Silent Scream by Lynda La Plante

background statements as standard procedure. I’ll say I don’t want to keep them any longer than necessary in their time of grief, and so on. You take Mr Delany and leave her to me.’
    In the interview room Simon was charming, expressed his condolences, then asked to speak to Mr Delany alone. The man didn’t like it but agreed to accompany Simon, who explained to him that he wanted to discuss some photographs, but didn’t wish to upset Mrs Delany. In his office, Simon set out the pictures of the rooms in Amanda’s house, and asked Mr Delany if he could tell if there was anything missing or unusual. No, came the answer. He had only been there briefly after Amanda had bought it, and before it had been refurbished.
    Meanwhile, Anna tried to coax more information from Mrs Delany. At first the woman was unforth-coming, constantly looking to the door for the return of her husband. Amanda had left home very young, she said, just a few weeks after her sixteenth birthday, as she had won a coveted place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. They had been very proud of her and were hopeful that she would become a well-respected actress. Mrs Delany mentioned that they used to be frequent theatregoers, especially to the National or Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Amanda had rented a room in some friends’ house in St John’s Wood and seemed very happy, but eventually insisted on moving out and into a flat with other students.
    There was a long pause as Mrs Delany looked again to the door, either hoping for her husband’s return, or fearful that she was saying too much. Anna reassured her that this was all helpful as she needed to build up a complete background of her daughter. Mrs Delany gave her names of two students that she remembered, but couldn’t recall any others. To begin with, she said, Amanda was doing well, and then it all became difficult.
    ‘What do you mean?’ Anna pressed her.
    ‘She became very awkward, rude, and her father was furious, as he’d given her a bank account and a credit card and she started running up debts. No matter what he said to her, she just carried on spending and then . . .’
    Anna waited as Mrs Delany chewed at her lips in agitation.
    ‘She stole some things from Harrods and we had to go and sort it all out. Thankfully it was never reported and for a while she behaved herself. Her career seemed to take off and . . .’
    Again, Anna had to wait as she saw Mrs Delany trying to control herself. Her manicured fingernails gleamed with bright red polish; diamonds glittered on her wedding finger.
    ‘She got into trouble and we had to travel from France to sort it out, and this time it was dreadful. She had fallen pregnant and had had an abortion that nearly killed her. She was bleeding internally, and if we hadn’t rushed her to hospital, she would have died. As it was, she destroyed any hope of ever having children, and poor Mark had to pay a great deal of money to a surgeon to get her fixed up and released. After that, he virtually refused to see Amanda; she was so ungrateful and all the money she was earning she squandered and wouldn’t let her father look after it. We didn’t know what to do with her. There was no possibility she could come home with us to France – not that she would have wanted to. She went back to living in some awful place until her mews house was ready to move into, and we didn’t really speak much to her again . . . Well, her father didn’t.’
    Anna had made a few discreet notes, but didn’t want to distract Mrs Delany or put her off.
    ‘She got into cocaine, so I came to see her and asked her to go into rehab, which she did. I booked her into the Drury Clinic and paid – she never even said thank you. Then when she was released, she got a good part in a film and her career really took off.’
    ‘You must have felt very proud of her success.’
    It was at this moment that Mr Delany walked in, Simon behind him, pulling an apologetic face at Anna.
    ‘I was