I thought it most likely that Tia's murder was an unplanned spontaneous event..now I doubt that. .. or else Thorburn is the consummate actor and cynic.. there is something so calculated in this entire venture, the driving of the car to the school the next day.. and let's face it, that is only a few hours after he has murdered her, either alone or with Trent, , and taken her body out in that same car to the river, alone or with Trent, and cleaned up the car after, and the area in the house , alone, or with Trent. Then a short break while he has breakfast, and does a few chores, he has to time his performance to the second.. neither too late, nor too early.
In Psychology, he now has to enter an entirely concocted way of life. Without any rehearsal, or previous experience as far as is known, he and Julene and Trent and Josh have to play the designated parts of baffled and grieving foster father, fostermother, fosterbrother. Instantly, and done against all their own inner knowledge.
And it's got to be right. When that call comes, which his psyche is expecting, and his logic mind has to pretend it's unexpected, he has to react exactly right, exactly perfect, he has to do and say what a foster father of a missing child would do and say. So what would a frantic foster father do? he would begin searching, but what would a guilty foster father do who knew this child's body was decomposing on the banks of the Pimpano River?.. he would document every move he made in regard to the search.. where he went, what time, who with, which direction, so being a man caught up in two 'realities'.. he does both. Searches, and records his own search efforts.
What else would a frantic fosterfather do?. he would beg anyone , everyone to try and remember and think when they saw Tia, or know anything about Tia, and what a terrific private powerful thrill to take it up a notch and allow his pretend foster father to get a bit indignant. 'send her back.. back to where she belongs.'.... playing the part of the hard done by ordinary guy...
All the time he's doing this he has to maintain not only his own parallel worlds, but his wife's , and his sons. It astonishes me that the entire 4 of them entered into this double performance.. in public, portraying themselves as unfortunate grieving carers,.. in private, what?.. 1 murderer/liar, 1 sexual deviant / liar , 1 perverted liar, and another perverted liar?.. how did that work out when the front door closed on that house?
And so far, it's just the tip of the iceberg, I reckon. no one can do all this without a lifetimes practice, truly. I don't believe that he , and they, suddenly knew what to do. ... that out of the blue , in response to a murder done in the house they eat and sleep in, they produced this flawless performance.. Its been a long time coming.
my opinion.
