For Reasons Unknown: A gripping crime debut that keeps you guessing until the last page

‘What did you do then?’

‘I’m not sure. The next thing I remember is my mum coming up the stairs having a go at me for not being dressed. Somehow I’d got blood on my hands. She looked at them and asked if I’d cut myself but I didn’t answer. She looked at me and I guess she could tell by the look on my face that something must have happened. She sent me back to my room.’

‘Did you go?’

‘Of course. She told me to go to my room, close the door behind me, and not to come back until she came for me.’

‘What happened then?’

‘In my bedroom there was a closet with a chest of drawers in it. I used to hide behind it from my brother. I closed the bedroom door and hid in the closet and waited for my mum to come back for me.’

‘How long were you there?’

‘I’ve no idea. I came out because I was cold.’

‘Did you hear anything?’

‘No.’

‘Anything from your parents’ room?’

‘No.’

‘I’ve seen the crime-scene photographs and judging by them your mum must have put up quite a fight against her attacker. She must have screamed or shouted. Did you not hear anything?’

‘No. Nothing at all.’ Jonathan’s replies were cold and lacked emotion.

Matilda and Rory exchanged a glance.

‘OK. What happened when you came out of your bedroom?’ Matilda asked.

Jonathan took another deep breath. It was as if he was preparing himself to walk along the landing all over again, dreading what nightmare waited for him in his parents’ bedroom. ‘To be honest I can’t remember much after that. I know I was taken to the hospital but I don’t know how long I stayed there. My aunt came down to see me but, again, I don’t know how long it was between what happened and her arriving.’

‘Now, on the night of the killings, where was Matthew? Where was your brother?’

The very mention of his brother’s name hit Jonathan like a slap in the face. He looked up quickly from the floor where his gaze was fixed during his reverie. The expression on his face was one of sadness. He had a slight furrowed brow and his eyes were filled with tears.

‘He was at a friend’s house,’ he said eventually, his voice falling in volume slightly.

‘Can you remember which friend?’

‘No,’ he said, not giving it any thought. ‘I didn’t know any of his friends.’

‘Why not?’

‘There’s four years between me and my brother. We didn’t mix.’

‘According to his statement, when he arrived home, later than he was supposed to, he saw the police cars and assumed your parents had called them to report him missing. Is that something they would have done if he was only an hour or so late?’

‘I’m not sure. My brother couldn’t do anything wrong in their eyes. They’d have called out the coast guard, army, and MI5 to look for him if they couldn’t find him.’

‘Your brother went missing for three days. Why would he do that?’

‘I really don’t know. You’d have to ask him.’

‘Do you see him much now?’

‘Not at all.’

‘When was the last time you saw him?’

‘I’ve no idea. I can’t remember.’

‘When you left Sheffield you were split up weren’t you? Why was that? Why didn’t Matthew go with you to live in Newcastle?’

He shuddered at the mention of Matthew’s name, which caused Matilda and Rory to exchange bewildered looks. What had happened between the siblings to cause such a reaction?

‘Well, my brother was at a critical stage with his schoolwork. It would have been silly to disrupt him. Whereas I had just started secondary school; it didn’t matter much to move me. Also, we didn’t get on, and my aunt didn’t want me upset any more than I already was.’

‘But surely it’s more important to keep two brothers together after losing their parents.’

‘I suppose it depends on the brothers,’ Jonathan said looking deep into Matilda’s eyes for the first time.

‘Where did Matthew go to live?’

‘With the friend he was with on the night of the killings; the family took him in.’

‘That was very generous of them. Did you see much of Matthew once you’d moved away?’

‘Not much. We met up once around Christmas a couple of years after but we didn’t get on. There was an atmosphere.’

‘So you just lost touch.’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you know what happened to him?’

‘Well my aunt kept in contact with the family, and they kept her up to date on his life and education. He did well at school and college and moved to Manchester to go to university.’

‘And after university?’

‘I’ve absolutely no idea. He could still be in Manchester for all I know.’

‘Why didn’t you get on? Surely it wasn’t just the age thing. You’re blood relatives; you must have had something in common.’

‘My brother wasn’t a very nice person. He was a bully. We were poles apart.’

‘In what way?’