The Disappearance of Katy Harper
Part 3
In a dark office, with a grey computer chair and luminous green lighting bordering a black screen, a man in his late twenties sits facing the camera. He has floppy dark hair and pale skin, paler against a black T-shirt with a large Nirvana logo on it. He smiles, but it’s unconvincing. He doesn’t want to be here.
Below him reads: Peter Thomas, Katy’s work colleague.
‘Katy and I worked together at NTV. I was in the IT department, but we sat in the same room as the researchers.’
‘Were you and Katy friends?’ the interviewer asks.
He doesn’t hesitate. ‘Yes, we were.’
‘A lot of people you worked with didn’t seem to think so.’
‘I don’t know what to say to that, but we were.’
‘And Graham? Tell us what happened with that altercation.’
‘I didn’t really know him and Katy didn’t speak about him much, only after she got off the phone to him after explaining to him that she had to work late. He didn’t seem to like her working late.’
‘Why was that?’
‘He was jealous, I think. I didn’t really get it until I met him and I saw them together. He seemed quite controlling.’
‘Controlling how?’
‘I was trying to catch up to her, to see if she was okay. That’s when she got in his car and he got out and pushed me. He yelled at her to get in the car.’
‘Do you think he had something to do with Katy’s disappearance?’
‘I don’t know,’ Peter says.
The screen flashes to Graham, who’s already shaking his head. He crosses a thigh over his knee and says, ‘No, our relationship wasn’t like that. Peter would follow Katy. She caught him out a few times, but she didn’t feel she could say anything. So I said something for her.’
He leans forward.
‘He was the last person to see Katy before she went missing. That has to mean something.’
The screen flashes to Detective Inspector Lane.
‘We spoke to Peter because he was the last person that saw Katy before she went missing. He told us that he left her working in the office. She had ordered in a pizza, which he wanted to stay and share with her, but she said she needed to focus on a story.’ He shakes his head at a question. ‘No one saw her after that.’
‘Why else did you question Peter?’
‘We had to take the allegations seriously, and what her boyfriend at the time said about him was worrying, especially as people had witnessed his behaviour around Katy. Graham wasn’t the only person to come forward about Peter,’ Detective Inspector Lane says reluctantly. ‘Some of her co-workers also noticed his odd behaviour around Katy. He seemed enamoured of her, and although Katy did reciprocate the friendship on occasions, she seemed to be distancing herself from him in the lead-up to her disappearance.’
‘So they were friends?’
‘It appears so. They had lunch and coffees together, the occasional dinner.’
‘Could they have been more than friends?’
Detective Inspector Lane frowns. ‘I don’t think so.’
The screen flashes back to Peter, who looks concerned at a question, repeating it back to the interviewer. ‘Were we more than friends?’ He shakes his head. ‘No.’
‘Did you have feelings for Katy?’
His nostrils flare slightly, but he stays composed. ‘I cared for her.’
‘Can you think of anyone who would want to harm her?’
He shakes his head. ‘No, but, like I told the police, she seemed nervous the day she went missing. Something was wrong, she just didn’t tell me what.’
‘Do you have any thoughts on what could have been wrong?’
‘No,’ he says, firmly.
‘Did you ever follow Katy?’
His eyes widen. ‘I don’t know, what do you mean, follow? I followed her to her car.’
‘No, did you ever follow her somewhere?’
His eyes dart to each side, before he finally says. ‘Once, just to make sure she was okay.’
‘When was that?’
He gulps.
‘The day she went missing.’
‘Where did she go?’
‘I told the police this, she was walking towards town, but she knew I was following her and…’
‘And what?’
‘She turned and waited for me around the corner, then pushed me against the wall and asked me what I was doing.’
‘What were you doing?’
‘I told you, I was making sure she was okay.’
‘Why?’
‘I watched her leave work at 7pm to have a break and get some fresh air, that’s what she said. When I looked out the window she was just standing there, staring at a car. It had its headlights on, and she was holding her hand to her forehead like it was blinding her. Like she was trying to see who was in the car. But then she just walked away in the opposite direction. I ran down to follow her, to make sure she was okay.’
‘Did you ask her who was in the car?’
‘No, I didn’t, but she was crying, she looked so scared. She told me to go back to the office.’
‘And she came back?’
‘Yes, about an hour later. Everyone had left for the day, but I wanted to make sure she was okay.’
‘Could it have been Graham’s car?’
Peter nods. ‘Yes, it could have been.’
There’s a pause. Peter stares at the interviewer, waiting for the next question. He clasps his hands together and lays them in his lap, licking his lips nervously.
‘Did you ever hack into Katy’s computer?’
Peter is taken aback by the question. He looks horrified, shaking his head, his lips trembling. ‘No, that’s wrong, you have it wrong.’
The screen flashes back to Detective Inspector Lane. He sighs pensively and then says. ‘Someone reported that Peter had downloaded encryption software onto Katy’s computer. We found this software when we took Katy’s laptop in for evidence. The software itself could scramble devices, but also read any emails she received. He also had access to her browser information.’
The screen flashes back to Peter. He’s already nodding. ‘It was for work. She asked me to do that. I didn’t push her on why.’
The screen flashes to Joanna.
‘She was a very private person. I don’t think she would have wanted anyone snooping on her. That doesn’t make sense to me.’
She shakes her head at a question.
‘Katy never spoke about Peter. I don’t know why he had in his head that they were friends. It seemed off, but’ – she sighs – ‘I don’t think he had anything to do with Katy going missing.’
‘You seem sure of that?’
‘I just don’t think he seems like the type of person who would do that,’ she says, slowly.
‘Do what?’ the interviewer asks.
‘Take someone.’
There’s a moment of silence before the screen fades to black. A monochrome image of Katy appears on the screen in the centre with sinister music playing over the top.
The screen opens on Katy’s mother, Grace, sitting at the dining table biting her top lip. She pauses before saying, ‘Katy didn’t know her dad.’ She shakes her head. ‘We never spoke about him.’
‘Did Katy’s father know about her?’
‘No,’ Grace says definitively.
The screen fades and opens in an empty café. A man with light golden hair, peppered grey, and a thick bristly beard walks in and sits down on a wooden chair. He places an arm on the table in front of him.
Below reads: Ian Walters, Katy’s alleged father.
‘I’m Ian Walters, Katy’s dad.’
The screen fades to black.