‘Lizzie’s phone,’ I say, thinking of that text she sent me. ‘Did she try and call for help?’
‘No. Her phone was recovered from the house. There was no activity from her after the text she sent to you,’ says DI Ferguson.
No chance to use her phone, perhaps she was oblivious to the danger. Perhaps she never knew what was coming. I think of Florence asleep as the carnage unfolded downstairs. Kay has asked her if she saw or heard anything the night Mummy was hurt but Florence simply shook her head.
‘Our door-to-door inquiries are continuing as well, and calls from the general public are being fed into the investigation and followed up. Officers are examining footage from CCTV cameras in the vicinity to see if the perpetrator can be identified.’
‘Broderick Litton?’ I say.
‘We’ve not found him yet,’ says DI Ferguson.
‘He’s out there,’ Tony says hotly, ‘and…’ He crumples.
‘I can assure you we are making every effort to find him, and as soon as we do, you will know about it.’ She turns to Jack. ‘We have traced and interviewed the man who broke into your neighbour’s property on the Tuesday night. He admits to also having entered your garden on Wednesday.’
I hold my breath.
‘But we have eliminated him from our inquiries.’
‘How come?’ Jack says.
‘He has a watertight alibi for the Saturday evening.’
‘Are you sure?’ Jack says.
‘Yes,’ says DI Ferguson.
Questions toll in my head again: who, why, how?
‘Is there anything we can do?’ Tony says.
DI Ferguson gives a nod. ‘There are two ways you might help, but I want to stress that there is no obligation on any of you to do so. Different families react very differently, and what is right for someone else may not be right for you.’
‘What are they?’ Jack says.
‘We would like your help with a fresh appeal to the general public. A quote from you about Lizzie, saying what sort of person she was, would be very helpful. We want to keep the public involved in assisting us, we want to make her as real as possible to people who have never met her. There is already a high degree of interest because of the circumstances of Lizzie’s murder, because she was an ordinary young woman, a mother, expecting to be safe in her own home.’
Like we all do.
‘Also, well-wishers have been leaving flowers outside the house. If this is something you would like to do, we can arrange that, and if you are willing, we’d like to film your visit and that would form part of a new press release. Again, that’s entirely up to you.’
