The recorder was running and the young male was hunched over the table, tracing his finger over the grain in the wood as Gina joined Smith in the interview room. He announced for the tape that she had joined them.

‘Westley Young, twenty-two years old. You live in Worcester, is that right?’ Gina scraped her chair across the floor until she was positioned comfortably at the desk, placing her notepad in front of her.

‘I sleep rough in Worcester.’

Gina pulled out the photo of Christina that Julia Dawson had given her. ‘Do you recognise this girl?’ The man looked up through his scruffy brown locks. Most of his long fringe was tucked behind his ears. She slid the photo across the desk. He stared at it and looked away.

‘Never seen her.’

‘Are you sure? Take another look?’

She could tell he was getting nervous. He began to tap his fingers on the desk, drumming away. ‘So what if I have?’

‘It’s a simple question, Mr Young. Have you seen this girl?’

‘Okay. Will I be in less trouble if I tell you about the girl?’

‘I can’t promise you anything but it will be on record that you were cooperative.’

He leaned back and slumped in the chair. As he moved, Gina could smell the sweat wafting from his old grey T-shirt. He clearly hadn’t bathed for a long time. ‘I haven’t seen her for ages. She used to hang out around Worcester, looked a bit lost. A couple of times she gave me some of her food. We chatted and became friends; that is all.’

‘Were you in a relationship with her?’

‘God, no. She was a kid. I’m not some paedo. She just liked to hang out with me.’

‘Do you know her name?’

‘I always called her Pipsqueak. I did find out her name after though. I saw her mother putting posters up.’

‘And you never called to say you’d seen her?’

‘She’d run away. She didn’t want to be found. You don’t tell on friends. When I left her, she was fine. I thought she’d just go home when she got fed up. Has something happened to her?’ Westley couldn’t look directly at her. His gaze shifted between her and Smith before resting on the wall behind them.

‘That’s what we’re trying to establish.’ Gina opened a fresh page in her book. ‘Tell me about the last time you saw her.’

He smiled. ‘She’s a good kid. She always cheered me up.’ Gina noted that he referred to her in present tense. ‘It was a few months ago, March, April, I don’t even remember, my brain is addled. She did say she’d had another argument with her mother about being grounded all the time. I always hung around by the river come early evening. I like the peace, believe it or not. She had her bag with her and said she was leaving, that she couldn’t take any more and would I go with her? I didn’t want to go but I didn’t want her to go alone either. She needed to get out of Worcester so we went to the station and she bought us both tickets to New Street. I spent a couple of days with her and I suppose I got fed up. I asked about work at the market, had no luck and hated it there. I tried to persuade her to come back with me but she didn’t want to come, said she’d go it alone. She got a bit huffy and walked off.’ He started twitching. Gina knew he probably needed a fix. She looked over Smith’s notes and saw that a doctor had been called to attend to him after the interview.

‘Did you sell her any drugs?’

‘No, what do you take me for?’ He ran his fingers through his messy hair.

‘A drug dealer. You were brought in tonight for dealing drugs.’

‘I don’t sell to kids. She was a kid.’

‘A dealer with a conscience.’

‘Stuff you!’

Gina ignored him and pulled out another photo, one of Simone Duxford. It was a long shot, but if he was involved, then he’d show some recognition. ‘Have you ever seen this girl?’

His brow furrowed as he examined the photo. ‘No, I don’t recognise her at all. Never seen her in my life.’ His reactions matched what he was saying. Gina couldn’t even see a hint of recognition in his eyes. He began to fidget in his chair and tapped his foot on the floor as his agitation worsened. ‘I don’t want to say any more, I feel sick and if you don’t let me out of here, I’ll chuck up all over the table. I know my rights. Get me a solicitor. Oh, one thing, when I left Pipsqueak in Birmingham, she hadn’t taken any drugs and she told me to shove off and that’s what I did, I shoved off. All because I didn’t want to stay in Birmingham. That’s all I know. I don’t even know when this was. I can’t remember. That’s your lot. I need the bog now.’

Gina nodded to Smith. ‘Interview terminated at twenty-three fifteen. We’ll continue shortly.’

As she left the room, she began collecting her thoughts. He had seen Christina Dawson but she wasn’t quite sure how much of what he’d said had been truthful. If he’d left Christina in Birmingham like he’d said, where had she gone? It was as if the girl had just disappeared.