Chapter 11 chapter Ten

Tom couldn't make up his mind what to make of the situation.Olivia thought that her husband would come back tomorrow, and considering their previous situation, it seemed more likely that she just took the child somewhere and didn't tell Robert.Maybe some friend had picked them up, though she hadn't brought anything, but Tom couldn't believe there was no logical explanation.The couple seemed to be in constant trouble, and in his experience that was no coincidence. If Olivia was hijacked, according to Officer Michelle's initial feedback, she must have let the hijackers into the house on her own initiative, because there was no sign of anyone breaking in, and there was no sign of a fight.

"Well, Mr. Brooks, if you don't know who or what is bothering your wife, let's go back a little further. Please recall what happened after your last conversation with her. Talk to me That's right, Constable Michelle will take notes." Leaning back on the sofa cushions, Robert Brooks stared at one of the lifeless paintings on the opposite wall, as if searching for inspiration.Tom saw him shake his head slightly, then sit up straight, leaning forward a little so that his forearms rested on his lap. "I spoke to my wife this morning as I have for the past few days, without giving her the slightest hint that I would be home early to surprise her. I left Newcastle at about one o'clock and drove straight home. If you really Wanted to know everything, I can tell you I stopped for gas then called the florist on the high street and a couple of other shops for a little gift - a bottle of red wine , a few comic books for children."

Robert ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair, which was like a mountain peak. "I got back here just after four o'clock--if you don't believe it you can ask that nosy old woman across the road, because she watched me get home. She was standing at the window looking out as usual, and she Mrs. Preston, never misses a show." Tom noticed Robert pursing his lips when he mentioned the neighbor.She was undoubtedly someone they needed to interview. "Go on. What did you find when you walked in?" Robert looked at him puzzled. "What's the meaning?"

"Well, I think your wife wasn't home at the time. How did you do it? Did you call anyone? Did you check anything? Please go through it with me." Robert's face was a little red, and the spots on his face were looming in the red. "For God's sake—I've told all of this to your colleagues." He pointed a contemptuous thumb over his shoulder. "Why should I repeat it? Why haven't you gone out and found her?" "We'll go out, sir, as long as we know where to start. That's why I need you to sort things out for me again, and I hope you don't mind."

Robert closed his eyes and pressed his lips together for a few seconds before speaking again. "I walked in and yelled and apparently no one answered," he said, a little more emphatically than needed.He paused, but seeing that Tom didn't respond to his annoyance, he continued, "Olivia's handbag is on the dining table. I poured out the contents and everything was there. Her purse, Credit cards, cell phone - even her fucking house keys were there. I checked the garage, and her car was there. She loved that car so much, I can't imagine her going anywhere without it. Then, in When I finally got my suitcase out of the car and went upstairs, I found her laptop. That's all I know. She was there this morning and now she's gone."

You didn't mention the kids once.Tom thought. “What does she usually do on a Friday afternoon? Is there a pattern? Does she walk to the store or invite friends over for coffee? What about the kids?” "The kids are at school on Friday afternoons. They get out at 3:30 and Olivia will either drive or walk over to pick them up. She doesn't invite people over." No sooner had Robert Brooks finished speaking than the hall door opened.Becky seemed to have heard Robert's last words, and looked at Tom, who gave her a little nod. "Mr Brooks, one of the first steps we take when a child is found missing is to contact the school. We don't think this can wait until Monday, so we speak to the principal. Your child is not at school today, is it, Mr Brooks ?”

Tom watched Robert carefully.Robert wasn't sure what the purpose of the question was, and looked sour.A muscle in his face twitched, and he raised a hand to rub it, but couldn't get rid of it. "According to Mrs Stokes, the headteacher, you and your wife decided a few weeks ago to take the children out of formal education and you decided to home school them from then on. The last day they went to school was the one before the half-term holidays Friday — two weeks ago to be exact. No one has seen or heard of them since." After Becky's disclosure, Robert looked from one of them to the other, and without a word got up and left the room.Tom watched him go, deciding to give him a moment.Tom needs to talk to Becky. "What do you think?" Tom asked.

Becky shook her head. "It's kind of weird. According to Mrs. Stokes, Olivia Brooks was on the verge of tears when she took the children out of school. Mrs. Stokes tried her best to persuade Olivia to change her mind, but Olivia Brooks Livia said her husband's attitude was very firm and all the documents were signed." "Has she said anything about the children, their behavior or signs of abuse, anything that we can track down?" "No, she said they were all good boys. Jasmine was a little quiet, but the boys were just like any boy their age—there's a lot of energy in them, they can't sit still, they're clumsy—I think The word she really used was, rowdy."

"And what about the parents of the children? What does she say of them?" "I'm afraid that's a whole other story. Apparently Olivia Brooks has been a little bit out of control lately. She's been missing a couple of times to pick up her kids from school and the school tries to call her every time that happens. , but no one ever answered the phone, so they had to call Robert, who always left work and hurried over to pick up the kids. Mrs. Stokes said he had all kinds of excuses for his wife, but none of them It sounds true." "What's Olivia's excuse?"

