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‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, I need to unpick Alice’s life.’
The frown lines remain on his face. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘I need to know everything about her. What was she like? How did she spend her days? How was she feeling? All of it. This is what we need to find out, Taylor, don’t you see?’
He contemplates my words. ‘I guess. But that’s what the police will be doing.’
‘But they don’t know what we know. Nobody else knows about Max, do they?’
Again, Taylor silently considers what I’m saying. ‘Apart from whoever stole my phone. What exactly are you thinking?’
‘I need to meet her mum.’
His eyes widen and he stares at me for so long it feels as though he’s consuming my thoughts. ‘But how?’ he eventually says. ‘You don’t know her. I can’t just rock up with a stranger and let you start asking questions about her daughter. Molly’s grieving. She’s fragile.’
The idea crashes into my head. ‘Tell her I was a client of Alice’s. That will work. I got close to her when she was helping me train. Her death has devastated me and I just want to pay my respects.’ I pick up my glass and glug water to ease my dry throat.
Once again, Taylor looks horrified. ‘I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right. Lying to a woman about her dead daughter.’
‘I know,’ I admit. ‘But we need to do this. You want to find out what happened, don’t you?’
‘Yes. But they were barely even talking when Alice died. Alice had become distant from everyone. What do you think Molly could tell us about Alice’s life?’
‘Like I said, I need every crumb. I want the truth, Taylor. I need to know what my husband did.’
We sit quietly with our own thoughts. All I know is that whether Taylor agrees or not, I’m going to speak to Molly Hughes.
Eventually, Taylor breaks the silence. ‘I’ll call her tomorrow,’ he says. ‘It’s too late tonight. Not that she’ll be getting much sleep.’
And with his words, I’m one step closer to the truth.
THIRTEEN
Extract from police interview with Tabby McClure:
DCI Spears:How long were you a client of Alice’s?
Tabby McClure:Over a year. I’m very committed to my fitness goals.
DCI Spears:Great. And how would you describe Alice?
Tabby McClure:She was really kind. She took an interest in her clients. I always felt like she was listening to me. And she was good at her job.
DC Langdon:Did Alice talk about her private life much?
Tabby McClure: (pause)No, actually she never did.
DC Langdon:So you don’t know if she was in a relationship with anyone?
Tabby McClure:She never mentioned anyone. And after a year, you’d think it would come out if there was someone in her life. I used to have sessions twice a week. I did wonder if she was with anyone, but I didn’t like to ask.
DCI Spears:And how had Alice seemed to you over the last few weeks?
Tabby McClure: (pause)She was really off. Distracted. She kept cancelling my sessions, saying she wasn’t feeling well. And she’d never done that before. She was like a different person. One time she cancelled on me, telling me she was really sick, then half an hour later I saw her on Putney High Street.
DCI Spears:And did you confront her about this?
