Andee’s smile was one of amusement and fondness as Tom’s son, Richie, embraced her warmly enough to melt the icy raindrops on his jacket. It was bitterly cold outside, and so cozy in the Seafront Café that the windows were steamed up and the posters Fliss had put up to promote the upcoming concert were starting to wilt.
“How are you?” she asked, signaling to a server to come and take their order as Richie sat into the booth opposite her.
“Yeah, great, thanks, and thanks for meeting me.”
“No problem. It was lovely to get your call. Is everything working out at the Gazette?”
He rolled his eyes comically. “If the owners understood that we’re now in the twenty-first century it would be a start,” he replied, “but I’m kind of getting there. Actually, I’ve been told that if I don’t succeed it’ll fold, so no pressure.”
Andee grimaced with sympathy and after they’d ordered their coffees she said, “I’m sorry I don’t have much time, but it sounded urgent when you rang.”
“Actually, I’m not sure if it is,” he confessed, “but Dad and Leanne agreed that I should tell you what happened.”
Andee was intrigued.
“OK, it was a couple of days ago. I was coming out of my office in the Old Town when this guy, fortyish, brown hair, and smart parka, approaches me out of nowhere and asks if he can have a word. I was on my way to a meeting so I asked him to walk with me, you know, in case he had a good lead on a story. However, right off the bat, without introducing himself he starts asking me if I know someone called Rebecca—surname’s escaping me for the moment. I said I didn’t, so he pulls out his phone and shows me a photo. Now, I can’t be certain about this because the hair color was different, but if Claudia was fair I’d swear it was her.”
Andee regarded him closely as her mind went into overdrive. “What did you say?” she asked carefully.
He shrugged. “I told him I’d never seen her before. That was a kind of instinct kicking in, not sure why, but with him coming out of the blue like that . . . And once I took a proper look at him, I felt kind of glad I’d held back. I wouldn’t say he was sleazy, or anything, but there was this air about him that seemed a bit . . . off. I asked why he was looking for the woman and he said something about her coming into money, so I decided he must work for one of those inheritance agencies. I offered to put the picture on the paper’s website, but he didn’t want that. He said he’d carry on asking around and gave me his card so I could be in touch if I saw her or heard anything about her.” His eyes narrowed curiously. “You’re looking worried. It was Claudia, wasn’t it?”
“Do you know who else he was talking to in town?” Andee countered.
“I didn’t think to ask. I was already late so I just wished him good luck and went into my meeting. To be honest I forgot about it until Claudia popped into Dad and Leanne’s yesterday while I was there. I didn’t want to tell her in case it wasn’t her in the photo—or in case it was, I guess. I waited until after she’d gone and told them, which is when they said I should call you. So, what’s going on?”
Picking up her coffee, she sipped as she thought. In the end she avoided his question again and said, “I know you’re scenting a story, but please hold back for now, at least until I’ve had time to talk this over with someone who probably needs to know.”
“Meaning Claudia?”
“No, not her.”
His eyes twinkled. “Enter the infamous DCI Gould?”
She didn’t deny it.
“OK. And if this guy contacts me again? Do you want me to put him on to you?”
“No, don’t do anything to suggest you might be engaging with him at all, but let me know if he does. And if you still have his card I’ll take it from you.”
Reaching into his pocket he handed it over. “You realize a scoop for the Gazette is something I really need right now.”
“I do, and as soon as I can send one your way, I promise I will.”
DCI GOULD WAS a large man in his early fifties with a lot of presence and not much tolerance when it came to someone holding him up as he was leaving for an important meeting. However, as it was his favorite ex-DS doing the holding, he sat back down at his desk and waited as she closed his office door.
He listened carefully to what she was telling him, his blue eyes sharp and narrowed, and said nothing for a while after she’d finished.
“OK,” she said in the end, “I get that you probably can’t tell me if I’m right about Claudia and her family being the ones . . .”
“You’re right,” he assured her, “it’s them. I’m just trying to think of the best way to handle this. Have you tried getting in touch with this . . . What’s the name of the guy who approached Richie?”
Reading from the card, Andee said, “Miles Montgomery. I’m guessing he’s some sort of private investigator. Probably he’s working for Claudia’s husband or someone close to him.”
Gould’s eyebrows arched. “Have you called the number?”
“I thought I’d speak to you first.”
“Good. The less contact he has from anyone in this area the better. We don’t want him thinking that he’s stirring something up, or he’ll be straight back here. If he’s even gone away, and I don’t suppose we know if he has.”
“I’ve tried several hotels, but there’s no one staying at any of them with that name, which doesn’t mean much because he could be using Airbnb, or one of the hundreds of guesthouses. I talked to Fliss at the café, and a few other business owners. No one’s approached them, but again I’m not sure that means anything.”
Gould nodded slowly. “And no one’s spoken to Claudia about this?”
“Not yet. They’re crazy busy getting ready for Jasmine’s big night tomorrow so I’ve hardly seen her lately. Are you going, by the way?”
“I am, and I’m sure you and Graeme are. Maybe we can have a drink together beforehand?”
“Great, let’s do that. I’ll get Dan to join us as well. Claudia and Marcy will be too busy backstage. Anyway, how urgent do we think this is?”
He shrugged. “We have no way of knowing, but I think I should be in touch with Carl Phillips, in London. He was the investigating officer when they were thought to be missing. I’d like to get his take on what we should do.”
“And in the meantime? Do I say anything to Claudia?”
He threw out his hands. “You know her better than I do. Is it going to freak her out if she thinks she’s been found?”
“Possibly, probably. I’ll wait until you’ve spoken to Phillips.”