face during those silences. He wondered if he would have been looking at a suspect caught out in a lie - or a man suddenly realizing the implications of what he’d seen and heard that day.
Obviously, he needed to know more about Simon Quinn. But who else could he ask, apart from the family?
As if on cue, his mobile rang. It was Diane Fry.
‘Ben,’ she said. ‘This Alistair Page - what address did he live at in 1990?’
‘I don’t know.’
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‘But he was somewhere in the Pindale Road area, wasn’t he? Do you have a house name?’
‘Sorry.’
‘He’s not on the list of statements from that time, you see.’
‘He’d have been too young at the time,’ said Cooper. ‘Fifteen, he said.’
‘I see. So how did you meet him?’
‘Well, he came to find me one day when I was on duty at West Street.’
‘When was this?’
‘Only a couple of weeks ago. I think one of my friends muse have mentioned my name to him. 1 suppose they thought I might be interested in liaising with the cave rescue organization.’
‘I suppose so. It’s not as if you’re Mr Anonymous around here, is it?’
‘Well, no.’
‘What’s he like? Reliable? Do you think he’s worth talking to about the Quinns?’
‘The impression I get is that he was a bit traumatized by the whole business. He’s desperately keen to know what’s going on, but he shied away when I asked him directly about Simon.’
‘They might have known each other quite well, then?’
‘It’s possible.’
‘I might talk to him, in that case. An independent view would be useful.’
‘Diane, is this ‘
Fry was silent for a moment. ‘It’s relevant to the official enquiry,’ she said.
‘I see.’ But Cooper wasn’t sure what she meant. ‘You’ve been looking at Simon Lowe, then?’
Fry hesitated. ‘He seems a bit of an enigma, that’s all.’
‘I agree.’
‘He was supposed to be at school that afternoon, but as
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far as I can see he turned up at Pindale Road much later than he should have done if he’d come straight home. Nobody seems to have asked him where he’d been.’
‘And why would they, in the circumstances?’
‘Exactly.’
Cooper gazed out of his car window at the back door of Parson’s Croft, trying to picture another house at another time.
‘How about this?’ he said. ‘I know it’s speculation, but…’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, if Mansell Quinn had been having an affair with Carol Proctor, it would have been devastating for the family to find out, right?’
‘Of course.’
‘What if they did find out?’ said Cooper. ‘Or rather, one of them did.’
‘Rebecca? You think she knew?’
‘No, not Rebecca. I mean Simon.’
‘Simon?’
‘What if he bunked off school that day and went home, not expecting anybody to be in. But he found Carol Proctor there.’
‘You mean if he’d walked in and found her lying dead on the floor? But why didn’t he phone?’
‘No,’ said Cooper. ‘That wasn’t what I meant.’
Fry was silent for a moment. ‘Do you have Alistair Page’s number?’
‘Diane, let me talk to him myself.’
‘All right. But let me know how it goes. As soon as you can, Ben.’
Fry rang off. Cooper wasted no time. He had the number he needed in his mobile phone already.
‘Alistair,’ he said, ‘I’m sorry to bother you about this, but I don’t know who else to ask.’
‘What is it, Ben?’ said Page. ‘Still worrying about radon? Or scared of getting trapped in a flooded cave?’
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‘Neither. I want to talk to you about Simon Lowe. The
