Kelly woke to the sound of diggers outside. She stretched. She’d slept fantastically well. She reached into her bag beside the bed and got out a ginger biscuit. She’d worked out that if she nibbled one before she got out of bed, then her blood sugar wouldn’t dip so drastically before breakfast. She realised that she was quite hungry and remembered that after her pasty last night she hadn’t eaten anything else apart from a bag of nuts, a can of Pringles and a packet of Wheat Crunchies that were complimentary in her room. She ate three biscuits to compensate.
She got out of bed and went to put the kettle on, and popped a herbal tea bag into a mug. She hated hotels without tea-making facilities, and considered it tight-fisted. The room was lovely and warm and once the kettle was boiling, she looked at her phone: it was gone eight o’clock. Satisfied she’d had a good rest, she felt positive about the day ahead and sharing updates with Craig.
She peered behind the curtains; a vision of winter beauty assaulted her. She could see the tiny bridge over St John’s Beck. The water was flowing freely, so it couldn’t be that cold, she thought. The snow sat on the small archway, and upon the surrounding fields and trees. She couldn’t see the main road, as she was the wrong side of the hotel, but she heard voices outside and they sounded emphatic and male. She imagined men standing around with yellow hard hats directing traffic and loading cars onto trucks with winching equipment. She stretched again and went to take a shower.
The night away was like an illicit treat and she felt revived. After her shower, she towel-dried her hair and turned on her Toughpad. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and was taken back by the vigour in her eyes and the shine on her skin. She looked the healthiest she had in months – since her holiday to Florida with Johnny, when the sun and relaxation had made her look ten years younger. She always kept an emergency overnight bag in her car and she packed it now, looking around the room to make sure she hadn’t left anything.
Logging in to HOLMES, she could see perfectly clearly that, like her, Craig had stayed up late into the night looking at the data from the YHA in Ambleside. He’d noted his sightings of Lisa Lau, as well as a large group of people checking out on January the fourth, all around the same time, and had worked hard to try to match names with faces on the CCTV. It was quite obvious from watching the footage who was checking out, and he’d inputted each of the twelve names.
What was most interesting, though, was the tag he’d flagged up for her, which was footage from the fourth of January that he’d watched on a hunch. Craig’s hunches were the result of almost thirty years’ service, observing human beings both at their most brazen and their most vulnerable. There was no word for it; and there was no shortcut or certificate, it was just a sixth sense that occasionally leapt out of nowhere, guiding the seasoned copper to a new lead.
Clear as day, standing at the reception desk and speaking to Leila, just as Leila had told her, for a full four minutes, was a tall, well-dressed man of East Asian descent who, at twenty seconds in, showed an ID document: a frame that Craig had made into an enlarged still. The ID was a Chinese diplomatic passport. Kelly thought at first it was a UK passport, because it was the same colour – burgundy – but she read Craig’s notes and they brought to her attention the Chinese characters on the front and the distinctive logo of the temple under five stars. She would have missed the word diplomatic, had Craig not been so vigilant. She reckoned he would have had to have gone over that footage twenty times to spot it, but then, she’d have done exactly the same; she smiled at how similar they were.
Along with the visual, Craig had created another tag that showed he’d already been in contact with the UK Border Agency and found out that access and information regarding this particular diplomat was classified as highly restricted. One would need the highest level of vetting clearance, such as that afforded to ambassadors and senior civil servants, to gain access to the information. Of course, this was no surprise – serving UK diplomats in other countries would have the same level of protection – but it confirmed that the person sent on behalf of the family of Lisa Lau to investigate the disappearance of their daughter was a government official, and this made things tricky. Diplomats could (and did) get away with murder.
Kelly gave the room another final glance and went to find Dan. He was waiting for her in the foyer, cleanly shaved and fresh. He smiled at her and stood up to greet her. He’d been reading the local paper and he reversed it now to show her an appeal on page two. There were photographs of Lisa Lau and Lucinda Dockie next to one another, with a short piece about who to contact with information. Separately, an appeal for information about Dorinne’s murder took up more space.
