‘What?’ Bryant asked.
‘Reece Porter is not Reece Porter – he’s Reece Gordon and is not related to Della and Alec in any way, shape or form.’
‘You have to be joking. How many times has Penn met with the guy and not worked that out?’ Bryant asked, shaking his head.
‘Almost as many times as we’ve met with Della and haven’t worked it out either,’ she snapped.
She remained silent until Bryant pulled up on the drive of the Porter home.
Bryant followed as she strode to the front door. He appeared to be considering saying something when the door was opened by Alec Porter.
‘The jig is up, Mr Porter. We know that Reece is not your son.’
‘Please come in,’ he said, standing aside.
Della was sitting in the same armchair as the day before. She fiddled with her handkerchief nervously.
Kim was annoyed at them. No, they hadn’t outright lied, but they had done a nice job of skirting around the truth.
‘Please don’t blame my wife,’ Alec said, standing behind her. ‘She misled you to protect me. I understand you might consider that obstruction, but other than that she’s done nothing wrong. I’m the one you should arrest.’
‘For what?’ Kim asked, feeling the anger ebb out of her. ‘If there was a charge in the books for being overly dramatic, I’d consider it, but there isn’t. What exactly are you afraid of?’
‘Alec could get into a lot of trouble,’ Della said, reaching over her shoulder for his hand. ‘His actions were inappropriate, unethical and against protocols.’
The gravity of Della’s voice suddenly explained something. Della and Alec had never been in any real trouble in their lives. None of what they perceived to be Alec’s wrongdoings were of any interest to the police. To her they were indiscretions, but this pair were just terrified of breaking the law.
‘How did it happen?’ Kim asked, prepared to hear their story, which she felt sure would bear out her revised opinion of the couple. They were good people who were scared of authority.
‘Alec used to do weekly visits to a halfway house in—’
‘I can tell it, Della,’ Alec said, patting her hand before taking a seat.
‘I got into social care for adults because I wanted to do some good. I wanted to help people, make a difference in their lives.’
Kim noted that Della looked on proudly.
‘I’ve never been the ambitious type, so my job changed almost monthly. Over the years I got relegated to visiting and checking on vulnerable people who had been released from prison.’
‘Was Reece one of those people?’ Kim asked.
‘He wasn’t one of my cases, but that’s where I met him. He just sat, staring out of the window alone. Every time I visited he was sitting in the same place, just staring. It was like he was contemplating his next move in life; as though he was deliberating some big decision. After a few weeks I struck up conversation. I just asked him if there was anything he needed. He said no and thanked me for offering.’ He paused. ‘I knew what he’d been in prison for, but his politeness and manners struck a chord with me. Despite his past, he could still manage to say thank you. It gave me hope that he could turn his life around; that there was something in him that wanted to do better, be someone else.’
He took a breath. ‘The next time I went I made a point of starting a conversation. He told me some of his past, and he wasn’t a victim about it. He didn’t blame anyone but himself for the way his life had gone. For once I felt that I could do something; that I could help and guide a young man down a different path, offer him an alternative. I asked him if he’d like to come to dinner and he politely accepted.’
Kim turned to Della. ‘You weren’t worried about having a convicted criminal in the house?’
‘Of course. Until I met him. He reminded me of a little boy I’d know briefly some years ago. Reece was charming, polite, well-mannered and helpful. I felt an instant connection to him, and him to us. He began spending more time here, and it seemed so natural to ask him to move in. We know we overstepped boundaries, but we really do love him like our own, and he’s not been in any trouble since.’
‘Which is a credit to you both,’ she said, choosing not to mention having found him lying under the bed of a teenage girl while it was an active crime scene.
‘Della, please be honest,’ Kim said, feeling comfortable using the woman’s first name. ‘Did Reece have a thing for Rozzie?’
Della took her time before answering.
‘I know he liked her at one time. I think it was just a platonic thing. She was nice to him, always made a point to pass the time of day, but there was one time he came back, and he was in a bit of a state. He’d been doing the guttering, I think. I asked him what was wrong, but he just said something about there being some things that you just couldn’t unsee. I didn’t press him.’
Kim stood. ‘Okay, thanks to both of you for your time and for—’