Page 28 of Maybe Tomorrow

‘Your guess is as good as mine. The reasons people have for killing someone never fail to surprise me.’

‘But she’s his daughter. Why would he rape and kill his own daughter?’

‘Some fathers have a strange relationship with their daughters, Chris. Fatherly love can sometimes take a very dark turn.’

Ritter cleared his throat. ‘I can’t see Sean raping Alice Patterson. When I went around to his flat, he had all these magazines on fitness and wrestling. I got the impression he might play for the other side, if you get my meaning.’

‘That doesn’t rule him out, Ritter,’ Bishop said. ‘People who suppress their sexual feelings have been known to have them explode in other ways.’

‘Where do you get all this stuff from?’ Osborne asked.

‘It’s called experience, Stephen. When you’ve been around as long as I have, you’ll see what I mean.’ He stubbed out his cigarette and reached in his pocket for his packet of B&H. It was empty. He screwed it up and tossed it towards the bin. It missed. ‘However, I don’t think Geoff killed his daughter. So, moving on from when Alice left the college. Where did she go?’

‘She got on the bus outside the college,’ Ritter said. ‘That’s verified by the bus driver. He doesn’t know where she got off, but we know she went into the library not far from where she lived. Mrs Jane Wilkinson, who is the manageress of the library, saw her arrive and took her coat from her. She was soaked.’

‘Right. How long is she in the library for?’

‘About half an hour or so,’ Tyler said. ‘Jane saw her leave but didn’t look at the time. She was too busy watching the storm.’

‘Did Alice speak to anyone while she was in the library?’

‘Just the staff.’

‘All female?’

‘No. There’s a bloke who works there…’ Tyler said, scrolling through his notes. ‘Anthony Winstanley. He was on the counter and checked Alice’s books out for her. According to Jane Wilkinson, they were having a laugh and a joke.’

‘What about?’

‘Anthony likes telling jokes. He was trying out his new material on Alice, apparently.’

‘And was she laughing?’

‘Yes. Jane said everyone heard them laughing.’

‘Have you spoken to this comedian?’

‘Yes,’ Ritter chimed up. ‘We spoke to all the library staff. He’s a bit strange, but he liked Alice. They all did.’

‘In what way is he a bit strange?’

Ritter paused while he thought. ‘He’s… I’m not sure. Let’s just say he’s a few sandwiches short of a picnic.’

‘You’re not telling me much, here, Eddie.’

‘I don’t know how to describe him. He’s just a bit weird.’

‘No offence, Eddie, but you think anyone who doesn’t understand the offside rule is weird,’ Stephen Osborne said.

A ripple of laughter erupted around the room.

‘What’s not to understand?’ he exclaimed. ‘Basically…’

‘Oi, Jimmy Hill, save it forMatch of the Day,’ Bishop said. ‘I said we need to focus. We’ve got a killer out there and a media scrum outside our front door. Now, this Anthony Winstanley lad, you said he’s weird, what do we know about him?’

‘Erm…’ Ritter looked down at his notes but didn’t look back up.

‘“Erm” doesn’t fill me with confidence, Eddie.’