Page 131 of Dying Truth
‘So, were you or one of the boys tested?’ she asked, tapping the printout, ‘to see if you were the father of her unborn child.’
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘We all were.’
The colour that had left his face at the word ‘abortion’ now came back into his cheeks like a tidal wave.
‘Mr Thorpe, just how well did you know Lorraine Peters?’
He hesitated before answering and all pretence fell from his face.
‘Inspector, I knew her very well indeed.’
Ninety-Two
Dawson paused before knocking on the closed door.
A few seconds passed before it was opened by a girl he didn’t recognise who glowered at him and then tipped her head and smiled.
‘Is Tilly around?’ he asked.
The girl shook her head as he heard a familiar voice.
‘Jesus, you again?’
He turned to see Tilly heading towards them dressed in a towelling robe, carrying a toiletry bag and her clothes.
‘I’ve already told you, I’m too young for you so—’
‘Bloody hell, Tilly,’ he said, looking around to see if anyone was listening. Even in joke, such a comment could ruin his career.
She laughed out loud. ‘Trust me, in this place they’re all so self-absorbed that if they don’t hear their own name attached to the sentence it doesn’t even register.’
Assessing her attire he held up his hand. ‘It’s fine, I can come back.’
Even with another girl in the room there was no way he was going to talk to a teenage girl who wasn’t properly dressed.
‘It’s okay,’ she said, untying her robe.
He protested but then saw that Tilly was fully dressed in a short black skirt with black tights and a floral shirt.
‘Just didn’t want to get anything on my clothes when I do my make-up,’ she explained.
Of course. The girls were getting ready to go to the memorial service.
‘Could I have a word?’ he asked. ‘I won’t keep you long.’
‘Sure,’ she said, stepping into the room.
‘In private,’ he said, glancing at the two girls sitting on the bed.
Tilly glanced at them apologetically. They grumbled and left the room.
‘Can you leave the door open, please?’ he called after them. ‘They’re not going to the memorial?’ he asked, noting their ripped jeans and tee shirts.
Tilly shook her head. ‘Depressing enough when it was a concert but now it’s a memorial.’ She frowned. ‘Shit, that was insensitive, wasn’t it?’
‘A bit,’ he acknowledged, sitting at the end of Sadie’s bed as Tilly sat at the desk and adjusted a small mirror to the correct position.
‘So, why are you going?’ he asked. Even she’d admitted that the two of them weren’t particularly close.
