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As they sat in a side room explaining what had happened, the thing that struck Jack most about Connor French’s parents is that they seemed far more conscience-stricken and remorseful than their son had at any point.
‘I’ve got to be honest with you,’ the mother said. ‘We actually found it a couple of days ago, and we knew straight away there wouldn’t be an innocent explanation. But we just couldn’t bring ourselves to… you know.’
‘Of course,’ Jack said. ‘Your instinct is to protect your child. I get that.’
‘To an extent. I mean, there are limits. As we’re now realising. It’s just such a horrible situation. We feel guilty towards you for not telling you earlier, guilty towards Connor for telling you at all, horrible at the thought it might reveal something that gets him in trouble, eve
