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‘Rosie ’oo?’
She wasn’t at the farm long,’ said Strike. ‘Pretty girl. Dark, curvy – she was there with her father and twin brother.’
‘Oh, yeah… twins. Yeah, I remember them,’ said Abigail. ‘I’d never met twins before. I didn’t know you could have boy and girl ones… no fuckin’ education,’ she added bitterly. ‘Like I told you before.’
‘When we interviewed Cherie Gittins, she tied herself up in knots a bit about your father’s whereabouts.’
‘Found Cherie, didja? Bloody ’ell.’
‘Yeah, she was married and living in the West Country. Anyway, she seemed to attach a lot of significance to the question of whether or not your father was at the farm when Daiyu disappeared.’
‘Well, I dunno why she was confused. ’E was definitely there when the police come to say Daiyu ’ad drowned. I remember Mazu screaming and collapsin’ and ’im ’olding ’er up.’
‘When were you sent up to Birmingham, exactly?’ asked Strike.
‘Exactly? Dunno. After Daiyu’s inquest.’
‘Had there been any question of you going to Birmingham before Daiyu disappeared?’
‘They prob’lly discussed it when I wasn’ around,’ said Abigail, with a slight shrug. ‘Mazu wanted shot of me for years, and Daiyu dyin’ gave ’er an excuse to do it. I din’t give a shit, personally. I fort it’d probably be easier to escape from one of the other places, din’t fink eiver of ’em would be as ’ard to get in an’ out of as Chapman Farm, an’ I was right.’
‘Yeah, one of my operatives got into Birmingham without too much difficulty, on an out-of-date police ID.’
‘Find anyfing interesting?’
‘A lot of babies,’ said Strike.
‘’Spect there is a lot, now,’ said Abigail. ‘No birf control.’
‘How long were you at the farm, between Daiyu’s disappearance and leaving for Birmingham?’
‘Dunno. Week or two. Somefing like that.’
‘And when you were transferred to Birmingham, did anyone from Chapman Farm go with you?’
‘Yeah, bloke called Joe. ’E was older’n me an’ ’e was one of my farver and Mazu’s favourites. ’E wasn’ going up there ’cos ’e was being punished, though, ’e was gonna be second in command in the Birmingham Centre.’
‘And it was just you and Joe who were transferred that day, was it?’
‘Yeah, ’s far as I can remember.’
Strike turned a page in his notebook.
‘You remember Alex Graves’ family? Father, mother and sister?’
‘Yeah, I told you I did,’ said Abigail, frowning.
‘Well, Graves’ father thinks your father ordered Cherie Gittins to kill Daiyu.’
Abigail chewed her gum for a few seconds in silence, then said,
‘Well, that’s the sort of stupid fing people say, innit? When they’re angry. Why’s my farver s’posed to ’ave killed ’er?’
‘To get his hands on the quarter of a million pounds Graves left Daiyu in his will.’
‘You’re shittin’ me. She ’ad a qua’er of a million?’
‘If she’d lived, she’d also have inherited the Graves family home, which is probably worth ten times that.’
