‘So you think the Animal Vigilantes are responsible for Violet’s disappearance?’
He looked away. A tiny muscle above his eye twitched. Possibly nerves at being interviewed by cops, possibly something else. ‘Yes, I do.’
‘You believe they would hurt her?’
‘To make an example of her, yes. Of us, maybe. She might be just the first.’
‘What did you see this morning?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Did you know Violet was missing? Did you see something that worried you?’
‘No. I didn’t realise her car was there.’ He looked right at me when he said that, very deliberately. That made me suspicious. Along with mentioning not seeing the car. People rarely mentioned things they hadn’t seen.
‘Do you know what brought Violet to Gritton in the first place?’ I asked. ‘It seems a strange choice.’
‘I won’t argue with that. But no, I don’t know.’
I waited a second or two, but he said nothing more. ‘Has Violet had any arguments with anyone else that you’re aware of? Besides the animal rights people?’
‘She was annoyed with Gary.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘He comes on to her all the time. He’s always been an arsehole.’
Back to present tense. ‘In what way?’ I asked. In my experience, there were a multitude of ways to be an arsehole.
Daniel shrugged. ‘He’s an arrogant tosser and a racist. Been like that for years. And he leches after Violet.’ A flash of emotion across Daniel’s face. Jealousy?
‘How does Violet react to that?’
‘She didn’t dare say anything – he’s her boss.’
‘But Anna runs the abattoir, not Gary?’
Daniel gave a tiny smile. ‘Yes. Their parents left it to Anna. Thought she was more responsible. Even though she doesn’t want to be here.’
‘Is that a problem for Gary?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why does he work for his sister if he hates it so much?’
Daniel shrugged. ‘Don’t ask me how Gary’s mind works. But I guess she pays him well and is softer on him than any other employer would be. He’s not the most diligent employee.’
‘Does Violet have a boyfriend or girlfriend?’ I asked.
‘I don’t think so. If she does, they wouldn’t want to see the way Gary fawns over her.’ He stood, grabbed our empty cups, pivoted round, and dumped them in the sink. His arm went to his lower back and gave it a quick rub.
‘Where were you last night?’ I asked.
Daniel ran the tap over the cups, then leaned forward to splash water on his face. ‘Here, in bed.’
‘Can anyone confirm that?’
‘I doubt it. I was on my own. And we don’t have twenty CCTV cameras for every caravan here. Not like the main village.’
‘Are you from round here?’ Jai asked.
Daniel turned to face us, dropping his hands by his sides and leaning against the sink. ‘Yes, I grew up in Gritton.’
‘Do your parents still live here then?’
‘I never knew my dad, and my mum moved away. She won’t ever come back.’
‘Why not?’
‘Can’t stand the place.’
Again the strange undercurrents. ‘Do you like living in Gritton?’ I said.
‘You drove through the village?’
I nodded.
Something dark and desperate passed across his face. ‘Can you imagine growing up there? Spied on the whole time, fences everywhere so kids can’t even leave their gardens, constantly corralled like prize ponies until they go crazy.’ That was the most animated he’d been since we’d arrived, his voice quick and forceful.
‘Did it drive you crazy?’ I said.
‘A little. A long time ago.’
The situation with Anna, Daniel and Gary made my detective nose twitch. They all worked at the abattoir and yet none of them wanted to be there. I got the impression they didn’t want to be in Gritton at all, and yet they were trapped in this place, bound together somehow.
‘Do you know anything about the Pale Child?’ I asked.
Daniel gave a small shake of his head.
‘If she sees your face, that means you’re going to die?’ I added.
He clenched his hands together, knuckles tight. ‘It’s not real. I told you – people here are strange. The old people moved here when their village was drowned under the reservoir in the 1940s. They claim you can still hear the bells of the old church ringing, even though it’s underwater and had been knocked down anyway, plus the bells had been taken to Chelmorton and Chaddesden. That’s how reliable the locals are. They’ll tell you about a vicar who gives a sermon for the dead once a year. The Pale Child thing is just an offshoot from all that. There’s nothing in it.’
‘What’s the story behind it?’ I asked.
A muscle twitched under Daniel’s eye. ‘She’s supposed to be a child who died in Victorian times. People see her through the trees. Or her ghost or whatever. If she sees your face, it means you’re going to die.’
We were all silent for a moment, then I said, ‘Did Violet see the Pale Child?’ I recalled that Anna had claimed she didn’t.
A flash of fear passed across Daniel’s face. Then he gave a quick nod and said, ‘Yes. At dusk in the woods on the edge of Gritton. She was sure the Pale Child saw her face.’
We pulled up outside the home of Anna’s girlfriend, Esther, where Violet rented a room. It was one of a row of stone cottages facing a park. Roses and hollyhocks around the door; full-on chocolate-box front garden. It was in the excessively perfect part of the village, bordering the valley that swooped down to the abattoir, but far enough away that the abattoir didn’t make its presence felt.
The bucolic view was ruined by a police van and assorted members of the search team. There was always a conflict in these cases – preservation of life came first, so we had to comb the area with the thoroughness of a Labrador looking for treats. But if this turned out to be a crime scene, we’d have inevitably compromised the evidence. We got out of the car and suited up.
‘What was that about a child?’ Jai said.
I filled him in on what Anna had told me. ‘She was reluctant to talk about it,’ I said. ‘And she claimed Violet hadn’t seen the Pale Child, whereas Daniel just said she had.’
‘Hmm. Weird.’ Jai struggled with one of his overshoes. ‘Daniel likes Violet, doesn’t he?’
‘Yes. And there was a hint of someone a little less passive under all that hippieness.’
‘It’s always the quiet ones,’ Jai said.
‘Except it isn’t. It’s often the belligerent, aggressive and extremely loud ones. But yes, I wonder what Daniel’s like when he’s angry. And I think he saw something this morning at the abattoir that he’s