Paul gulped down the rest of his tea, stood up and opened the cupboard to get his toolbox. The cleaners were chuckling now, something about one of their husbands unable to get it up, their laughter cruel and mocking to his ears. As if sensing his stare, Susie looked at him then, her face still smirking. In his mind, they were laughing at him and he felt the fury rise in his chest before he turned and walked away, gripping the handle of the toolbox too tightly.

29

Rose sat in front of Claire, moody and unresponsive, and Claire had a flash of insight of what her life might have been like if she’d given birth to a girl instead of boys. The second time Claire had fallen pregnant, she’d secretly hoped for a girl. Not that she ever said that out loud. When anyone ever asked, which they did frequently, she’d trotted out the clichéd line about being happy with whatever the gender, but when the midwife announced a little boy, she couldn’t deny she’d felt a flicker of disappointment.

However, ever since she’d started working on Rose’s case, she’d gained an insight into the mind of a teenage girl and it made her wonder if she would have been able to handle a daughter. One thing was for sure, if Rose had been her daughter, Claire knew she would’ve struggled as a parent.

Rose came into the office several times over the weeks and it was always Claire’s best guess as to what mood she would be in. Sometimes, she would be communicative and helpful, her manner almost friendly but then other times, she would withdraw, refusing to speak, the effort of going over every detail clearly difficult. Still, between Claire, Chloe and Greg, they’d managed to build up a profile. A rough childhood on one of Manchester’s toughest housing estates. Absent father. Drug-using mother. A chaotic household of siblings. Too many mouths to feed and not enough money.

Although she’d left school early, at least Rose had a job and a roof over her head. But Rose had another weapon and that was her beauty. Or perhaps in this case, it had been her downfall. It was clear from her social media profiles and by her own admission that Rose spent much of her time partying. She never bought her own drinks, she had announced, almost proudly, and anyone could see Rose was used to being the centre of attention.

Claire needed to find something to counter the party-girl image Rose was portraying.

‘Are you doing any form of study or training?’ asked Claire.

‘No,’ replied Rose. ‘What does that have to do with anything anyway? Rape is rape.’

Good point.