Unlikely Graves (Detective Inspector Paul Amos Mystery series) by Rodney Hobson Page B
Authors: Rodney Hobson
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gulped the coffee before pronouncing: ‘That was the most ghastly interview I have ever conducted. I wish I’d taken Marie with me now for support. I was prepared for hostility, anger, indifference, obstruction … anything but what happened.’
‘Mrs Daley was there alone. Sarah was her only child, she said. Kind, loving, quite shy. Didn’t go out much. Came home from school, did her homework. She was doing really well and had some nice friends. Mrs Daley showed me her school reports. Sarah was in the top stream and was about fourth or fifth overall in a class of 30. You couldn’t get much from the teachers’ comments, which were all to a set formula that conveyed general wellbeing but no genuine information. Three years ago, just after her 16th birthday, it all changed. Mrs Daley says Sarah became fascinated with a girl called Christine. Mrs Daley couldn’t remember the surname and didn’t know anything much about her – not even where she lived. She’d been to a different primary school from Sarah and had her own group of mates. There were suggestions of bullying but none of the girls ever spoke up and the teachers closed ranks. Sarah just kept well clear lower down the school and they seem to have left her alone. There were none of the classic signs of Sarah being bullied. She never tried to bunk off school, in fact she couldn’t get there soon enough in a morning. Her pocket money was not going missing. Nor did her schoolwork ever suffer. Not until she was 16.’
‘Sarah seemed increasingly preoccupied leading up to the birthday. She still wanted to go to school but her homework started to suffer a bit. She also made the occasional mention of Christine. Mrs Daley was initially alarmed but Sarah assured her that Christine was “all right” and not a problem. The mother satisfied herself that Christine was not picking on her daughter. Quite the opposite. She got the impression that there was a bit of hero worship. It was like a teenage crush. Mrs Daley didn’t like it but felt that interfering might create a problem where none existed so she decided to leave well alone. After all, Sarah didn’t seem at all unhappy. Just distracted. Mrs Daley thought she would probably just grow out of it.’
Swift finished her coffee. The waitress seemed to have given up on getting rid of her troublesome last customers and sat resignedly on a stool in a corner listening to something mindlessly beating a steady, monotonous tone on her earplugs.
‘It was a few days after Sarah’s 16th birthday that Mrs Daley’s world started to fall apart. One afternoon Sarah came home later than usual from school, very agitated. She rushed straight up to the bathroom and bolted the door. Mrs Daley could hear the tap running and was frankly alarmed. It just wasn’t like Sarah to come home late, even by just an hour as in this case, and certainly not to run upstairs without saying hello properly. Mrs Daley knocked on the bathroom door and there was no response. However, on the second knock Sarah answered, though rather curtly, which again wasn’t like her. She said she wanted a bath and wasn’t hungry. She’d have something to eat later. Mr Daley had a beard so there were no razors in the bathroom and when Sarah could be heard getting into the bath and splashing a bit as if washing herself, Mrs Daley was a little less anxious, though her fears rose again as Sarah spent nearly an hour in the bath. Somewhat alarmed again, Mrs Daley went upstairs half way through and this time Sarah shouted that she was all right and to leave her alone. The family always ate as soon as Mr Daley came home from work but on this occasion Sarah stayed in the bathroom long after her father had appeared. He at least was hungry. He worked in the fields picking vegetables and ate like a horse but Mrs Daley couldn’t touch her food.’
‘Sarah finally emerged in pyjamas and dressing gown, hardly ate and hardly spoke a word apart from a few grunts. It was so
‘Mrs Daley was there alone. Sarah was her only child, she said. Kind, loving, quite shy. Didn’t go out much. Came home from school, did her homework. She was doing really well and had some nice friends. Mrs Daley showed me her school reports. Sarah was in the top stream and was about fourth or fifth overall in a class of 30. You couldn’t get much from the teachers’ comments, which were all to a set formula that conveyed general wellbeing but no genuine information. Three years ago, just after her 16th birthday, it all changed. Mrs Daley says Sarah became fascinated with a girl called Christine. Mrs Daley couldn’t remember the surname and didn’t know anything much about her – not even where she lived. She’d been to a different primary school from Sarah and had her own group of mates. There were suggestions of bullying but none of the girls ever spoke up and the teachers closed ranks. Sarah just kept well clear lower down the school and they seem to have left her alone. There were none of the classic signs of Sarah being bullied. She never tried to bunk off school, in fact she couldn’t get there soon enough in a morning. Her pocket money was not going missing. Nor did her schoolwork ever suffer. Not until she was 16.’
‘Sarah seemed increasingly preoccupied leading up to the birthday. She still wanted to go to school but her homework started to suffer a bit. She also made the occasional mention of Christine. Mrs Daley was initially alarmed but Sarah assured her that Christine was “all right” and not a problem. The mother satisfied herself that Christine was not picking on her daughter. Quite the opposite. She got the impression that there was a bit of hero worship. It was like a teenage crush. Mrs Daley didn’t like it but felt that interfering might create a problem where none existed so she decided to leave well alone. After all, Sarah didn’t seem at all unhappy. Just distracted. Mrs Daley thought she would probably just grow out of it.’
Swift finished her coffee. The waitress seemed to have given up on getting rid of her troublesome last customers and sat resignedly on a stool in a corner listening to something mindlessly beating a steady, monotonous tone on her earplugs.
‘It was a few days after Sarah’s 16th birthday that Mrs Daley’s world started to fall apart. One afternoon Sarah came home later than usual from school, very agitated. She rushed straight up to the bathroom and bolted the door. Mrs Daley could hear the tap running and was frankly alarmed. It just wasn’t like Sarah to come home late, even by just an hour as in this case, and certainly not to run upstairs without saying hello properly. Mrs Daley knocked on the bathroom door and there was no response. However, on the second knock Sarah answered, though rather curtly, which again wasn’t like her. She said she wanted a bath and wasn’t hungry. She’d have something to eat later. Mr Daley had a beard so there were no razors in the bathroom and when Sarah could be heard getting into the bath and splashing a bit as if washing herself, Mrs Daley was a little less anxious, though her fears rose again as Sarah spent nearly an hour in the bath. Somewhat alarmed again, Mrs Daley went upstairs half way through and this time Sarah shouted that she was all right and to leave her alone. The family always ate as soon as Mr Daley came home from work but on this occasion Sarah stayed in the bathroom long after her father had appeared. He at least was hungry. He worked in the fields picking vegetables and ate like a horse but Mrs Daley couldn’t touch her food.’
‘Sarah finally emerged in pyjamas and dressing gown, hardly ate and hardly spoke a word apart from a few grunts. It was so
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