Page 53 of The Guilty Girl

‘I’m aware that you are a boxing agent and promoter, Mr McAllister. Are you involved with the Goldstars club too?’

‘Not directly. I helped set it up, and I provide funds from time to time. I only know about Jake because I’ve been told he’s one to watch for the future.’

‘This is hard for you, I know, but did Lucy ever dabble in drugs?’

He turned on her then, his face ready to explode. ‘How dare you! Lucy was an upstanding girl. The very mention of drugs in the same sentence as her name is ridiculous. You are way out of line, Inspector.’

She hurried on. ‘Can I move on to yourselves? You’re a stay-at-home mum, Mary, is that right?’

‘Yes.’

‘And Albert, what exactly does your work entail?’ Lottie thought that if she could get him to relax, she might be able to elicit something to give her a lead.

‘I represent Terry Starr. I’ve represented big names in the past, but he’s one of my main clients now.’

Lottie had heard the name. Hadn’t he won some big fight? ‘What age is he?’

‘Thirty. He won gold at the European Championships a couple of years ago and turned professional. Late to the game. My job is to get him good fights. He’ll be a world champion one day.’

Echoing what he’d said about Jake Flood, Lottie thought. Deciding she could find out more about this later, she said, ‘Is there anyone you know who might have a grudge against you? Someone who would hurt your daughter to get at you?’

Albert closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, they were like black buttons on a leather coat. ‘No, I can’t think of anyone who would want to harm my family.’

‘If you do think of anyone, please let me know.’

‘I will.’

‘Can you tell me why were you in Spain for three weeks? It seems a long time to leave a seventeen-year-old alone in that big house, especially with her final exams and—’

‘Don’t you dare judge us,’ Albert spat, shoving his wife away from him as he got up from the low couch. He moved like a man possessed to stand in front of Lottie. ‘Lucy always comes first in our lives … Came first … Oh God, how could you begin to understand?’ His shoulders slumped and he moved over to the window.

‘I’m trying very hard to understand, and I’d appreciate it if you could sit back down, Mr McAllister. I won’t be much longer.’

He kept his back to her. ‘Lucy was our world. Everything we did, we did for her, to secure her future. Now all that is meaningless. My poor little girl.’

Not to be thwarted, Lottie said, ‘Why did you go away then, at such a stressful time for a teenager sitting her exams?’

‘We own an apartment in Spain. Mary was … a little depressed and we decided a few weeks in the sunshine would do her the world of good. Lucy was happy enough with the arrangement. She said she studied better when we weren’t around. She was a very capable young woman. We often headed off to the sun and she was happy to stay at home.’

Lottie thought how she wouldn’t leave her kids home alone for a weekend, let alone three weeks. They’d be living on takeaways and the house would be like a tip. Then again, that scenario wasn’t a million miles from the state of affairs every time she got stuck into a big investigation.

‘Had you business to attend to in Spain while you were there?’

‘I continued with my work. Technology is wonderful at times, a curse at others.’

Running out of questions, she stood. ‘I’m truly sorry for your loss. I’ll get back to you once I hear from the state pathologist.’

‘We just want to see our daughter,’ Mary said sadly.

‘As soon as I can arrange it. I promise.’

Leaving them alone with their grief, Lottie wondered despondently whether if any of her children were to suffer a death like Lucy had, she would want to see their bruised and battered body. Probably. Yes. And then she’d want to crucify the killer.

27

They were sitting on two sun chairs on the apartment roof terrace. A canopy cast a shadow over them, but being super careful, Boyd had plastered a second layer of sun cream over Sergio’s tanned arms and legs, then wiped away the greasy stains the bottle had left on the glass-topped table.

‘Mark, does your apartment have a rooftop terrace like this?’ Sergio asked, taking out one of his earbuds.