on the wrong side of anyone, not that he can’t take care of himself.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, that was where he met Tina – at the local gym. He works out a lot, he’s very fit, and he goes for a run every morning. He is a fine strapping lad, but even though I would say he could take care of himself, if he needed to, I have never known him get into any fisticuffs.’
Mr Rawlins topped up his sherry, offering to pour Anna another, but she put her hand over her half-filled glass.
‘When you first came to see me, you said that you felt your son had been murdered,’ she said quietly.
‘Yes.’
‘But from what we have just discussed, there doesn’t seem to be anything to indicate to me that that could have happened.’
He took a deep breath. ‘All I know is this. I had a good caring son, a boy who never missed seeing his mother or phoning me to check how I was dealing with it all. Alan had arranged for us to go and see a film, which meant he would have fixed up a sitter for Kathleen. We’d done it a couple of times and it was the only chance I had to get out – not that I am complaining, please don’t think that. He said he would call me back when he’d checked what was on, and that was the last time I spoke to him. That was almost eight weeks ago.’
‘Yes, I am aware of that.’
‘Eight weeks, when there was never a week that passed when he didn’t contact us. All the way through when he was at college, even when he was a teenager, Alan was caring and thoughtful. I love my son, Detective Travis – he is my best friend and he is also someone I admire, and this silence, if you can call it that, is totally out of character.’
He stood up and he had two pink spots on his cheeks.
‘I will sell this house; I will do anything I have to, even if it means hiring private investigators, to find out what has happened. I know he has taken no money and no clothes, not even his mobile phone, but when I first spoke to her, she said his passport was still in the flat. Now she has changed her story again and said to the Missing Persons investigators that it’s not there.’
‘It would appear, Mr Rawlins, that your son may have left of his own choice as his toiletries, some clothing and passport are no longer at his flat. Miss Brooks phoned you when Alan first went missing and it could be that you have misunderstood some of what she was saying at the time.’
‘I haven’t always been a court usher, DCI Travis. I was a qualified engineer and section manager for a very reputable company. I am not a silly old man who misunderstands what he is told, I have a strong bond with my son and I know when something is wrong.’
Anna got up. It was time to leave. She didn’t want to become embroiled in his suppositions since, unless they found any incriminating evidence, she would have nothing else to do with the case. She was really embarrassed when Mr Rawlins moved close to her, too close, and she had to step back.
‘Please help me find out the truth. If he is dead, I will have to cope with it; if he has been murdered I want to know why, and more than that, I want to know who killed him – because, so help me God, that is what I believe has happened. Alan has been murdered.’
Anna could feel the room closing in on her and she was desperate to get out.
‘Will you help me?’
‘Mr Rawlins, I am helping you and I will continue to investigate your son’s disappearance, but without any evidence to support your belief that he has been murdered—’
Edward Rawlins interrupted her, shouting, ‘Are you telling me that without a body you can’t treat this as a murder enquiry?’
‘I am, Mr Rawlins, asking you to be patient. I will do everything in my power to hopefully reach a conclusion.’
Mr Rawlins was at the door and she was unable to walk out of the room.
‘A conclusion? What do you mean by that?’
‘Exactly what I said. So far we haven’t found any evidence that suggests your son was
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, that was where he met Tina – at the local gym. He works out a lot, he’s very fit, and he goes for a run every morning. He is a fine strapping lad, but even though I would say he could take care of himself, if he needed to, I have never known him get into any fisticuffs.’
Mr Rawlins topped up his sherry, offering to pour Anna another, but she put her hand over her half-filled glass.
‘When you first came to see me, you said that you felt your son had been murdered,’ she said quietly.
‘Yes.’
‘But from what we have just discussed, there doesn’t seem to be anything to indicate to me that that could have happened.’
He took a deep breath. ‘All I know is this. I had a good caring son, a boy who never missed seeing his mother or phoning me to check how I was dealing with it all. Alan had arranged for us to go and see a film, which meant he would have fixed up a sitter for Kathleen. We’d done it a couple of times and it was the only chance I had to get out – not that I am complaining, please don’t think that. He said he would call me back when he’d checked what was on, and that was the last time I spoke to him. That was almost eight weeks ago.’
‘Yes, I am aware of that.’
‘Eight weeks, when there was never a week that passed when he didn’t contact us. All the way through when he was at college, even when he was a teenager, Alan was caring and thoughtful. I love my son, Detective Travis – he is my best friend and he is also someone I admire, and this silence, if you can call it that, is totally out of character.’
He stood up and he had two pink spots on his cheeks.
‘I will sell this house; I will do anything I have to, even if it means hiring private investigators, to find out what has happened. I know he has taken no money and no clothes, not even his mobile phone, but when I first spoke to her, she said his passport was still in the flat. Now she has changed her story again and said to the Missing Persons investigators that it’s not there.’
‘It would appear, Mr Rawlins, that your son may have left of his own choice as his toiletries, some clothing and passport are no longer at his flat. Miss Brooks phoned you when Alan first went missing and it could be that you have misunderstood some of what she was saying at the time.’
‘I haven’t always been a court usher, DCI Travis. I was a qualified engineer and section manager for a very reputable company. I am not a silly old man who misunderstands what he is told, I have a strong bond with my son and I know when something is wrong.’
Anna got up. It was time to leave. She didn’t want to become embroiled in his suppositions since, unless they found any incriminating evidence, she would have nothing else to do with the case. She was really embarrassed when Mr Rawlins moved close to her, too close, and she had to step back.
‘Please help me find out the truth. If he is dead, I will have to cope with it; if he has been murdered I want to know why, and more than that, I want to know who killed him – because, so help me God, that is what I believe has happened. Alan has been murdered.’
Anna could feel the room closing in on her and she was desperate to get out.
‘Will you help me?’
‘Mr Rawlins, I am helping you and I will continue to investigate your son’s disappearance, but without any evidence to support your belief that he has been murdered—’
Edward Rawlins interrupted her, shouting, ‘Are you telling me that without a body you can’t treat this as a murder enquiry?’
‘I am, Mr Rawlins, asking you to be patient. I will do everything in my power to hopefully reach a conclusion.’
Mr Rawlins was at the door and she was unable to walk out of the room.
‘A conclusion? What do you mean by that?’
‘Exactly what I said. So far we haven’t found any evidence that suggests your son was
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