After the call from Penn, Bryant had immediately turned the car around and aimed it towards Daniel’s house. They all knew what came next, and she just hoped she could get there before social services.
‘And you’re sure of this because…?’ Bryant asked.
‘He just isn’t,’ she repeated, even though in her heart she knew that it was a strong motive for murder. If the accusation was true and Ashley had somehow found out, Daniel would definitely have wanted to silence her. To be sure, she needed to see him face to face and gauge his reaction to the complaint.
‘Not a very convincing argument, guv,’ Bryant answered. ‘They don’t all wear a sign, as we well know. You said yourself that he’s hiding something, and why was he in such a rush to leave this morning? Just because the Chances are poor doesn’t mean they’re liars.’
‘It’s not about that, Bryant, and you know it,’ Kim snapped. ‘Where was their complaint of molestation when Ashley was alive?’
‘Maybe they knew she’d defend him,’ he argued.
‘Bryant, will you just agree with me one time?’
‘Where’s the fun in that?’ he asked as he parked outside the Reynoldses’ home for the second time that day.
Kim approached the front door, not relishing this conversation one bit and only hoping they had time before the inevitable happened. She turned to her colleague and raised an eyebrow. Her chat with Daniel needed to be private.
‘Yeah, I know. More princess talk for me.’
She smiled as the door opened. Understandably, Daniel didn’t look delighted to see them. Nevertheless, he stood aside for them to enter. Kim headed to the kitchen, where Ava sat at the table with a colouring pad and felt-tip pens.
‘Hey,’ Bryant said, smiling at her. ‘Just the person I need to speak to.’
Kim took a seat as Daniel entered the room.
‘Ava, I need your help with something,’ Bryant said seriously. ‘My wife insists that Olaf’s head melted in front of the fire in Frozen, but I said not. Could you show me that part so I can prove her wrong?’
Ava looked to her father who nodded.
‘I’ll show you,’ she said, heading out the room.
Kim couldn’t help but wonder how her colleague knew so much about Disney films. A conversation for another day, she resolved as Daniel took a seat.
‘Have you got him?’ Daniel asked once Ava was out of earshot.
Kim shook her head. ‘That’s not why we’re here.’ She took a breath. There was only one way to say it. ‘There’s been an accusation.’
‘Okay,’ he said, frowning.
‘It came from the Chances.’
‘Of course it did,’ he said as his face tightened. His hands gripped each other until his knuckles turned white.
‘They’re concerned that you’re sexually assaulting Ava.’
All the colour drained from his face, and Kim thought he was going to throw up right in front of her.
‘I would never… I could never… Oh God, that’s sick beyond belief. I love that little girl more than life. I knew they’d try something, but nothing as despicable as this. You can’t possibly believe that I…’
‘I don’t,’ Kim said, trusting the feeling that had now settled in her stomach. His reaction was one of genuine disgust. It wasn’t faked. It wasn’t rehearsed. It was naked repulsion at the very idea. ‘But the complaint has been made and the process has been activ—’ She stopped speaking when a knock sounded on the door.
His face filled with fear, and Kim could offer him no reassurance. She’d had barely an hour’s head start on the authorities. She believed he was innocent and there wasn’t one thing she could do about it.
‘You need to answer the door, Daniel,’ she said as a heaviness settled on her heart.
She knew what came next.
‘Surely if they talk to Ava they’ll see that…’
