Page 79 of Twisted Lies

Damn, she couldn’t help that one bit of animosity that was attaching itself to everyone who hadn’t told them the truth.

‘It’s not an easy situation for anyone, Inspector. I was given one point of contact, and her advice was to—’

‘Yes, we know, but now we’re aware of the truth, we’d appreciate a bit more honesty. Anything you can tell us about the family, despite not having your notes.’

‘Okay,’ he said, reaching for his glasses, even though there was nothing to read. She wondered if the gesture transformed him into business mode.

‘I was contacted five years ago by the UKPPS and asked if I’d treat a family that had been displaced to the Black Country through the witness scheme. Once I agreed, I met with Leanne King, who explained the secrecy and confidentiality. I was not given any details of their previous life – no names or places – and I was required to help them adjust to their new life.’

Even the doctor had been expected to work with one hand behind his back.

‘Go on,’ she urged.

‘They came to see me as a family for a few months and then individually. At first, they were like aliens: shell-shocked, as though they’d been transplanted from another planet. Gradually, the tension began to ease out of them and their visits became less. Keith was the first to go. Once he got a job, I think he was determined to make a go of it. Diane continued for another year or so but dropping the visits to every few weeks. She struggled more than Keith, I think.’

‘She was prescribed medication?’ Kim asked.

He nodded. ‘I recommended she seek it from the doctor. The anxiety and paranoia were becoming unmanageable. She was having full-blown panic attacks in the middle of the street.’

‘Fear of retribution?’ Kim asked.

‘Yes, but it got worse instead of better as time went on. She’d got to the point that every person who laid eyes on her was connected to the Tyler family.’

‘I thought you weren’t given details.’

‘Not by the police, but the family was free to give me any information they wanted. It would have been impossible to treat them otherwise.’

Kim could understand that, but she was also starting to see how difficult it was to control the secret. The police could implement measures but the onus was on the family to remain tight-lipped, and sometimes they just needed to talk.

‘Eventually, Diane’s visits trailed off, but she still made appointments for the boys as and when they needed them.’

Another hole to plug, Kim thought.

‘And the boys?’

‘The younger boy adapted much more quickly, but Tommy struggled the most out of all of them. He was still coming to see me until last week.’

‘Why?’

‘Tommy was eight when they moved. He was just making friends and finding his place in a social group. He was an outgoing, confident boy in his former life, part of every sporting team and the hardest hit by not being able to share. He wanted to belong to his peer group, but his school mates were all starting to discover the Internet and social media, and he wasn’t allowed to do any of that. His parents wouldn’t let him anywhere near the Web.’ A shadow crossed his face. ‘But I think he might have been accessing the Net somehow.’

‘Yeah, that’d be about right,’ Bryant said with a wry smile.

Kim glanced his way.

‘Guv, he’s a teenage lad, desperate to fit in with his buddies. We didn’t have the Internet when I was fourteen but we did have Knock Door Run.’

‘What?’ Kim asked.

‘It was a stupid game where you’d just knock on people’s doors and hide, so there was no one there when they answered. Great fun for kids but really annoying for adults. My mum said she’d keep me in for a month if she caught me doing it.’

‘And?’

‘I snuck out and did it anyway.’

Well, if the boy had somehow set up a social media account, there was only one other place he could have done it.

He had to have done it at school.