‘And then you weren’t?’
‘He started playing this stupid computer game online, it was all he talked about, then he would be late in a morning, and I didn’t want to get in trouble, so I’d leave without him. When he was late in, he’d get a detention, and I wasn’t hanging around for him after school. So I guess we just started seeing less of each other. He was different, too.’
‘I don’t blame you; I wouldn’t have waited either. What was the computer game called?’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know, it was top secret, but he began to get friendly with another guy who played it too. He was always talking about him; it was a bit weird to be honest, it was like he really looked up to him. But how can you look up to someone you only know online? I told him that he might be grooming him, and Tim laughed. He told me not to be so stupid; he knew what that was, and they were just mates.’
Every nerve in Morgan’s body was sparking little jolts of static electricity.
‘Did he ever tell you his friend’s name?’
‘It was weird, really old-fashioned. Isaiah, I think? No idea about his surname.’
Morgan hadn’t ever come across anyone called Isaiah. ‘That’s a strange name, did you ever meet him?’
‘God no, he was Tim’s big secret, he only told me because I kept giving him grief about being so late for school all the time. He said he wasn’t telling anyone because they wouldn’t get their friendship. I left him to it, left him to his game playing and keeping secrets. David would have gone ape shit when our reports come out next week. Tim was moved out of the top sets for everything and put in different classes.’
‘Didn’t the school contact his parents?’
She glanced at her dad, then lowered her eyes.
Luke looked at Morgan who nodded at him.
‘It’s okay, Ava, I’m not going to shout at you, you’re not in any trouble.’
‘Tim stole his mum’s phone one morning, along with the letter they sent home about him that he’d opened before his parents did. I phoned the school and pretended to be Sally. I couldn’t speak to Mr Mackintosh, his form teacher, straight away, so he phoned back, and I had to go hide in the toilets to have a conversation with him about Tim.’
‘What did you tell Mr Mackintosh?’
‘That we were going through a rough time at home, that…that David had been having an affair and that Tim was very upset by it all. I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have done that, but he begged me, and he gave me fifty quid. I never thought anything really bad would happen.’
‘Ava, I can’t believe you did that.’ Luke seemed stunned.
She lowered her head further. ‘I’m sorry.’
Morgan reached across and patted her arm. ‘You weren’t to know this was going to happen, Ava, try not to beat yourself up about it. Thank you for being so honest with me, that takes courage. On the day Tim died, he is on camera walking down the street with someone else, did you see them?’
‘No, I was late home that night. I went to my friend’s and then Mum picked me up and told me Tim’s house was on fire. I can’t believe I’ll never see him again.’
‘Thank you, that’s it for now. When I get a still of the person with Tim is it okay if I bring it round to show you, in case you recognise them?’
Luke and Ava both nodded their heads at the same time.
Morgan left them to it. They were so near yet so far, every corner they turned something else popped up throwing them another line of enquiry. One thing was perfectly clear though, Tim had been dragged into this and they needed to get the tech department to fast track his laptop. Morgan wanted to know what game he’d been playing and who the hell Isaiah was.
TWENTY-THREE
By the time Morgan left the Riggs’ house Ben was back outside of the Lawsons’ fire damaged home. She wondered briefly who would buy this once beautiful house now. She wouldn’t want to live in a place where a whole family had been brutally murdered. Although she’d heard someone had bought the Potters’ house after it had lain empty for a couple of years. If the price was right, she guessed you might be able to push the horrible history to one side. A picture ofThe Amityville Horrorhouse flashed across her mind, and she shivered; she wouldn’t live in that one if they gave it to her. Ben was leaning against the side of the CSI van talking to Wendy. She headed towards them both.
‘Did you find anything else?’
Wendy nodded. ‘What I’d thought was a joint of pork turns out to be a rather large hand. I’m so mad that I missed them, thank God you took another look, Morgan. Imagine whoever had the job of clearing that freezer out finding them.’
Ben reached out patting Wendy’s arm. ‘They were pretty well hidden.’
‘It doesn’t matter, I should have found them. I’ve also collected all the laptops in the house. I’ll send them over to the tech department.’
Morgan understood, she would be feeling the same if it had been her job to search. Both of them cared deeply about doing the best job possible for the victims they tried to help.