"She had no excuses other than saying she had made a mistake and thought her husband would be picking up the kids. But her husband works a full-time job and never picks up the kids, so it seemed a bit odd." Tom didn't like the way this felt.Why is Robert Brooks trying to keep kids out of school?Is it because that way they won't get lost?Is Olivia mentally unstable? "All right, Becky, you can call him back now." "Okay, but before I do, I want to tell you something. Mrs. Stokes said that the week the children dropped out of school, she sent over a box containing the children's notebooks so that O Livia kept tabs on the progress of the children. It turned out that there was no one in the house, which upset her. She said 'homeschooling means being homeschooled, not hanging around all day', or something like that." Kee said in a high-pitched voice, Tom thought she was unconsciously imitating the headmaster's tone of voice. "Anyway, she left the box of notebooks with a neighbor across the road."

“Interesting, but maybe Olivia went shopping, or took the kids to some museum for an educational visit we all know.” "True, but the lady who kept the boxes told Mrs. Stokes she hadn't seen anyone in the house for days. I also asked Mrs. Stokes about the pictures of the children. I thought she might be able to Give me the contact details of the school photographer, and maybe we can get some pictures of the kids, since they obviously don't have any." "Good idea," said Tom.He was glad to see some of the old gleam in Becky's eyes. "Okay, maybe a good idea, but it didn't work out. Apparently Olivia Brooks hasn't had her kids photographed at school for the past two years. She didn't give a reason for it, she just didn't want them to be photographed , so we didn't get a picture." Becky called Constable Michelle to get Robert Brooks, and the young constable returned to report that Robert was lying in bed. "He said he wanted to lie down awhile, sir, but he murmured that he didn't know anything about the children leaving school and being home-educated." "Do you trust this man?" asked Becky. "I can't tell. He never makes eye contact, does he? I don't know him. Sorry, sir." "I'm afraid it's the same as you." Tom heard a door slam upstairs, and guessed that Robert had come down, and they sat down to wait.Robert walked towards the sofa as soon as he entered the room, pale, but with a blush on both cheekbones, as if from anger. "Sorry, I just need to calm down. I don't know how to react to the news from school. I..." "That's all right, Mr. Brooks. We'll talk about that again, I promise. But now we need to figure out how we're going to find your wife and kids. Are you sure there's not a single picture?" Becky watched Robert Brooks carefully.He shook his head as if utterly confused, and she wasn't sure if that was a real reaction or a play. "I never like to put photos in the room, I prefer to put a few tasteful works of art." Robert pointed to the few decorative paintings on the wall, but it was difficult for Becky to compare what he saw with "taste" The two words are connected.It's not that she knows much about art, she has to admit. "I once took pictures of Olivia and she didn't like it. She hated her pictures and I couldn't understand her. Actually my wife used to be beautiful." Becky said nothing, but ventured a glance at Tom.Did he also find the interesting tense Robert used?They both waited for Robert to continue. "I thought we had photos on our phone and computer, and there was a box of photos in the drawer, but I can't find any of them now. Sorry, I don't know what happened, Olivia must have sorted it out." As tempted as Tom was to make a fuss about the photographs, he could see that there was little more valuable information to be gained from Robert on the subject, and decided to change tack. "You say your wife was on holiday, Mr Brooks, in the first week you left for a conference in Newcastle." "That's right. We go a few times a year and always go to the same place on Anglesey. Well, not exactly that. The same hotel we always go to, which Olivia tried to book last October room and found it was closed so she found another place. Of course I checked the new hotel online and judging from what I saw it was fine. I talked to the landlady and she sounds like a solid Given what happened to Olivia's parents, we're extra cautious when it comes to staying over at someone's house, so I'm trying to figure out things like security, alarms, etc. I don't have time myself, but we plan to Go again in July, as soon as the school is on holiday." "Can you give me the details and the dates? We can send someone to call the landlady to verify that your wife was there." Robert pursed his lips in obvious displeasure. "Of course she's been there, and I've videoed her, and she's spinning the computer in the room to show me how the room is set up. She even showed me the sandy beach outside that damn window. No doubt, There she is." Tom seemed unmoved by Robert's outbursts, and Becky remembered telling himself that by far the best way to untangle the sting of tantrums was to ignore them. "I believe you are right, Mr. Brooks. But anyway, please give me the landlady's contact details. Constable Michelle will take note and we will contact her to verify a few things." Robert Brooks begrudgingly told the truth and closed his notebook while Constable Mitchell headed for the kitchen. Tom leaned forward. "Mr. Brooks, Mrs. Stokes mentioned that your wife has problems from time to time, such as forgetting to pick up the children from school. You said you didn't know she pulled the children out of school. I'm sorry I have to ask you this question, given that From everything we've heard tonight, I need to know if your wife is mentally ill. Please be honest with us, it might be important." Robert buried his head in his palms, and before Becky noticed his lowered eyes, his shoulders slumped in typical shame.