know what they are.
There's a woman councillor saying Howard stamp didn't kill grace jefferies and I remember mum lying about knowing her when the cops came round. I always knew something bad happened round that time because you were both mad with worry. this woman says it was someone with ginger hair killed grace but it wasn't Howard. I know you both know lou was in grace's house every time she skipped school so is that the only thing mum kept quite about. why do you keep saying mums got things on her conscience?
I need some answers dad otherwise Im thinking of going to the cops.
Billy
From: Rob Burton [robandeileen.burtonOuknet.co.uk]
Sent: Wed. 4/23/03 18:40
Subject: Louise
Dear Son,
I've had great difficulty trying to make out what on earth you're talking about. I wish you'd learned to use punctuation when you were younger. Spellchecks can only do so much. As to rows, you know my feelings. The strikes are unpatriotic, son, and browbeating will not make me change my mind.
As to this ridiculous nonsense you've written, I can only presume Louise has been filling your head with lies again. Obviously, it's the drugs talking and I'm afraid you're even more foolish than I thought if you pay any mind to her.
I don't know who this woman is you're referring to or why you say your mother lied about knowing her. Nor do I understand what you mean by 'Lou looks like Cill Trevelyan.' Of course Howard Stamp killed his grandmother, he confessed immediately and was convicted, and if your mother and I were 'mad with worry' at that time, it was because David Trevelyan was making life difficult for me at work. He accused the family of spreading lies about Cill, saying there was only Louise's word the rape had happened. According to him, if both girls were together then they would both have suffered the same fate, and he was angry with Louise for suggesting his daughter was 'easy' and 'asked for it' while Louise was left alone. Unfortunately, his thinking was muddled. Another accusation he made was that if the rape had happened, Louise must have told your mother and me because she was so quick to tell the police. The implication was that we failed to pass the information to him, and instead allowed Cill to be punished for the fight with Louise while knowing that Cill was in a vulnerable state. By some rather twisted logic, that made us responsible for his wretched child running away.
I should say, we were never convinced about the rape, although we certainly believed Cill had had sex with some boys in front of Louise, and your sister had misinterpreted what was happening. From your mother's and my point of view, it was a friendship made in hell, with your sister being introduced to things she shouldn't have known at 13. I'm afraid we had our doubts about David Trevelyan from the beginning. He was unnaturally keen to thrash the girl, particularly after she started to develop, and neither of us was comfortable with it. If your mother has anything to regret it is certainly that. She has said many times that she should have found the courage to speak out and accuse him of abuse. I should add that we have often wondered if some of Louise's problems stem from the fact that he may also have abused her. She spent a lot of time in their house, and there's no doubt she became very frightened of him after Cill went missing. We tried to keep an open mind but that became increasingly hard when David started drumming up sympathy at work by making my life difficult. He was under a lot of pressure from the police because, despite an alibi, he would certainly have been charged had Cill's body ever been found. Yet he was able to deflect attention from that among our colleagues by accusing your sister of lying. On two or three occasions Jean had a screaming match in public with Mum on the same subject, and your mother found it embarrassing and stressful. It was this as much as anything that turned Louise into a frightened little mouse and persuaded us to move.
Re: your mother's 'conscience': I have no idea what secrets she keeps in her heart but I am quite certain she had no knowledge of Louise playing truant in Grace Jefferies's house because it wasn't true. Who put that idea into your head? And as to Louise marrying one of Cill's rapists, where did that piece of nonsense come from? Louise herself didn't know the names of the boys and the police never revealed which ones they questioned. As a matter of fact, I believe several were taken in because Cill was rather too easy with her 'favors,' but there was nothing to connect any of them with the alleged rape or the disappearance. If Louise is your source, then I ask you to remember how drugs affect her brain. She was never able to be truthful about anything once she was caught in the cycle of addiction and prostitution, and I doubt much has changed if she's with another 'abuser.' It's a terrible waste of a life, but I'm out of sympathy with her now. Your mother and I couldn't have done more to get her away from it, but she made it clear she preferred the squalor of selling herself for heroin-induced stupors to behaving like a mature adult.
I have no problem with you giving her our address and phone number, though I doubt she'll bother to call. I expect, as usual, she left you in the lurch with threats of doing something silly if you interfere again. It's all so predictable, and not something I will ever understand. Mum is out at the moment but should be back by 7:00 p.m. If you want to talk to either of us, feel free to call, though I'd prefer it if we didn't have a row. Louise has caused so many in the past, and I don't have the energy for them these days. Your mother is well, as I hope are Rachel and the girls.
Dad
From: [email protected]
Sent: Wed. 4/23/03 18:55
Subject: Louise
Dear dad it wasn't just lou saw the rape it was me too. roy trent was part of the gang. he's the one lou married. there were three in the gang and one had red hair. he was called colley hunt or something like that. roy was the worst and now I find lou married him and has turned herself into a cill trevelyan clone. looks just like her plus lou did go into grace jefferies house cill too. I watched them sneak out the back a couple of times. ask mum. she knows its true. grace came round one time to complain about the way me and lou teased Howard and she said shed tried being nice to lou to get it to stop by letting her in to watch tv. I need you and mum to talk this over and see what you remember at the moment I don't know what to do for the best. I'll call later but I don't want you telling me to keep my mouth shut. I feel really bad about not saying anything before. but seeing cills photo the other day makes me realize she could never have looked after herself. I reckon her dad killed her and got away with it and I think lou knows he did. that's why she went so peculiar plus I always thought it was weird that Howard killed his gran because he was so frightened of everything he cried once when lou called him a spastic
Billy
Roy flicked Louise a brief stare of dislike when she sidled into his kitchen and told him George Gardener had been asking her brother about Cill Trevelyan's disappearance. 'I told you she'd find out about it, but you wouldn't listen to me.'
He was sitting at the table, eating his supper and watching the CCTV monitors. He concentrated on his food and didn't bother to answer.
Louise's eyes flashed angrily. 'Don't ignore me, Roy. You think you can control everyone ... but you can't. George knows my name, she knows I was married to you and she's showing my picture around and one of Cill just
