Read Killing a Stranger for Free Online

policewoman, ‘maybe you could help Clara sort the stuff in the bedroom and, Clara, send one of
them
into the kitchen. I could do with a cuppa.’
    She nodded, smiled that tense, false smile which was the best she could manage at the moment, took another deep breath. ‘Sideboard,’ she said. ‘The drawers, mostly. I don’t know how organized …’
    Enright, voice soft and coaxing, led her through to show him. Alec retreated to Rob’s bedroom.
    The room was decorated predominantly in blue and white and had about it the look of décor outgrown. There were glow stars on the ceiling and patches where others had once been. Naomi had brought some for her little nephew. He didn’t like the dark and the little plastic stars gave off a comforting glow for a while until he went to sleep. The curtains matched the duvet cover. Blue again, with a white strip. Grey cord carpet; what could be seen beneath the strewn clothes and yet more magazines.
    Alec bent to study them. Computer games, motorbikes, music. He flicked through, checking for anything concealed between the pages, stacked them neatly in the corner, tidying as he went and adding to the heap those he’d noticed on the desk.
    CDs in a wooden rack stood beside a chest of drawers. There was no wardrobe in the room, but then, Alec thought, most of his clothes seemed to live on the floor, so that probably made such a thing redundant. He opened the cases one by one, checking for anything hidden, came up empty. The bed next, turning the mattress, checking beneath, inside pillows and duvet cover. There were storage boxes beneath the bed and Alec pulled them out and checked behind them.
    Straightening, Alec surveyed the room again, trying to get a feel for the boy who had inhabited this untidy, restricted space.
    Clothes next. Two pairs of jeans, three T-shirts, a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of socks. Alec riffled through the pockets and lay the clothes on the already checked out bed. A survey of the drawers revealed more clothes, a couple of magazines his mother probably wouldn’t want to know about, but not much else.
    The boxes from beneath the bed were a little more promising being full of old schoolbooks and other assorted scraps and bits of paper. Alec took them out on to the landing ready to be taken away. They’d take time and, preferably, a couple of pairs of eyes. To his surprise, the computer didn’t seem to be password protected and Alec accessed the files, skimming through essays and notes.
    â€˜I’ve brought you some tea,’ Clara stood in the doorway.
    â€˜Thanks. Clara, do you have an internet connection?’
    â€˜Only dial up. I was always on at him not to stay on too long.’ Her gaze strayed about the room, noting the stack of magazines, the clothes laid out on the bed. ‘The boxes?’
    â€˜Full of school work, I think, but we need to go through carefully.’
    She nodded. ‘So you’ll be taking them away.’
    He nodded. ‘The computer too. He might have recorded something. Did he have an email account?’
    She nodded, taking a step into the room and holding out the bright blue mug of strong tea. ‘He had two. One was a college one. They give all the kids the option of submitting essays online. They can use the internet or they’ve got an … intranet, is that right? In the college, between departments and tutors and such.’
    The college could probably give him access to that one, Alec thought.
    â€˜Then he had his own email. I’ve got the address written down somewhere but I never used it.’
    â€˜Could you find it for me?’
    â€˜Yes, but you’ll still need the password.’
    â€˜I’m hoping that one of his friends might know it,’ Alec told her. ‘Or they might be able to make a guess. Clara, why didn’t you want him to know his father?’
    The slight flush that touched her cheek gave him his answer.