Page 189 of Murder in the Family

OK, so I suspect that you’re going to say that this is exactly the sort of language police officers tend to use. Anyone who works with law enforcement on a regular basis would recognize that.

So is that what you’re getting at? You think this ad was posted by someone with a background in policing?

BILL SERAFINI

Not acting in their official capacity, of course. But someone with that training, yes, I thinkthat’sa distinct possibility.

ALAN CANNING

(shaking his head despairingly)

Once again, you’re building a massive number of – frankly – tenuous assumptions on absolutely no actualevidence—

BILL SERAFINI

Hear me out, please. As I said before, it’s little things like this, that are easy to overlook that often break a case.

LAILA FURNESS

OK, but—

BILL SERAFINI

(cutting across her)

Remember how Alan went poking about in my Alabama interviews? I thought, hell, maybe I should take a leaf out of his book.

He nods to the cameraman; the screen changes to edited FOOTAGE from Ep 5.

TAREK OSMAN

We also spoke to some of the older residents while we were in Assos, and one old lady thought the woman might have been called Irene. But someone else came up with Carrie, so your guess is as good as mine.

LAILA FURNESS

And what about Rupert – did he remember this woman?

TAREK OSMAN

You’d have thought he might, wouldn’t you, or that the photo might have triggered something, but sadly not.

LAILA FURNESS

Though like you said, it’s a very long time ago. If she was in her forties then she’d be over 60 now—

ALAN CANNING

And near nigh impossible to track down. It’d be yet another complete waste of bloody time. And that’s assuming therewassome sort of relationship between them which I’mveryfar from convinced was actually the case. Not on the basis of one bloody photo.

BILL SERAFINI

I’m not so sure – I mean, I don’t know about you, Alan, but I don’t behave like that with random women I meet in bars—

ALAN CANNING

Maybe you don’t, but some men do – especially selfish bastards like this ‘Luke’ bloke clearly was.

LAILA FURNESS

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