me this: if she was as innocent as she claimed at the beginning, how come she never appealed against her sentence? If it were me, I’d have fought tooth and nail for my liberty – wouldn’t you, if you hadn’t done it? But she never did, and now, according to the news, she’s finally confessed to it, so what’s going on there? Answer me that.’
CRISTY: ‘We agree things aren’t adding up, but without being able to talk to her … Do you have any thoughts at all on where she might be?’
BECKY: ‘Me? Not a clue. The person who could probably help – if they’re still in touch that is – is her cousin, Lauren. Those two were pretty thick back then. She’d be able to tell you a lot more than I can.’
CRISTY: ‘Do you know where we can find her?’
BECKY: ‘After all these years, wouldn’t even know where to start.’
CRISTY: ‘Was she Maeve’s sister’s daughter? Or from Ronnie’s side?’
BECKY: ‘I never asked, but at a guess I’d say she was Maeve’s sister’s kid. She was younger than Nicole by a year or two, looked up to her, you know, wanted to be like her – hah, didn’t we all with those looks? No, Lauren’s your best bet if you want a more inside look at what went on back then. I’m not sure if she was part of the “Clifton set” – that’s what we called them – but it’s likely she was, given how close she was with Nicole and how she’d do practically anything to please her.
‘Sweet girl. You’ve got me thinking now, I wonder what ever happened to her.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
Clove’s messages came up as soon as Cristy and Connor turned their phones back on.
Serious leads to whereabouts of bodies. Call when you get this.
‘I tried getting hold of you before you went in,’ Clove told them when Connor got her on speakerphone. ‘Molly Terrance broke the story online.’
Cristy winced. Her nemesis from the time of the twins’ disappearance was apparently all over the case again.Great.
‘What sort of leads?’ Connor demanded. ‘How credible are they?’
‘She’s citing her source as an “official spokesperson”,’ Clove replied, ‘which as we know means sweet FA without a name or at least a department. It hasn’t made any bulletins yet, but it’s on a couple of news websites: BBC, Sky, LBC … They’re attributing it to theMailOnline, which is where the Terrier hangs out these days, so they’re obviously covering their backs in case it turns out to be false.’
‘She’s got nothing,’ Cristy stated. ‘Anyone can run a headline like that – what does she say in the piece?’
‘Basically, that she’s been told the search for bodies continues and the police will, I quote, “surely be acting on the serious new leads that have come in.” She can’t revealwhat they are at this stage, but she’s promised to share more as soon as she has it. So yeah, looks like you could be right, Cristy: she’s sensation-seeking, trying to stay relevant.’
‘OK, but dig into it a bit more, just in case,’ Cristy said. ‘We’ll discuss further when Con and I get back to the office. Now, I’m wondering if this neighbour Mervyn Wilson is still worth talking to in light of our chat with Becky. She gave us quite a lot to work with, and if this guy’s profile is anything to go by – late seventies, lives alone, lot to say … I don’t remember him coming forward back in the day. Did he?’
Joining the call, Jacks said, ‘Nothing on record that we’ve found so far, but where backstory’s concerned, he’s a must. You’ll know what I mean when you get him talking.’
