Bridget gasped and took a step back. ‘We know what happened,’ she cried. ‘They were stolen, and it didn’t have anything to do with Lauren.’
Cristy said gently, ‘Nicole’s confessed to killing them. It’s how come she got parole …’
‘Oh yes, that’s right,’ Bridget said, flustered. ‘It’s hard to keep up with it all sometimes. Those poor little souls – so sweet they were, little angels – and Nicole … sorry, but she … I don’t like speaking ill of my own niece, but she was a wild one at times. No controlling her. She used to drive her parents out of their minds with worry, and she was forever leading my Lauren astray …’ As her words dried up, her eyes slipped away into sadness. ‘She wasn’t a bad girl, though, not at heart. She was just young … I can’t make myself believe she really hurt them. I mean, she didn’t like having the reins put on her much, but half the time she took them with her when she went out to see her friends. And credit where it’s due, she was a better mother than most of us expected. She kept them clean and fed, used to dress them well too, but of course Maeve had a lot to do with that.’
‘Do you happen to know who the twins’ father was?’ Cristy asked, sorely wishing they were recording this.
Bridget shook her head and looked at her again.
‘Do you think Lauren knows?’ Cristy pressed.
‘If she does, she never let on. I don’t know why it had to be such a big secret … Actually, that’s not true, I do know, because I don’t think even Nicole knew who the father was – not for certain anyway.’
‘Were any names ever mentioned?’ Connor prompted.
Bridget appeared more desolate than ever as she said, ‘The only one I remember is Claude … Major, I think? He was French – or foreign anyway. That’s who Lauren will be with now, I’m sure of it, but don’t ask me where – they could be on the moon for all I know.’
‘Is there anything else you can tell us about him?’ Cristy asked.
Bridget regarded her blankly. ‘We never met him, her dad and me, but Lauren used to talk about him a lot, back beforeshe went off with him. That’s what we’ve always assumed happened. She thought the sun shone out of him, he could do no wrong, and everything about him was better than anything we could ever understand. That’s what she used to say. He was special, different, someone to be looked up to.’
‘How did she know him?’
‘Nicole introduced her to him, before everything, obviously …’ Frowning, Bridget peered at them again and said ‘You know, it’s not very nice of you to come round here raking it all up again, especially if you don’t know where she is. It was a terrible time for our family, and we’ve tried hard to put it behind us …’ She shrugged helplessly. ‘I suppose it was to be expected you’d turn up again now that Nicole’s … Are you in touch with Maeve?’
‘Not directly,’ Cristy replied. ‘But we can get a message to her if you’d like us to.’
Bridget clearly gave it some thought but ended up shaking her head. ‘She’ll get in touch with me when she’s ready.’
Needing to come right to the point, Cristy said, ‘Do you think there’s a chance Lauren might have gone to join a cult?’
Bridget frowned as colour rushed to her cheeks. ‘We heard rumours there was one,’ she confessed, ‘but I’m sure … No, I’m not sure about anything. You know what teenage girls are like, up for anything – or most things anyway. So yes, she might have, but I’m sure someone looked into the rumours when they started, and nothing ever came of it.’
‘Do you know if Lauren ever gave a statement to the police about what happened to the twins?’ Connor asked.
Bridget nodded. ‘We all did, but none of us knew anything that could help find them. Lauren was as shocked and upset as the rest of us. Traumatized, she was, actually. Went into a terrible depression for a while – wouldn’t talk to any of us about it. Well, we all found it hard to put into words. I mean, what do you say when two innocent little children justdisappear off the face of the earth? Makes me feel sick to think of it even now.’
Judging by Lauren’s reaction to the abduction, or murder, Cristy felt certain that Lauren had known more about it than her family ever had.
Connor said, ‘Can you think of anything else Lauren told you about this Claude?’
‘You mean apart from him being foreign and something special? We racked our brains over that after she left, but we could never think of anything to help us to find him or her. Even with the internet, we’ve never got very far.’
‘Did you ever talk to Maeve about Claude?’
‘Oh yes. She knew him and never had anything but high praise for him. Same went for his friends, the ones Nicole and Lauren got so involved with, but like the rest of us, Maeve was left wondering what happened to them all after the twins disappeared. I mean, I heard that this Claude spoke to the police, but apparently he wasn’t in the country at the time it all kicked off, so it didn’t go any further. And Lauren was certain he’d never hurt a fly, that none of them would.’
Cristy said, ‘You told us just now that Lauren left around sixteen years ago, so it would have been three years after the trial ended?’
‘Nearly that,’ Bridget confirmed. ‘She was never the same after her cousin went away. Like I said, it tore the heart out of her, and she wouldn’t let any of us comfort her, or try to get her some help. She just kept saying Claude was the only one who understood her and the rest of us should leave her alone.’
‘So she was still in touch with him?’
‘As far as I know, right up until the time she walked out on us.’
Cristy was about to speak again when Bridget looked past them, saying, ‘Ah, this must be the plumber, and not before time. Sorry,’ she said to Cristy, ‘I have to deal withthis now and then get to work. My manager’s only allowed me a couple of hours off. You were lucky to catch me.’
‘Thanks for talking to us.’ Cristy smiled past her frustration. ‘We really appreciate it.’
