Agnes had no conception that over forty officers were out on the streets attempting to find some clue where Amy Fulford might be. House-to-house enquiries were being conducted and the neighbours around the Fulfords’ property were all being contacted and questioned. Agnes did wonder if she would be questioned again, because when making up Mrs Fulford’s bed she had picked up the journal. She had flicked through it, not intending to read it, but catching her name on a page she couldn’t help herself. Learning exactly what the spoiled little bitch thought of her was appalling and she would have a few things to add to her statement. Fortunately she had not had the time to read more than a couple of pages because she had heard the police car drawing up. She had quickly placed the journal on the bedside table before hurrying down the stairs to open the front door.
Now, knowing that Mrs Fulford was still in the TV room, she crept up the stairs hoping to read more, but looking around the bedroom, she was unable to find the journal. She reckoned there would be another time when she would be able to have a good search around – Agnes when left alone spent considerable time looking over private papers but was always very careful to replace them in the exact same order. Returning to the kitchen, she made herself a cup of tea and sat brooding about how Amy had described her; it would be another subject she and Natalie could discuss. It never even crossed Agnes’s mind that Mrs Fulford had read what her daughter thought of her; in her opinion she was an exemplary employee and kept the big house immaculate and she firmly believed that Mrs Fulford could not manage without her.
Chapter 11
Walking up Green Street, Reid stopped and looked at Marcus’s polished Mini and peered inside it. He recalled it had been filthy the last time he saw it, and found it strange under the circumstances that Fulford had found the time to have it valet-cleaned inside and out. Up ahead he saw two SOCOs about to enter the house and hurried to join them. He’d had to park a considerable distance away, but didn’t want the team to go in without him. They carried their forensic equipment in silver cases and paper suits under their arms.
Marcus buzzed them into the house, whereupon the SOCOs asked to be shown Amy’s bedroom, while Reid sat waiting in the sitting room. When Marcus returned he poured himself a scotch and offered Reid one, but he declined. Marcus sank into the other old leather armchair.
‘I’ve had some news – the press releases will be out in the morning papers and hopefully the Evening Standard. We would like to run a Crime Night appeal as well; it sounds awful but because we are still treating your daughter as a medium-risk misper and possible runaway, high-risk cases may take precedence. Would you be prepared to take part in an interview, should they agree?’
‘Yes of course, but as my wife and I keep saying, we honestly do not believe that Amy would take off – it would be totally out of character. I am really becoming terrified that something appalling has happened.’
Reid leaned forward. ‘We are obviously very much dependent on the public coming forward with information, but rest assured we are being very dedicated and thorough in our investigation.’
Marcus nodded, sipping his scotch, and Reid asked casually why he had cleaned his car. For a moment Marcus looked confused, and then shrugged before explaining that his wife’s housekeeper had instructed her driver to wash and valet it – he had not asked for it to be done, but admitted that it really needed it. Reid made a mental note to speak to Harry Dunn.
‘You said you would give me the names and contact numbers for your girlfriends. I will need to question them, specifically about the afternoon and evening of the day your daughter went missing.’
Marcus got up and crossed to the drinks cabinet, picked up a notebook and returned to his seat. He tore out two pages and handed them to Reid.
‘My current sort-of girlfriend is Justine Hyde, the others are more or less just friends that I occasionally see. Although I am in the process of divorcing Lena, I am not some kind of Jack-the-lad – I enjoy female company but there is no serious relationship ongoing, just casual.’
Reid looked at the list of women and asked if he’d had sexual relationships with all of them. Marcus hesitated and Reid could sense the unease emanating from him as he confessed that he had. He explained that when his daughter came to stay he made sure that he was able to give her his undivided attention and rarely if ever introduced Amy to his girlfriends.
‘What work do you do, Mr Fulford?’
Marcus helped himself to another scotch and stood leaning against the cabinet. Yet again he seemed uneasy, describing his various design projects, how he was self-employed and had not had a lot of success recently due to the credit crunch. He eventually admitted that he was presently unemployed and receiving benefits. He explained that the flat belonged to a long-time friend, a Simon Boatly, who was abroad and he was renting it for a low price. Again, Reid showed no reaction but thought that compared to the large property Marcus’s wife resided in, the Mayfair flat seemed run-down, albeit in a very expensive location.
Marcus repeated what he had been doing on the Saturday Amy went missing, and that after the football he went with Justine to a film and then her place for the night. He agreed that even if Amy had returned to the flat, he would not have been aware of it, but he had asked his neighbours and none of them could recall seeing her. Reid flicked through his notebook and asked about the watch that Amy had told her friend Serena she wanted to collect. Marcus gave an open-handed gesture. ‘You asked me about that before. Anyway, Lena said she gave Amy a Cartier watch on her last birthday, and it was inscribed on the back with her name and date of birth.’
‘You’ve not found it here in the flat?’ Reid asked.
‘No – to be honest I haven’t even thought about it, but it’s very expensive and she is only fifteen. According to Lena it’s what she wanted and my wife has a habit of buying whatever Amy asks for.’
Reid flicked back and forth between pages in his notebook. It irritated Marcus as every time Reid closed it, he would open it again as if he had thought of something else he wanted to ask.
‘I will be talking to Justine, Mr Fulford, and just so I’ve got this right, you spent Saturday night and part of Sunday with her and were not concerned that Amy didn’t contact you?’
‘Correct, but Amy had already told me she wouldn’t be coming as Serena had invited her to a sleepover. I didn’t get back here until late Sunday, and I had an appointment with Lena on the Monday morning. Neither of us were concerned about Amy not contacting us. I think Lena turned off her mobile for the meeting.’
Reid nodded and continued his questions as he wrote in his notebook. ‘So this meeting on Monday that both you and your wife were present at, even then neither of you knew Amy was missing and had not turned up at school?’
Marcus was now becoming really tetchy and snapped that he had said numerous times that this was the case.
‘What was the meeting about on the Monday morning? The school have confirmed they left messages but none were returned.’
Marcus sighed and explained they were at a meeting with their divorce lawyers; he said a Charles Henshaw was Lena’s and he was represented by Jacob Lyons. Reid glanced up at Marcus, saying nothing but acutely aware that Lyons was a well-known and very expensive divorce lawyer who was often in the headlines. For a man who claimed to be on benefits it was a strange choice.