Page 20 of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
He’s good at keeping in touch.
Oliver Menzies
Or put another way, he’ll guzzle a free lunch at the drop of a hat. In fact, by the time you’ve picked up the hat to drop it, he’s already at the table.
Amanda Bailey
You haven’t found the baby then.
Oliver Menzies
No. And a little bird tells me that neither have you.
Amanda Bailey
The Alperton Angels isn’t just about the baby. It’s about the teenage girl and boy, the men who controlled them, the system that failed. Go on. Focus on something else.
Oliver Menzies
The men were opportunists, the system full of bleeding-heart do-gooders. And the youngsters? Seventeen is young, but it’s old enough to know better.
Amanda Bailey
Do you remember being seventeen?
Oliver Menzies
Yes and kids that age are the sharpest tools in the box. These ones must’ve been pig-shit thick to fall for that ridiculous line. OR they were fully on board with the whole ethos of the cult. So no, I’m not interested in THEM. I’m interested in the BABY because they are the only innocent party in all this.
Oliver Menzies
Did you get that?
Oliver Menzies
Are you ignoring me now?
Oliver Menzies
It may sound harsh, but I wonder how the baby reconciles it all. Now they’re grown up. How do you live with the fact that you were labelled ‘evil’ and narrowly escaped being ritually sacrificed by a crazy cult? That is some shit to live with. And it’s the most interesting thing to me.
Oliver Menzies
Am I messaging into thin air here?
WhatsApp messages between retired detective chief superintendent Don Makepeace and me, 19 June 2021:
Don Makepeace
Confirming lunch tomorrow, Amanda. Any time after one. In the meantime, here’s a few people who might remember the angels:Aileen Forsyth, Mike Dean, Neil Rose, Fareed Khan, Julian Nowak.
Amanda Bailey
You’re a star, Don. Thanks. See you tomorrow.
A conversation with Connor Makepeace in his bedroom, 20 June 2021. Transcribed by Ellie Cooper.
[Did you mean to record this? Transcribed anyway … EC]
