‘I think they’ve had a few issues recently, but it’s their business. You need to ask them. That’s all I can say.’
‘And what’s your relationship with Ash?’ To Tessa’s surprise, the question came from the man, who until this point had been quiet.
She turned her head slightly and smiled. ‘What a question! You surely don’t expect me to answer?’
‘Stop messing with us, Miss O’Hanlon. A child is missing.’ DI Robinson was getting angry. She probably thought Tessa didn’t care about Millie. She did, but this was the only way she could handle the questions. If she wasn’t facetious, she would fall apart. Police stations did that to her, and even now she could feel her heart thumping, sweat trickling down her spine.
‘There’s nothing I can tell you. Nothing definitive. Can I go now?’
‘You’re not under arrest, so you’re free to go at any time, but we would like you to answer one more question.’
Tessa suddenly got the impression that this was the question they had been building up to since she first came into the room.
‘On Saturday night there was a man in your house, in your bedroom. There’s no point denying this. We know it for a fact. Who was he, Miss O’Hanlon?’
59
‘Steve Allman is downstairs,’ Becky said to Tom as he walked into the incident room. ‘Do you want a cup of coffee before we see him? He’s only been here five minutes.’
‘No, I’m good, thanks. Tell me how you got on with Tessa O’Hanlon.’
Becky pulled a face. ‘The whole interview was weird. She’s so cynical about men. You’re all weak-willed, spineless scumbags. Did you know that?’
Becky recounted some of Tessa’s choicer comments, and Tom laughed.
‘I wish I’d been there. How did Rob react?’
‘He was good. She tried flirting with him, but he maintained a deadpan expression. The thing is, it was obviously one big act. I could see it, but I couldn’t break through. When we’d finished, Rob said he thought something must have made her like that. I think he’s right. She was incredibly uptight – it’s as if she plays games to hide from reality.’
‘Do we know anything about her past?’
‘Only that she hasn’t got a record, but maybe we should do some digging. The interesting thing, however, is the news about the man in her bedroom.’ Becky looked at Tom and raised her eyebrows. ‘She refused to tell us who he was.’
‘Really? What excuse did she have?’
‘She said it was private. It wasn’t related in any way to Millie’s disappearance, and as she wasn’t under arrest, she wanted to leave. I explained to her that from our perspective there were two scenarios that worried us: one, that the man in the room was involved in the kidnap, ergo so was she; and two, that the man in the room was one of the kidnappers but she was being coerced into helping them keep watch on the house. She swore it was neither of those, just a relationship which, for now, she prefers not to talk about. And that was that.’
‘Did you believe her that the man is irrelevant?’
Becky paused and frowned. ‘I couldn’t read her. She was horrified that we knew a man had been in her house. She asked if Jo knew. I asked why it mattered, and she clammed up again.’
‘Get Rob to look into her. Anything at all we can find from her past. I’m not giving up on her yet. Let’s go and interview Steve Allman.’
‘Before we go, I asked Tessa if she knew Allman. She said she recognised the name but she’d never actually met him. I think it was the truth, but I can’t be sure.’
It was clear to Tom that Tessa was hiding something. But why?
When Tom and Becky walked into the interview room, they found Steve Allman pacing, his hands pushed deep into his pockets. He spun round as the door opened.
‘What the hell am I doing here? You’ve kept me waiting half an hour, and I don’t even know why I was asked to come!’
Allman was about Tom’s height, with floppy blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He could see why Jo might once have found him attractive, but now his nostrils were flaring, and his mouth was set in a thin line.
‘Mr Allman, we appreciate you coming in and I apologise for the fact that you had to wait.’ It wasn’t half an hour and Tom knew that, but there was no need to wind the man up even further. ‘Please have a seat. Are you saying you have no idea why we might want to talk to you?’
‘Of course I don’t! I imagine it’s something to do with last night – maybe something happened at the gig that I don’t know about. You can’t hold me responsible for the actions of the musicians I represent. I’ve been there before, and it’s not on.’
Allman pulled out a chair, scraping the legs noisily across the floor, and flung himself into it, folding his arms tightly across his chest.
‘Well?’
‘Mr Allman, have you seen the news in the last twenty-four hours?’
‘No, I’ve been a bit busy. It’s no easy feat putting together an event like last night’s, you know.’
Tom resisted the temptation to mention that they knew he hadn’t been at the venue the day before. He glanced at Becky, and she took over the questioning.
‘Can you confirm that you are the biological father of Millie Palmer?’
Allman’s hands dropped to his thighs. ‘Is this about Millie?’
‘Could you answer the question, please?’
He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. ‘Apparently I am. But I didn’t know that until recently, when her mother contacted me. Listen, I followed her back from school one day – that’s all. She was with her mum, perfectly safe. I wasn’t stalking her or anything, and I told Jo I would be there. What’s she been saying?’
‘Is that the only time you followed them?’
‘Yes! Of course it is. I’m not a weirdo, for fuck’s sake. I went to see Jo as soon as I arrived in Manchester, to ask if I could meet Millie.’
‘Since the day you called round to see Miss Palmer and saw Millie walking home from school with her, have you had any contact with her, or tried to see her?’
Allman leaned forward. ‘Are you accusing me of something? I only wanted to see what my kid looked like. Wouldn’t you, if you’d just found out? And it was only the once. I’ve asked Jo to get in touch so we can sort something out, but that’s all.’ His eyes flicked from Becky to Tom and back again. ‘I didn’t try to speak to Millie, so if I’m in here on some trumped-up charge of pestering my own kid, you can think again.’
Becky rested her forearms on the table. ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you, Mr Allman, that Millie was abducted on Saturday evening.’
Tom was watching Allman’s face closely, and he saw nothing but surprise. He didn’t show the shock and grief you might expect of a parent, but as yet Millie was little more than an outline picture in his mind. If what he said was true, he hadn’t had the chance to get to know her, to fill in the colour and experience the emotion that came with it.
‘My God. Why would someone do that?’