Page 208 of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
Dear Miss Cooper,
These are the only images we have of the graffiti vandal who tagged the access room of our Waterview apartment block in Alperton. If you can give us her name, I’m sure the police will treat that information in the strictest confidence.
Sincerely,
Security office, Waterview
I wrote this email to Sonia after I spoke to her, but didn’t send it:
TO:Sonia Brown
DATE:14 December 2021
SUBJECT:Amanda Bailey
FROM:Ellie Cooper
Dear Sonia,
Thank you for our video meeting today. So many people have positive memories of Amanda now she’s dead. It was lovely hearing yours. I couldn’t help but notice your beautiful pendant. A very simple pair of angel wings, spread as if in flight. Very apt considering our topic of conversation!
As I mentioned, I’ve been trawling through her archives, in particular those for her unfinished book on the Alperton Angels. It’s been tricky putting all the pieces together, but everything adds up in the end.
I hear Gabriel Angelis has launched a bid to overturn his conviction. Without any new evidence to prove someone else killed Singh, it’s bound to fail. His ‘fan club’ were pictured in a news article, standing outside the prison with placards. All women.
I recognised you immediately, despite the hat, scarf and glasses. Only one of Gabriel’s followers has a pendant like that. She never realised it, but Amanda saw you at Tynefield, in the queue of prison visitors. You were scheduled to see Gabriel after Oliver. I used some of Amanda’s contacts to look you up. You’re Ashleigh Sonia Brown. I suppose your brush with the system meant that when you started work, you used your middle name.
You’re a hero, Ashleigh. You saved Connor. You rescued Holly and Jonah from Gabriel by playing along with the angel story you knew so well from your time in his clutches. You’re determined to keep him behind bars and innocent people safe from his particular brand of coercive control. You do it by playing him at his own game – you’ve convinced him you’re still under his spell.
You drew angel symbols at the site of The Assembly. He tells you to do it, and you do. You prove your loyalty, he confides in you. But you hate him more than anything in this world so you pass every single thing that man says to Don Makepeace.
Don isn’t someone who leaves witnesses. He has no intention of releasing his son’s kidnapper, the man who would have died if the sniper’s gun hadn’t misfired and Gray Graham hadn’t arrived at a key moment. You conspired together to ensure Amanda couldn’t reveal what she knew about that night. Between you, you’ll keep Gabriel in prison for the rest of his life, whatever the cost.
You both have willing helpers in the form of Holly and Jonah. Neither you nor Don, nor Marie-Claire, realise it, but they too have a vested interest in Gabriel remaining guilty of Singh’s murder. Holly’s money comes in very handy. I don’t know yet how Jonah helps, but his isolation in a remote monastery doesn’t interfere with the plan.
I could hear how delighted you were that the book I’m planning plays right into the conspiracy to cover up what really happened that night. I’m not Amanda Bailey. I won’t risk my own life to expose the truth. Thanks again and best wishes,
Ellie Cooper
Instead, I sent this email …
TO:Sonia Brown
DATE:14 December 2021
SUBJECT:Amanda Bailey
FROM:Ellie Cooper
Dear Sonia,
Thank you for our video meeting today. As agreed, I didn’t record the conversation. So many people have positive memories of Amanda. It was lovely hearing yours.
As we discussed, I’m planning to write about how the Alperton Angels cult still has the potential to ensnare people – even all these years later and with the leader firmly in prison. I’ll use the story of Oliver and Amanda to drive my narrative. Two truth-seekers who destroyed each other in their race to the light. I may hint that supernatural elements were at play. Or at least fate, coincidence, destiny and other factors beyond understanding. People love that sort of thing. My book will introduce the case to new readers but give those familiar with it a fresh new angle. Shouldbe a great beach read!
Thanks again for the chat and best wishes for the future,
Ellie Cooper
