The Suspect Quotes
"Life going on. 'Hello. I’d like to report my daughter missing,' she heard him say. That life was over."
"She’s Alexandra O’Connor. Eighteen. Her birthday was in May."
"I’m ringing to open up about things. About life."
"The kids had cried with him at home, away from their mother."
"He needed something in his life that was not about cancer."
"We can beat this. We’ve done it once; we can do it again."
"She thought she’d probably get dehydrated. Her friend had rolled her eyes."
"It was eleven hours sitting in a middle seat, trying not to touch the arms of people hidden like corpses under thin blankets."
"They’d talked about lots of things in the way that lonely people do; revealing themselves too quickly in the rush for instant intimacy."
"It’s not like Tesco’s," JW said. "You can see they are dead animals."
"You can spot them a mile off. Old, white, fat, and tattooed. And desperate. They look like they’re enjoying themselves, laughing and talking too loud, but they must know everyone hates them. Don’t they? The tiny women who look like children hanging on their arms hate them."
"It was just like the walk-to-school thing. Being away from home had not made them BFs. If anything, it had magnified the yawning differences between them."
"This is a waste of time. They’ll turn up," had become Don’s mantra.
"The problem was that he was doing it thirdhand, reliant on reports of reports via the parents at this stage, each fact filtered through different eyes and imperatives."
"It’s night there now. Nothing is going to happen until the morning. Things could be a bit clearer tomorrow."
"You are not wicked," I say. "Just desperately upset. I understand that."
"The agony of cancer was changing her. There were times when she pushed away his attempts at loving attention."
"I thought it wasn’t her for a second," Jenny said. "The girl on the table had a little rosebud tattoo on her shoulder. I went to say it wasn’t Rosie, but it was."
"You can always tell when they’re faking, can’t you?"
"I’m just filling time, I know. He was never there. He was living another life while we told people his lie."
"You need to look at them, Kate. They’re going to be published."
"I don’t know, Steve. Maybe he got in with the wrong crowd?"
"I’m having a good time and you can’t bear it. What’s your problem?"
"I’ve loved you since I saw you on the plane."
"I’m not sure if it means anything, but I’ve heard he may be back in the UK."
"Poor Jake—it must have been a shock to find that he might have to work to keep up."
"The tattoo was four thousand baht, remember?"
"This isn’t why I came to Thailand. She’s ruining everything."
"Don’t worry about Rosie. She was a complete bitch."
"I need to know why Rosie left, Mama. It’s very important."
"Perhaps we can give her something of Alex’s as a keepsake."
"I’m going to ring Mags and ask her to come and see us."
"You are a bad girl. Making trouble for Mama’s Guesthouse."
"That’s what the police say, but there was no party."
"The police searched his backpack and found Jamie’s passport and a small bag of cannabis."
"That would be a mistake. That is why Rosie went."
"I’m sorry, but I’ve got to leave. You’ll be fine."
"She’s dead," he said. His voice sounded dead as well.
"Can’t leave her," she said between her clenched teeth.
"You came out here earlier to get beers. You must’ve seen her," she suddenly screeched.
"I am DI Sparkes and this is DS Salmond. We want you to come with us."
"We look for the familiar in everything, don’t we? We look to anchor ourselves in safe waters."
"It was getting late and Sparkes wondered if Sam would still be there when he got home."
"I couldn’t let her go off with him," Jamie said, moving onto the edge of his chair.
"That isn’t what she told her friend Margaret Harding. She said you wouldn’t leave her alone."
"I’d stolen Jake’s passport and wallet from his bag the day before, after I saw him with Alex."
"I pushed against her neck to stop the noise and held my hands there while she struggled."
"She agreed to have a farewell drink with me. I was a bit drunk already."
"She was shaking and crying and I tried to make her feel better."
"She was a little bitch. Always making trouble."
"I was in shock and didn’t know what to do so I went along with Mama’s story."
"He’s a complete psycho—he put something in Alex’s beer to make sure she didn’t go out with me."
"I was so scared, I didn’t know what to do. Scared of what would happen if I did tell."
"We can put it all behind us," Steve said. "Make a fresh start."
"He’s doing fine, Bet. How are you?" I call back as if our lives are unaltered.