Hi All,
I've been lurking for some time now, bu this is my first post. Forgive me if some of this has been covered...I haven't caught up on the last 10 pages or so.
just thought I would offer my opinion about a couple of things. Firstly, the abduction, in particular BS being the most likely candidate responsible:
IMO, BS is certainly the most likely person to have taken WT. And with very little real risk. Let me explain. I believe that DI Jubelin alluded to something similar in his "evil meets innocence" spiel. BS is on his way to repair FG's washing machine. He pulls up outside her house and spots WT, all alone, down by the side of the house. He hasn't necessarily planned any abduction, but there he is....alone...nobody seems to be about. The FG may or may not have mentioned anything about WT to BS previously, but he is wearing a Spider-Man suit, and it would be pretty easy to build up a quick rapport. He takes William by the hand...perhaps even tells him that " we ought to get you back to your mummy". If anybody sees him now, he has an "out". "I was just taking him up to the house". If he is seen jostling WT into the car - " I was just about to drive him to the police station. He was close by the road and didn't seem to know where he was...". "Poor little fella was lost, I was just going to do the rounds of the street and see if he recognised his house...he couldn't tell me where he came from". Remember WT is three at this time. BS could insist WT was scared and unable to provide any information about where he came from. Now, if any of these situations had played out, if the FG or FM had witnessed any of these scenes I am sure they would have been absolutely panicked and suspicious about his story. No doubt!!!! But if push came to shove, it would be the word of a hard working local citizen, with grandchildren in his own care, against that of a three year old. If the police went looking for a criminal past, they wouldn't find one (the historic sex charges wouldn't be part of his criminal record). He would look like an outstanding member of the community...and there would be nothing the police could charge him with, IMO. He was there, at the right (wrong) time, all the planets seemed to line up for him, and the risk to himself was exceedingly LOW.
Regarding BS being at the school assembly as part of his alibi:
I agree with others that teachers and others may not have noticed whether a particular person was there on a particular day. However the fact that his grandson was receiving an award is critical. As the child took to the stage to receive his award, you might expect an extra-loud clap, or a couple of "whoop whoops" from said grandparents, thus turning people's attention and gaze to MS and BS being there. If it was just a regular assembly with no award for BS grandson, then no, I would not expect people to remember him being there.
WRT the cafe and being seen there on the day WT went missing:
I believe this all comes down to the timing of the interview with staff. If the questioning occurred within days or even weeks of WTs abduction, then the staff member advising police she "hadn't seen them for a while" is bad for BS. Very bad. That is worse than staff not remembering you on a particular day (difficult at the best of times). Not " being seen there for a while" equates to not being there.
JMO