He sighs again, reaching across for a bottle of water.
“Well… How about we start at wherever you think is necessary?”
Quigley swallows and nods, before recapping the bottle and throwing it across to his passenger seat. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and resumes his attention to his front windscreen. Seconds later, he begins.
“You have to believe that I was just as eager to find out what happened Aaron Parker as you currently are. I’d done everything that was needed. There were no reviews against how I handled the case. And I know as well as you do that people can just… Disappear. Very rare in babies and young children, rarer still in teenagers… But full-grown adults? I mean… They have their own life. If they decide someday that they don’t want to answer their phone, well what’s stopping them? Guilt? Pride? Love? A mixture of the three?”
McNally shrugs and nods his head. It’s true. Plenty of misper cases end with a happy ending. Well, if that’s what you could call it. An aggravated wife assaulted that her husband up and left in the middle of the night, simply not bothered for the argument on why he wouldn’t stay. A young girl fed up with her friends and life, making a new image for herself. Not wanting to drag her old friends along to remind her of previous times. It’s not uncommon.
“I was close to a conviction with Taylor, you know? I was following a strong lead from a hint in the Jacks. A rumour had gone around the Crown that he’d taken him. However, because of who my source was, I couldn’t tell anyone else. You know what happens touts. I heard that he’d taken him to the farmhouse, probably as far as you have come in your inquiry so far, but then…
“I was questioning him, and he told me I was getting into dangerous territory. I told him not to threaten a police officer. He claimed his innocence, but said that if I continued to suspect him that I’d find myself in serious hot water. I laughed it off. Started a new line of questioning before he simply said my wife’s name. I asked him to repeat himself, he told me my wife’s name again, and her place of work. I asked him what he was playing at, before he read to me my kid’s names, their ages and their school. And he knew that the missus was pregnant again. It wasn’t common knowledge; only close family knew. So, naturally, I started to get a bit worried.
“I told him I wasn’t finished with him and left. Enraged that he could threaten my family. I rang my wife, but her and the kids were in the house grand. I told her to lock the doors. Made up some bullshit excuse about a lot of robberies in our area that week. I arrived home and saw a mysterious car parked in front of my house, on the other side of the road. Blackened windows and a number plate that didn’t exist, believe me, I got everything checked. When I stepped out of my car, it sped off in the opposite direction. So… And I’m not proud of this… I didn’t inform anyone. I was so scared for my family’s sake. I was hoping someone would come forward or… Something. An easy way to get out of the situation. Someone else arrest him and charge him. I don’t know…”
He places his hand on his neck and swivels it around. McNally can hear the cracks from way over here.
“I just felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. And then, shortly after that, I left. I had to,” he pleads his case as McNally shakes his head in disgust. “The cars still came. Parked outside until all hours of the morning. Every time I approached them, they sped off, just to return half an hour or so later. Followed me and my kids to school. I was petrified. I wouldn’t let the girls go to their friends or even play outside on the street. They all knew something was up, so eventually I had to tell my wife, after many sleepless nights. The next day, I handed in my notice at work. A rumour circulated that I was promoted to DCI in Belfast, but I never confirmed or denied it. The next night, we went out and chased the car away, and then, when it was safely out of the way, we did a moonlight flit of some sort.”
McNally has no idea how to take this information. A detective inspector acting like this?
“I know what you must think of me, and I can only apologise. I did what was best to protect my family. That was my main priority. I’ve been living off my police pension and my wife has been working full time in an office. I’ve basically become a house husband… Of course, this isn’t what I wanted. But if it keeps my family alive, I’ll do it. I know I was cocky, going after Taylor myself, but I wouldn’t change it. Because if I went and told someone else and got it on file… Well, it would’ve been a lot harder to cover up.”
Quigley looks like a massive load has been lifted off his shoulders. He almost deflates onto the chair, rubbing his brow with a shaking hand.
“Thank you for your honesty, Quigley… But, I must ask, what do you think will happen now?”
Quigley shrugs.
“I don’t care, to be honest. These past few days I’ve had some time to think. About myself, my family… How I protected them, to risk the Parker’s family’s happiness and trust. They’ve been miserable for years, and now… They deserve to know the truth. They deserve to move on. If