‘Good, that paper has a distribution of twenty-five thousand a day. Have you read HOLMES this morning?’
‘Yes. I’m assuming we’re going to see DI Lockwood as soon as we can?’
‘I’m calling him in a minute, but I want to find out where breakfast is first. I can smell bacon.’
Dan watched her as she found an employee, who directed her to a dining room. He followed her and she managed to find a table, despite the place being heaving as a result of last night’s fiasco. Kelly spotted the couple with the baby and went to their table.
‘Good morning, did you sleep well? How’s the baby?’ Kelly looked at the tiny human in her car seat, next to the mother on a chair. The baby played with her toes and smiled when Kelly rattled one of her toys. She was cute. Kelly didn’t generally see babies as attractive, but this one was. Most of them looked like wrinkled old men, loved only by their deluded parents.
They confirmed they’d slept well enough, as much as is possible with a young baby at least.
‘Have you been told any news about your car?’ Kelly asked.
‘It’s been towed away and we’re waiting for a hire car to arrive. The road is clear now and traffic is moving quite freely,’ the man replied and the mother nodded.
‘Great, well, take care.’
‘Thank you for being there,’ the mother said. Kelly smiled and went to find a large plate.
Dan ordered coffee and Kelly noticed that it didn’t make her gag as much now. She ordered tea. After she sat down with her plate, she noticed Dan staring at her food over his banana and blueberry muffin.
‘I’m starving,’ she said.
‘I can see.’
‘Don’t tell me you’re a diet Nazi?’ she asked.
‘I’ve gone vegan. It was my wife’s idea.’
Kelly didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t imagine a life without meat, and a life without eggs and cheese would be never-ending torture.
‘Don’t you miss cheese?’ she asked.
‘There are fairly good substitutes now and she buys soy bacon. We eat a lot of tofu.’ He didn’t sound convincing.
‘I won’t tell if you want to go and get a few sausages,’ she said.
Dan looked at her and towards the breakfast bar.
‘Hasn’t that muffin got egg and milk in it?’
Dan stared at his treat and stopped chewing. ‘She knows I’m still learning what’s in stuff,’ he said.
‘I heard that avocados aren’t vegan because bees are harmed during their production.’
‘I read that too.’ Dan looked glum.
‘How long have you been married?’ she asked.
‘Seven years.’
‘Kids?’
‘No, we erm…’
‘Oh God, sorry, it’s absolutely none of my business. I just thought I’d get to know you a bit better,’ she apologised.
‘It’s fine, it’s no secret. We’ve done five rounds of IVF and now we’ve given up. We’re looking into fostering.’
Kelly stopped eating. ‘That’s amazing. I truly admire that. There are so many kids out there who need good, loving homes. I sometimes think we are so overpopulated anyway, we should concentrate on the ones we’ve got.’
‘What about you?’ he asked.
‘No kids. No husband. But a wonderful sixteen-year-old who is my boyfriend’s daughter.’
‘Perfect. Like you said. We should look after the ones we’ve got.’
Kelly concentrated on her food and changed the subject.
‘You managed to source a razor?’
‘They sell bathroom packs at reception. Very clever and a good earner, I’d bet. Sleep well?’ he asked.
‘Like a baby.’
Satiated with fat and carbs, she wiped her mouth and checked her phone.
‘We need to freshen up properly. Let’s head home, and I’ll drop you in Penrith.’
Next, she called Johnny, who was relieved to hear that traffic was flowing again.
‘I’ve got an appointment with the estate agent at eleven,’ he said. ‘I told Josie, she’s over the moon. I couldn’t help it, I’m sorry. I know I said I wanted to do it together. She overheard me talking about selling the house. She’s thrilled, she thinks the world of you and she’s already planning what to do with her room.’
Kelly smiled into the phone. He wasn’t messing about, but that’s what she loved about him. A part of her had been nervous about Josie and her wanting to share her father, but now she was reassured.
‘That’s awesome. I’ll see you tonight.’
As Kelly put on her coat and went to the foyer, she saw Dan at the breakfast bar, standing in front of the sausages.