CRISTY: ‘Do you know if any of them visited Nicole in prison?’
MEIER: ‘I’m not aware of it if they did. I know her parents went often – Maeve alone after her husband died – and Lauren, her cousin, was also a visitor on occasions.’
CRISTY: ‘Do you know where Lauren is now?’
MEIER: ‘I think, at this hour, she will be dropping her children at school.’
Following a moment of shock, Cristy’s first thought was for Noah and Abigail, but if they were still alive, they’d be too old for school by now.
MEIER: ‘Lauren lives with her husband and family in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. She tells me the winters are hard there, but it is a very beautiful place. I would like to visit, but finding the time isn’t easy, so it’s good that they sometimes come here. It’s how they met, while Ben was with us seeking help for depression.’
CRISTY: ‘So Lauren was here? At the farm?’
MEIER: ‘Until she met Ben, which was quite a long time ago. Maybe ten years?’
MAGGI: ‘Nearly eleven.’
CRISTY: ‘When did she come?’
MEIER: ‘Before my grandmother passed. Maybe a couple of years before that.’
Cristy glanced at Connor, hoping he was better at mental maths right now than she was. Bridget had said Lauren disappeared about three years after Nicole’s trial, which would be 2009. Meier’s grandmother died in 2012, the same year they believed he’d left Lausanne … She needed more time to consider this, so was grateful when Connor took over.
CONNOR: ‘Do you know why Lauren isn’t in touch with her mother?’
MEIER: ‘I am not aware of that, but if it’s true, it feels a shame to deprive her parents of their grandchildren.’
CONNOR: ‘How old are the children?’
MAGGI: ‘Henry ten; Lily will be eight in April.’
So both born after Lauren had left here, if he was telling them the truth. So far, Cristy hadn’t got a sense of him lying or trying to mislead them in any way – more of him avoiding answers, memories, that he didn’t want to confront.
CRISTY: ‘Do they come too, when Lauren and her husband visit?’
MEIER: ‘Of course. Children are very welcome here. There’s plenty for them to do, especially in the summer months.’
CRISTY: ‘Would you be prepared to put us in touch with Lauren?’
MEIER: ‘I would, but perhaps I should ask her to contact you? Just in case she doesn’t want to talk about things she’s worked hard to put behind her. What happened affected her very deeply, especially when Nicole was found guilty at her trial. No one expected that. There seemed so little evidence, nothing they could actually convict on … We were all shocked and of course very upset.’
CRISTY: ‘Does Lauren ever say who she thinks might have taken the twins?’
MEIER: ‘Only that we must be missing something, because she won’t believe Nicole harmed them herself.’
CRISTY: ‘Does she wonder if Nicole was in some way involved in an abduction?’
Meier’s eyes seemed to sharpen at that, with surprise and perhaps a flash of anger? Cristy immediately wondered if she’d hit on something, had opened up a possibility that he hadn’t expected her to find. His answer didn’t confirm it.
MEIER: ‘It is quite possible that Lauren has considered the question you ask. When something so terrible happens, many dark and crazy fears go through your head. I know this from the time my parents died and from when the children disappeared. You imagine all sorts of terrifying scenarios that in cold reality make no sense at all, but in the absence of reasonable explanations, the mind can – and often does – create answers that defy logic or even sanity.’
He looked up when the door opened, and Cristy turned to see a heavy-set man in a black padded jacket, fur-linedhat and steel-tipped boots blowing in with a cascade of snow.
‘Verdammt!’ he growled, pushing the door closed and pulling off his hat. ‘It’s coming down thick and fast. Won’t any of us be going anywhere tonight – that’s for sure.’
Cristy looked at the window. A virtual blizzard was whiting out the inky dark sky. How had they not noticed the weather – or the fact that so much time had passed?
As if closer proximity might change the picture, Connor went to the window.
