Page 128 of The Altar Girls

‘He’s just a troubled kid. I hope you’ll be able to eliminate him as a suspect.’

‘Me too.’

She picked up a file folder and made sure it had the images she needed before heading to start the interview. And all the while she felt nauseous and revolted by the odious inhumanity against two innocent children.

Alfie was passed fit by a doctor and declared ready for questioning. Kirby had called in the doctor from the surgery located on the same street as the station, which helped speed up the process.

Jacinta Nally was sitting with her son when Lottie entered the room, Kirby in tow.

‘I’ll sue the lot of you for this,’ she spat. Her clothes were rumpled, her red hair tousled, uncombed. Her eyes were ringed with darkness. Evidently she hadn’t slept much.

‘Sue us? For what?’ Lottie asked, unperturbed.

‘For… for treating my son like a common criminal. Don’t you realise he is a victim in all this? He was kidnapped by a madman and held against his will. He’s traumatised and you’re keeping him here to drill him with questions. Yes, I’m going to sue.’

‘Okay, Jacinta, you do what you have to do, but first let’s get some facts straight.’ Lottie was surprised at the calm cadence of her voice while internally she was like an active volcano ready to erupt. ‘Alfie took a four-year-old girl from her home without permission. He deliberately walked her tiny legs around the back of the town and left her in a public toilet behind the cathedral. If my colleagues hadn’t been so quick and diligent, we might not have found her before something terrible happened.’

‘You don’t know that.’ Jacinta sounded a tiny bit mollified.

‘We have secured CCTV footage that shows Alfie with Bethany.’

Jacinta darted fear-filled eyes towards her son, then back to Lottie. ‘She wanted to go for a walk and he brought her. That’s all there is to it. A misunderstanding. Isn’t that right, Alfie?’

The boy looked at his hands and said nothing.

His mother poked him in the ribs. ‘Tell them, Alfie.’ She tugged his sleeve, grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. She was close to tears, all bravado disappearing in the stagnant air of the interview room. ‘Tell them they made a mistake.’

‘I j-just wanted to show her where I found Naomi. That’s all.’

His mother let out a strangled sigh.

‘Why did you do that, Alfie?’ Lottie asked.

‘Don’t know.’ He wiped his hand under his nose, looking a lot younger than his age.

‘Why did you bring Bethany into those toilets?’

A shrug. ‘She said she wanted to pee.’ He looked up then, eyes pleading. ‘I swear to God.’

‘What happened then?’ Lottie gave him an encouraging smile.

‘I told her to go in and I was walking around outside the door when someone grabbed me. I’m sorry.’

‘Too late for apologies, son,’ Kirby said.

‘Is she okay?’ Alfie said, tugging at the toggle on his hoodie. ‘I didn’t mean any harm, so I didn’t.’

‘She should be fine,’ Lottie said. She wasn’t totally convinced by his words, but she heard a hint of truth in them. ‘Tell me what happened after you were grabbed.’

‘I-I was dragged up the steps and shoved into a car. I didn’t know who it was but it was a man and he was huge. He brought me round the back of the funeral home and locked me in a room. That’s it. I swear.’

‘Did he say anything to you?’

‘No.’

‘Did he hurt you?’

‘No.’