Page 9 of Her Deadly Promise

‘We’re really sorry. I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through. Are you sure you’re okay to speak with us right now?’ Gina sat in hope that he wouldn’t change his mind, but she could see how distressing it was for him. The constant fidgeting and the twiddling of fingers was making Gina uneasy, but she guessed it was his way of coping; a distraction so that he could think.

He ran his fingers through his full head of grey hair and stared at his feet. ‘I want to speak to you. The sooner you catch whoever did this, the better.’ He paused. ‘I don’t know how to feel, what to do. I left my wife to tell Kayden. I couldn’t be there.’ He snatched a tissue from the box and wiped his eyes. ‘I’m a coward.’

‘George, you are not a coward. You are here, now, doing something difficult and we appreciate exactly how hard this is for you.’

He exhaled. ‘I’m sorry. I need to pull myself together. Put a brave face on it for my wife.’

The amount of times Gina heard this kind of talk from a man saddened her. His daughter had just been murdered and expressing strong emotions was a part of the process. ‘You’re entitled to your feelings. The anger, the grief – all of it. Your wife and Kayden will need you and you will need them too.’

‘What is it you’d like to know?’ He shook his upset away and sat up straight.

Wyre sat back and tilted her head.

Gina tucked her hair behind her ears and used the remote to turn up the air conditioning a little. ‘Can you start by telling us a little about Billie?’

‘Anything?’

Gina nodded, trying to put the man at ease.

‘She was always like a ray of sunshine, even as a girl. She’d dress up in thrown together costumes and force her sister to be in these funny plays that she’d written, and they’d perform them for us. It was all castles and fairy tales. She’d dress her sister up in quilt covers and her mother’s old nets. They were delightful children. That’s what Billie was good at, making people smile. All she ever wanted was to be a performer. When she left school, she worked at a holiday park as an entertainer for a few years before coming back home. Soon after, she met Kayden’s father and accidentally became pregnant. With all of her ambitions, it should have seemed like it happened at the wrong time, but she was thrilled and couldn’t wait to be a mother.’ He went silent as if recalling the past.

‘And after that?’

‘We supported her in every way we could by finding her a house to rent and helping her get ready for the baby. She settled into parenthood with our support and a few months later, she declared that she wanted to set up her own business as an entertainer. She did children’s parties mostly and she also has several candy carts that she keeps in our garage, which she sets up at weddings and functions.’ He paused. ‘Used to set up. I know she had it hard, making ends meet but she worked like a trooper. We last saw her a week ago and even then, she still lit up the room for us. She always had a smile. That was Billie.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Whoever took her life has taken one of the world’s loveliest people. I’m not saying that because she’s my daughter. Everyone who knew her would agree. I don’t know how we’re meant to get through this.’ He shook his head.

Gina swallowed and exhaled under her breath. ‘Can you tell us who Kayden’s father is?’

‘Shaun Brock. He’s from Cleevesford but has never had anything to do with Kayden. Billie tried to get him involved but he went travelling for the first three years of the boy’s life and he never got in touch when he was back. He’s never given her a penny but it’s not all about the money. Kayden is a wonderful child. I’ve tried to be there for him, be the father figure in many ways, but it will hurt him one day when he knows that his dad doesn’t want to know him.’

‘Could Billie have contacted him again?’

‘I doubt that. He left the area about a year ago to work in Australia. As far as I’m aware he’s miles away.’ Gina watched as Wyre made a note to check on Shaun Brock’s whereabouts.

Gina cleared her throat. ‘Was Billie in a relationship?’

‘No, she was happy being on her own. She said she didn’t want to complicate her life. I tried to tell her that not everyone was a let-down like Shaun, but she wasn’t having any of it. It was her job and her life to make everyone else happy but when it came to herself, I feel like she used that big smile as a disguise. She was lonely, I could tell. It saddened me that she wouldn’t let her guard down and give others a chance. Me and her mother have been lucky in that we’re so happy together. I wanted that for Billie, one day.’

Billie’s father had no idea that she was seeing someone, possibly two people. Gina could understand Billie not telling her parents, especially if her relationships were brief or casual. It was more important to speak with her friends, they might be able to shed more light on who Billie was involved with. ‘I know this is hard, but I would like to speak to Kayden with you present.’ Gina wondered if he knew something or heard things that went on behind closed doors, but what she was asking was a lot. The boy would have just heard about his mother. He’d be distraught and confused, and Gina didn’t want to make things worse.

‘Can I call you after I’ve seen how he is? He’s just finding out about his mother. It might not be a good time.’

‘Of course. If you feel that he’s not up to it, we understand. It just might help the investigation.’

Mr Reeves nodded. ‘I know, and we want to help in every way we can, but I can’t put that boy through any more.’

Gina noticed that it was getting late into the evening. She needed to hurry up and get the rest of her questions out. ‘Can you tell me about Billie’s friends?’

‘She was friends with some of the other mums. They’d met during pregnancy and stayed close. I’ve met them a few times, mostly at Kayden’s birthdays. There’s Meera next door to Billie, lovely lady. Candice also lives close by, but Billie’s best friend was Nadia. She lives in a huge house on Mockingbird Avenue. It’s the first one you see as you turn into the road and it stands out, you can’t miss it. She let Kayden have his fifth birthday party there, that’s how I know. Me and Kathleen were invited.’ Mr Reeves furrowed his brow. ‘I don’t like Nadia’s husband.’

Gina sat up straight, suddenly feeling more focused. ‘Why is that?’

He shrugged. ‘It’s just me, I think. Ignore me. I can be a miserable git sometimes.’

‘Please, it might help us. It doesn’t matter how irrelevant you feel it is, it might help us to know.’

He bit the insides of his cheek before speaking. ‘I kept catching him looking at Billie, which just seemed odd.’

‘In what way?’

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