planning a trip. There’s every chance he’s fine. He’s not in any of the local hospitals. .’
‘He wouldn’t be if he was lying dead in a ditch.’
‘After four or five days in a ditch the chances of finding Kyle’s body would be high,’ said Brook.
‘But if he was alive he would have contacted me. I’m all he has; he wouldn’t let me suffer like this.’
‘But he left his phone, love,’ said Poole. ‘Maybe he can’t contact you.’
‘But why leave his phone? That’s the point, isn’t it?’
‘What about his father in Stoke?’ asked Noble. ‘We’ve contacted him but he claims he’s not seen or heard from Kyle.’
‘That bastard,’ she spat out with surprising venom. ‘He hasn’t seen Kyle for five years, or wanted to, and Kyle would never go near him, the way he rejected us.’
‘But might he contact his father, let him know where he’s going?’
‘Before he spoke to me? No chance. But you’re welcome to ask.’
‘We will,’ said Brook. ‘I notice your house is for sale.’
‘We’re moving to Chester,’ she said. ‘We were there this weekend looking at houses. We’re just waiting for Kyle to finish his exams.’ Her lip began to wobble again.
‘You say he left his phone behind. Have you checked his calls?’ asked Brook.
‘I couldn’t. It’s not working.’
‘Mind if we try?’
She fished around in her handbag and pulled out her son’s mobile. ‘Here. And take his laptop from his room. If you can work out his passwords, maybe there’s an email or-’
‘We’ll send someone to collect it.’
Noble produced an evidence bag even though prints were already compromised. Mrs Kennedy dropped the phone in and Noble tried to turn it on through the plastic.
‘I’d give anything if Kyle was with his father, but he isn’t,’ said Alice. ‘That scumbag dumped us both as soon as he found out. .’ She hesitated.
‘. . as soon as he found out Kyle was gay,’ finished Brook.
Alice stared at Brook. ‘Yes. How did you know?’
‘Len told Sergeant Grey that Kyle was “sensitive”. I assumed that was code.’
She nodded. ‘Kyle is gay. Or he thinks he is. I was hoping it was just a phase.’
‘But he’s still a nice boy, Inspector,’ chipped in Poole.
‘And why wouldn’t he be?’ demanded Alice.
‘I’m sorry, love, I only meant-’
‘Does he have a boyfriend?’ interrupted Brook.
‘Don’t be disgusting,’ said Alice. ‘He isn’t like that. He isn’t. .’
‘What? Active?’
‘Not at all. I know Kyle.’
‘You didn’t know he applied for a passport,’ pointed out Brook.
The tears appeared again and Brook gestured to PC Patel, who provided further comfort. Brook didn’t enjoy this part of the job. Pushing and cajoling the vulnerable was distasteful but experience had taught him that such pressure ensured the best information.
When the tears subsided, Alice Kennedy tried again. ‘You don’t know him, Inspector. He’s kind and gentle and shy. He wouldn’t know how to approach. . people. . in that way.’
‘So you think he’s still a virgin?’ Remembering the distressing circumstances of his own estranged daughter’s loss of sexual innocence at fifteen, Brook made an effort to soften his tone.
Alice nodded. ‘He would’ve told me. Not that he didn’t fall in love.’
Brook smiled. ‘But from a distance.’
‘Exactly.’
‘And had he fallen in love recently?’
She looked up at him. ‘Yes, Inspector. I think he might have.’
‘Any idea who?’
‘He wouldn’t tell me anything like that.’
‘And might this person have been at Kyle’s party on Friday?’ asked Noble.
‘It’s possible, but I wasn’t there. Besides, it wasn’t a party, it was more of a gathering. He only had a handful of people he was friendly with. People like himself; shy, sensitive. He wasn’t going to bother celebrating at all, but they persuaded him.’
‘They, being?’ Noble held his pen poised over his notebook.
‘You’ve already got all the names I know. And there was only one other boy invited I knew about,’ replied Alice. ‘Russell Thomson. Rusty.’ In spite of herself she giggled then looked round guiltily.
‘What’s funny?’
‘You’re going to ask if Russell could have been Kyle’s. .’ She burst out laughing again. ‘No. He is
‘It’s true,’ conceded Poole, with a tight smile.
‘And his mum is very pretty, isn’t she, Len?’
‘I haven’t met her,’ replied Poole. ‘You saw her at a school social evening, remember. I wasn’t there.’
‘Russell Thomson?’ Brook raised an eyebrow at Noble, who nodded. They had Thomson’s address. Brook decided not to ask who Russell Brand was.
‘And the two missing girls were also at the party?’ asked Brook.
‘As far as I know,’ replied Alice. ‘We were away. Kyle knows Adele Watson from classes and they sometimes study together. She’s very smart but very serious. She’s a writer — poetry, I think. Well, I’m not surprised. She has everything going for her. And she’s really pretty. She gets on well with Kyle. Well, you know how it is with pretty girls and. .’ She tailed off, not wanting to hear the word again. When no one else filled the vacuum, she finally said, ‘Gays.’
‘What about Becky Blake?’ said Noble.
‘I didn’t know her that well,’ replied Alice. ‘We’ve seen her around with that other friend of hers, Fern something. She’s attractive in a cheap sort of way.’
‘Bit full of herself,’ agreed Len. ‘Reckoned she was going to be a model.’ The past tense prompted a discreet glance between the two detectives. ‘Well, if her dad had the final say she’d be a shoo-in. Had the poor sod twisted round her little finger, she did. Nothing too much trouble for her — clothes, the latest phones.’
‘Not the type to get on well with my Kyle,’ added Alice. ‘I’m surprised he invited her, but it takes all sorts. She may have been nicer than we thought.’
‘What about alcohol and drugs?’ asked Noble.
‘I bought Kyle a dozen WKDs from Bargain Booze,’ replied Poole. ‘He could have asked for a lot more and I’d have given him the money, but he isn’t much of a drinker.’
Brook eyed Mrs Kennedy for a reaction but she maintained the face of a stoic. Brook had been right about the basis for their relationship. Almost every time Len Poole opened his mouth it was to proclaim economic dominion over Alice. ‘Mrs Kennedy?’
‘Len’s right,’ she agreed, without looking up. ‘Obviously he’d tried a few things. Don’t they all? But drugs made him feel sick; tobacco too. He drank a lot for a year when he was sixteen and still working things out in his head. Nowadays children have to lay claim to adulthood before they’re ready. It’s so sad. Once he became more adult he had nothing to prove.’
‘And when was the last time you saw Kyle?’
‘I spoke to him on Friday afternoon before we left for Wales, through his bedroom door. I actually saw him last on the Thursday night. He went out with a CD and a poster. He said it was for a friend. Don’t ask me who.’
‘What time was that?’
‘About nine.’
‘What was his mood?’
