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Chapters (60)
  1. CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR LEIGH RUSSELL
  2. Glossary of acronyms
  3. Prologue
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
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  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
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  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
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  60. Acknowledgements

‘I was just thinking about this kind of situation and the emotional turbulence it causes, and the anger and resentment it can set off. And I was wondering whether anyone else knew that Jason wasn’t the father of Jessica’s child.’

‘You said she didn’t know about it herself.’

‘Let’s just assume for a moment that she was lying. I’m not convinced she’s a hundred per cent reliable and, in any case, as you said, a woman with a child might convince herself it’s justifiable to behave badly if she thinks it’s in the interests of the child. So let’s imagine that Jessica did know Jason wasn’t the father of her child. Who might she have told? Jason? Her mother? Her father? The biological father of her child?’

Ian nodded slowly. ‘Jason might have fatally injured the baby in a fit of anger on learning he wasn’t the father. Or Jessica and the father might have been keen to conceal the truth.’

‘By stealing the baby and killing Jason to prevent him from telling anyone? It seems a bit extreme.’

‘I wonder who the biological father is,’ Ian said, repeating Geraldine’s question.

So far Jessica had insisted she didn’t know the identity of the father, but she might break down and give them a name if she thought that would help them to find Daisy. It was too late to question David, but no one had yet asked Anne if she knew anything about Daisy’s father. It was a tenuous lead. Anne probably believed Jason had been Daisy’s father, but it was worth asking her, just in case she knew the truth. Jason had been killed at around the time Daisy had disappeared, so there was a possibility that Daisy’s father had come to abduct her and killed Jason for trying to stop him. How that tied in with David’s murder was as yet unclear. Perhaps Jessica had told David about her affair with Daisy’s father. If the unknown father had taken Daisy, he might have silenced David to prevent him from betraying his identity to the police. As Geraldine and Ian discussed the theory, it began to seem vaguely possible.

‘It’s all very murky and confusing,’ Geraldine said doubtfully, ‘but it’s as plausible as anything else we’ve come up with, and it could connect the two murders and the disappearance of the baby.’

‘The absent father might be the missing link,’ Ian agreed.

Even Eileen conceded it was worth looking into. ‘We can’t afford to rule anything out, however unlikely,’ she said.

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