Page 17 of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
AB:His name was in a news-bite published online at the time. He found Singh’s body in the empty flat. Can’t seem to locate him.
DM:I can ask around.
AB:I don’t usually draw a blank with police officers, Don. You all seem to know each other.
DM:[He laughs. EC] It’s the M40 corridor.
AB:The what?
DM:The M40 motorway means areas west of London out to the Thames Valley have a fast link, so officers living and working in the whole area move stations within it a lot during their careers. I’ll ask around. Someone will know him.
AB:Cheers, Don. [Chewing and clinking of glasses. EC]
DM:Constantly surprised to see what that case went on to inspire. There was an episode of something on telly not long ago.
AB:Inside No. 9. I saw it. Brilliant. [Totally freaked me out. EC]
DM:That’s it. Terrifying! Creepy. It wasn’t like that at the time. Just another case of predators taking advantage of the vulnerable, exploiting weakness in the system. Take away talk of angels and demons and you’re left with a very depressing but nonetheless run-of-the-mill story.
AB:What happened to the baby?
DM:Ah! That reminds me. I have a favour to ask. Connor is considering journalism as a career. I promised I’d find a friendly hack to give him some advice. Could he speak to you about it?
AB:Sure.
DM:Thank you. Are you free for dinner Sunday?
AB:I’d love that. [A pause while you both chew and swallow. EC] What happened to the baby rescued from the Alperton Angels cult?
DM:No idea. [Slight hesitation, rise in tone. Does he know? EC]
AB:Was it reunited with Holly or taken into care?
DM:[Mumbles something. EC]
AB:Off the record? [A long pause. EC]
DM:Off the record, something funny happened. You’ll have to get the full story from social services, but I remember someone popped up, made a familial claim. Grandparents, an aunt or someone. Presumably they applied for custody.
AB:If it was adopted by family, then Holly could be involved in its upbringing. That’s a happy ending.
DM:[Mumbles something. Then something that sounds like … EC] Funny, the closer you get, the further away you are.
AB:What’s funny about that?
DM:Nothing.
AB:You said something funny happened.
DM:[Sounds like he’s chewing. Playing for time? EC] See, I think like a copper, Mandy. My first thought is, if they couldn’t take care of Holly, why would they be given custody of her baby? Not funny, just, social workers see the world one way, police another. [Some talk here about a mutual friend, Oliver Mingis. You ask DM to find out ‘how far he’s got’ and let you know. Relevant to the interview? EC]
AB:Is there anyone from that time who might be willing to chat?
DM:By ‘willing to chat’ you mean …?
AB:Willing to expose anything they saw as wrong.
DM:I’ll think about it, but, Mandy, I will say one thing.
