Page 102 of Worse Than Murder
‘He didn’t know. I assumed it was hours.’
‘And he had no memory?’
‘None at all.’
‘Did you believe him?’
‘I didn’t know what to believe.’
‘Were Travis and Jack harming the twins together?’
‘I… I don’t know.’ Iain looks as if he wants to vomit. ‘I had so many questions I wanted to ask him, but at the same time I wanted to get as far away from him as possible.’
‘That’s understandable.’
‘I told him he had to go the police. He said he couldn’t as he wouldn’t be able to tell them anything. I told him to at least tell Lynne. He refused. He said she was suffering, and he couldn’t hurt her any more than she already was. I was so angry. I was fuming. I gave him an ultimatum. I said he had until the following day to either tell Lynne or go to the police, or I’d tell them myself.’
‘What did he say to that?’
‘He didn’t. He walked away.’
‘Was that the last time you saw him?’
Iain nods. ‘The next day everyone was making a big fuss about the storm that was forecast. I was helping out on the farms and with sandbags. I called Lynne at lunchtime and asked to speak to Jack. She said he’d gone over to see Mum and had taken Alison with him. The next thing, it’s pitch dark, the storm’s blowing in and Jack’s nowhere to be found. I went out to look for him. Mum had told me what time they’d left hers. I couldn’t find him anywhere. I came back. Lynne refused to do nothing, so we went out again. That’s when we found the car by the edge of the lake. Alison was asleep in the back.’
‘What do you think happened?’
‘I think he killed himself. He knew I wouldn’t let it rest. He knew I’d either tell Lynne or I’d drag him to the police station. There was no other way out for him. Mum said later that she felt he was saying goodbye while he was there.’
‘But why did he take Alison with him?’
‘That was Lynne’s idea. He said he was going over to see Mum and she said it would be a lovely surprise if she saw Alison. She hadn’t seen her for a while.’
‘And you never said anything about the day before, about finding Jack with the magazine and what he’d told you?’
‘Lynne,’ he says, his voice breaking. ‘She knew that I knew more than I was letting on. Don’t ask me how. She kept badgering me. I had to tell her.’
‘What did she do?’
‘She went apoplectic. I’ve never seen anyone like that before. I thought she was going to do some serious harm to herself. We spent hours talking, trying to work out what and why Jack had done what he’d done. Then, the topic turned to Alison, and we wondered if he’d ever… you know, touched her. Lynne knew how much Alison doted on her father. She didn’t want her experiencing more heartache. We decided, together, with Jack gone, it wasn’t in anyone’s best interest to bring it all up, least of all with Alison.’
‘But surely, Lynne wanted to find out where Celia and Jennifer were?’
‘She did, but she said protecting Alison was more important.’
‘When the twins disappeared, why did you give Travis an alibi? I’ve seen the two police statements. Lynne said she was on her own, baking in the kitchen. A few days later, she changed it and said she was sleeping with Travis. That wasn’t true, was it?’
‘No.’
‘Then why lie? Why give Travis an alibi after everything he’d done?’
Iain takes a couple of deep breaths. The lines of worry and fear and hatred are etched on his face. He looked physically sick.
‘You’d need to ask Lynne about that.’
‘I’m asking you.’
‘I’d rather Lynne tell you. It was her statement, after all.’
