Stolen by Rebecca Muddiman Read Free Book Online Page B

as usual. I was in a hurry.’
    ‘A hurry for what?’
    ‘I had to get to the shop. There was a delivery,’ Paul said.
    Gardner nodded and indicated he should continue.
    ‘I went to the shop. Opened up. I called Abby a little later. She was taking Beth to the doctors. I wanted to see how things went.’
    ‘Is that all you talked about?’
    Paul frowned but Gardner couldn’t tell if he was trying to recall the conversation or whether he was irritated at what he thought was a pointless question. He waited for a response anyway.
    ‘She hadn’t been in, she was running late.’ Paul squeezed his eyes. ‘Then we talked about.’ He shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’ Gardner waited. ‘She mentioned Jen. We argued-’
    ‘About what?’ Gardner asked. Abby hadn’t mentioned an argument.
    ‘It wasn’t serious. I just didn’t want her to have to drive up there, she got lost last time.’ Paul stopped and let out a breath. ‘Why didn’t she listen? She shouldn’t have gone,’ he said, his voice catching again.
    ‘So you didn’t want her to go. Did you tell her that earlier? Before today?’
    ‘No. I didn’t know before today.’
    ‘So that was the first you knew about the visit to Jen’s?’
    ‘Yes,’ Paul nodded. ‘She said she’d told me earlier but I don’t think she did. I don’t know. Maybe I forgot, maybe she was mistaken. Things have been a bit crazy.’
    ‘In what way?’
    ‘With the baby,’ he said. ‘Having a baby kind of makes your brain stop functioning as well as it normally does. No sleep, you know.’
    Gardner nodded. ‘So you found out she was going to Jen’s and you fought about it?’
    Paul shook his head. ‘Not fought. It was just a silly argument; nothing really. I asked why Jen couldn’t come to her and said she’d end up getting lost again but she insisted. And that was it.’
    ‘So you left it on good terms?’
    ‘Yes. Of course we did.’
    ‘Do you argue often?’ Lawton asked.
    ‘No.’
    ‘Isn’t that unusual for a married couple?’ Gardner asked, wondering what caused Abby to cheat on her husband. His ex-wife claimed he didn’t pay her enough attention; he was distant, too caught up in his job. That’d be why she fucked off with another copper then.
    Paul looked at the floor. ‘Well, yes we argue. But not a lot. And it’s never serious, never important. Just the usual stuff. Money, whose turn it is to wash up, stupid things.’
    ‘What about Beth?’
    Paul looked up. ‘What about her?’
    ‘Did things change after she was born? Did it change your relationship with Abby?’
    ‘Of course it did. But for the better.’
    ‘You’d been having problems before Beth was born?’ Lawton asked.
    ‘No.’ Paul leaned back in his chair. ‘I always wanted kids but Abby wasn’t so sure. I wanted us to be a family. So when she got pregnant, when she had Beth, it was the best thing in the world. And yes it’s hard. And sometimes I feel left out. Sometimes it’s like you’re on the outside looking in. But it’s all I ever wanted.’ Paul held Gardner’s gaze. ‘And now it’s gone...’ Paul wiped his hand across his face.
    Gardner looked away. ‘Did you and Abby have any other problems?’
    Paul shook his head. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘How long have you been married?’
    ‘Five years,’ Paul said.
    ‘And you’ve never separated, never had any indiscretions?’ He watched Paul and saw something like anger flash across his face. ‘Either of you?’
    ‘No, of course not,’ Paul said. ‘We love each other. We’re a family.’
    Gardner nodded to Lawton. He saw her hands curl into a ball like they always did when she was put on the spot.
    ‘Tell me about Jen Harvey. What was your relationship with her?’ she said after a while.
    Paul cleared his throat. ‘She’s Abby’s friend.’
    They waited but Paul stayed quiet. ‘Abby mentioned that you and Jen knew each other previously. That you went out at university.’
    Paul’s fists clenched. ‘We did. But