Page 45 of Maybe Tomorrow

‘Have you never felt like doing it with them?’

‘Yes, but…’

‘But what?’

‘My mum wouldn’t like it.’

‘Ah. You’re worried your mum might find out?’ Bishop asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Would she be OK if you did it with a girlfriend, perhaps?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Would you like a girlfriend?’

Anthony nodded.

‘Did you want Alice to be your girlfriend?’

He nodded again.

‘Did you see Alice on the night of the storm?’

‘No.’

‘You see, I think you did, Anthony,’ Bishop said. ‘I think you saw Alice and you were excited after seeing the storm and you were excited after seeing the prostitutes having sex and you saw Alice all on her own and you decided it was the best chance you’d get, didn’t you?’

‘No,’ he said, almost shouting. ‘I didn’t see Alice that night at all.’

‘Did you go to Canal Street on the night of the storm?’

‘No.’

‘I think you did, Anthony. And you know, Canal Street is right by the woods where Alice Patterson’s body was found.’

‘Where’s my mum?’

‘Let me tell you what I think happened, and you can tell me if I’m right or not. I think after you watched some prostitutes on Canal Street, you saw Alice sheltering from the storm. I think she was frightened, and she saw you, a friendly face. You were her knight in shining armour. I think you offered to walk her home, because you’re a gentleman, after all. But, one thing led to another and…’

‘No,’ Anthony said.

‘I think you were walking home together and everyone else was indoors, out of the storm. I think you found a secluded spot and you tried to kiss her.’

‘No.’ Anthony started crying.

‘But she didn’t want to be kissed. She was cold and wet and scared and wanted to go home to her mum and dad. But she’s no match for you, is she? She’s only about five foot two and you’re well over six foot. It didn’t take much for you to overpower her, and by that point, you were really excited…’

‘No. No. No,’ Anthony cried.

‘Did she fall? Did she bang her head? Did you hit her? Either way, she’s down and you know you’re going to get into trouble, but you’re also turned on as hell. You can’t help yourself. You’re attracted to Alice. You know your mum will like her, so it’s fine for you to have sex with her. That’s what you did, wasn’t it, Anthony? You had sex with Alice in the middle of the woods and then you killed her because she said no.’

‘No!’ Anthony screamed.

The cry echoed around the room, silencing Bishop. The three detectives looked at Anthony and waited for him to confess.

‘I want to see my mum.’