Her Perfect Family(7)

The doctors explained last night that Gemma’s blow to the head when she hit the stone floor was every bit as serious as her leg injury from the gunshot. She has severe swelling on her brain. Her pupils are responsive but there’s no way of knowing what the long term holds. It’s a waiting game. The medical staff are all very careful not to make any promises.

‘It’s important that you know we are doing everything that we can to piece together what happened. I have a good team. A strong team.’ DI Sanders is also repeating herself.

‘So there’s no more news? No leads yet?’ He wishes that he sounded less critical but it’s hard to hide his frustration. A whole twenty-four hours. He’d expected progress and wants so badly for this to be explained, for this to have nothing to do with Canada . . .

‘Nothing concrete yet. We’re still working on Gemma’s phone and laptop; also going through all the footage that people have shared. I’m waiting on the forensics report on the cathedral. Who knows what we’ll find. Sometimes it can be the smallest thing that unlocks something.’ DI Sanders pauses and then takes in a long breath before turning to him.

‘I asked last night if either of you noticed any change in Gemma. Anything troubling her. I was wondering if you’d had time to think about that? I mean – if you had any suspicions about the pregnancy? If there had been any discussion or hints or any kind of upset over it?’

‘What are you implying?’ Yesterday DI Sanders’ questions were brief and practical. Gemma was only just out of surgery. They were distressed and the interview was short. Today he senses a change in the officer’s tone and there’s something in her gaze he doesn’t like.

‘I just mean that it must be a shock. The pregnancy. If you knew nothing at all about it.’

‘It is a surprise.’ He’s careful to speak slowly. ‘But nothing compared to the shock of seeing my daughter gunned down at her graduation ceremony. With respect, I don’t see the pregnancy as the key issue here. And how we feel about it is hardly the priority, Inspector.’

‘No. No. Of course. I understand. But if it was something you knew nothing about, it may in some way be connected. At issue. It must have been stressful for Gemma too. I have to ask these questions, I’m very sorry.’

She doesn’t look sorry. She looks borderline cynical now. He wonders what she’s thinking, this detective inspector. Does she imagine some row? Some meltdown or confrontation with the father of his daughter’s child.

‘We didn’t know she was pregnant, Inspector. We told you that last night. There was no discussion with Gemma. No conflict over it. We knew nothing.’

She holds his gaze a little longer and then turns to his wife.

‘I appreciate this is a difficult line of inquiry for you both. But we have to consider who may be the father of the child, in case it’s relevant to what’s happened. I understand she’d recently split from her boyfriend. Alexander?’

‘Yes. It came as a surprise to us – the split. They’d seemed quite happy.’ Rachel clears her throat with the fake little cough he knows so well. She does it when she says something embarrassing and is aware that people are staring at her. He wants to tell the inspector to leave his wife alone. That she is going through quite enough, thank you very much.

‘And they parted two or three months back, I understand. From speaking to some of Gemma’s friends?’

‘Yes. About that. She didn’t tell us immediately. We did have plans in place for a joint dinner to mark the graduation. The two families. We obviously cancelled all that.’ Rachel clears her throat again.

‘Have you spoken to Alexander?’ He’s the one now staring and DI Sanders narrows her eyes before she replies.

‘Yes, we have. Only briefly so far. He’s in shock too. Understandably. We’ve been careful so far over what we’ve shared with him but my reading of our initial interview is that he doesn’t know she’s pregnant.’

‘Right. But this won’t be made public? The pregnancy, I mean – it’s not really anyone’s business, is it?’ Ed is suddenly afraid of what will happen when the papers get hold of this. He imagines it splashed across the front page. All over the telly.

‘We’ll be very careful but sometimes these things do get out.’

‘Well, I should warn you that no one will hear it from us. And I’ll be very angry indeed if this . . . gets out.’ He holds the inspector’s gaze again and watches her nod.

‘It’s just we find it difficult. All the journalists.’ His wife has lowered her voice as she speaks. ‘Are they still outside the hospital? They keep messaging us on social media.’

‘Yes, I’m sorry. The media interest is always difficult. I do sympathise. Have you thought again about the family-liaison officer?’

‘No, no. We don’t want anyone here. Not yet. Maybe when we’re home.’ Rachel’s tone is adamant; she can’t bear the thought of anyone else hanging around the hospital. Bad enough needing a police guard.

‘OK. Well, as I say, we’ll be careful but we do need to ask questions – about your daughter’s relationships. This is an attempted-murder inquiry. I promise we’ll be sensitive but I want to be straight with you too: I can’t give an absolute guarantee that at some point, our line of questioning won’t lead to this information being shared by the people we have to question.’