The Moment She Left (7 page)

‘Of course. I just collected them.’ To Andee he said, ‘My sisters, one of whom is Lucie’s mother, are having a little get-together on Friday evening, and the children have decided they want to dress up for it.’

Instantly warming to Lucie, Andee smiled.

‘They’re seeing themselves as the stars of the show,’ Lucie confided, ‘and knowing Rowzee she’ll make them feel that they’re nothing less, in spite of it being an adult affair.’

‘Are we talking about Rowzee Cayne?’ Andee asked, feeling certain they must be. To Graeme she said, ‘I had no idea she was your sister.’

Before he could respond Lucie said, ‘The whole world knows Rowzee, or that’s how it seems at times. Were your children in her class – presuming you have children, which you might not, but if you do . . .’ She broke off as Graeme’s hand gently silenced her.

Laughing, Andee said, ‘Both my children were students of hers and they absolutely loved her. In fact, she’s the reason Alayna, my youngest, is studying English Lit. and Drama at Bristol. I believe it’s where Rowzee went.’

‘It is,’ Lucie cried excitedly. ‘Does Rowzee know that?’

‘Oh yes,’ Andee assured her. ‘She took Alayna out to celebrate when Alayna was accepted.’

‘That is so Rowzee,’ Lucie laughed. Rashly, she added, ‘I know, why don’t you come to the party on Friday? Rowzee would absolutely love it if you did.’

Stunned, Andee said, ‘I’m sure your aunt doesn’t even remember me . . .’

‘Of course she does. Rowzee never forgets anyone, and anyway, you’re quite famous around here. Please don’t say no. Your husband is invited too, of course. My mother will be beside herself to meet him, the old mayor’s son, but I have to warn you, she’ll probably get on his case about following in his father’s footsteps. I expect he gets that a lot?’

‘From time to time,’ Andee admitted, still feeling bedazzled by the invitation and wondering if she ought to be turning it down.

‘Lucie, you’re almost as bossy as your mother,’ Graeme chided. However, to Andee he said, ‘They really would love it if you came.’

Lucie was regarding her with such eagerness that Andee threw out her hands as she laughed. ‘It’s very kind of you, and if you’re sure Rowzee won’t mind, I’d love to come, but I don’t think my husband . . . He’ll have other . . .’ She was making a mess of this. ‘I’m not sure what he’s doing on Friday, but I guess . . . Speaking for myself, I’d love to come. Thank you.’

With a whoop of joy Lucie exclaimed, ‘They are going to be so pumped when I tell them. They’ll probably roll out the red carpet, knowing them.’

‘I hope not,’ Andee laughed. ‘Is it a special occasion?’ she thought to ask. ‘Someone’s birthday?’

‘My mother’s,’ Lucie replied, ‘but she’s pretending it’s Rowzee’s. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t have a clue. My mother’s just weird like that.’

‘Actually, I can explain,’ Graeme stepped in. ‘Pamela – Lucie’s mother – always says it’s Rowzee’s birthday when they’re having a party, because she’s convinced that the sun only ever shines on Rowzee. If she owns up that it’s her big day she’s sure it’ll rain.’

Andee and Blake both laughed.

‘I swear my mother gets madder as she gets older, in all senses of the word,’ Lucie told them, checking her watch. ‘Oh my God, I have to pick Alfie up at five, so I need to go. I’ll take the costumes,’ she said to Graeme, scooping up the bags. ‘Katie’s got a free day tomorrow, she said, so if you need her to cover, just give her a call.’

As the door closed behind her Graeme turned back to Andee and Blake.

Andee was on the point of saying that she should go too when she realised Graeme was regarding Blake curiously. Turning, she found Blake staring hard at something outside in the square. Following his eyes she tried to spot what it might be, but everything seemed normal to her.

‘Excuse me,’ Blake muttered, and moving swiftly to the door he tugged it open and ran towards the Victoria fountain where a crowd of tourists were cooling hands and feet in the water.

Graeme said to Andee, ‘Do you think he spotted someone who looks like Jessica?’

Almost certain that was the case, Andee said, ‘It’s cruel, the way your eyes and ears can play tricks on you.’

His expression softened as he turned to her.

Realising he was remembering Penny, she gave a little shrug and changed the subject. ‘I feel I should have known that Rowzee Cayne was your sister. Did we never talk about her when we . . . were seeing each other?’

‘There was a lot going on back then,’ he reminded her. ‘In fact, you were heavily involved in another case of a missing girl, as I recall.’

Remembering only too well, Andee’s insides churned. Sophie Monroe, aged fourteen. The outcome hadn’t been good, in fact it had been nothing short of terrible, but at least they had found a body.

‘I’m sorry,’ Blake said, coming back into the shop. His face was pale, his voice rough with emotion. ‘I thought . . . It looked like someone . . .’

‘It’s OK,’ Graeme said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Blake looked at Andee. ‘Thanks for coming,’ he said, ‘I really appreciate you giving this your time, but we still haven’t talked about money. I don’t have much, I’m afraid . . .’

‘There’s no fee involved,’ Andee interrupted. ‘Helen, your lawyer, will explain if you give her a call.’

Apparently overcome, Blake muttered a thank you and disappeared back to his workshop.

‘How well do you know Jessica’s mother?’ Andee asked quietly.

‘Jenny? Fairly well. She’s taken this very hard. I guess any mother would.’

He was certainly right about that. ‘I probably ought to talk to her at some stage. Do you think she’ll be willing?’

‘I don’t see why not, but you know she’s in Devon?’

Andee nodded, and glanced at her watch. ‘I should go,’ she said, remembering a call she wanted to make before five.

Walking her to the door Graeme said, ‘So it looks like I’ll see you on Friday.’

Feeling both embarrassed and pleased, she said, ‘It would seem so.’

‘I’m sorry your husband can’t make it.’

Not at all sure he meant that, she simply smiled and left, taking out her phone and turning it on as she reached the other side of the square.

Connecting to Leo Johnson at Kesterly CID, she said, ‘I know you can’t make this a priority, but I’d like more information from the Met if you can get it.’

‘Fire away,’ he invited.

After giving him the details, she said, ‘I couldn’t find the answers to this in the files they sent, but they should exist. If they don’t . . . Well, let’s find out first if they do.’

‘Mm, something smells good,’ Matt commented, coming into the kitchen and dropping his keys and mobile on the table.

Blake read from the recipe card he was using. ‘Chilli chicken with ginger and udon.’

Matt pulled a face. ‘What the heck’s udon when it’s at home?’

‘Japanese noodles. There was an offer on at the supermarket with free recipes thrown in, so I thought I’d give it a go.’ He could hear both Jenny and Jessica telling him that of course the recipes were free, they wanted to sell the product, so he wasn’t sure why he’d said it. ‘Where have you been?’ he asked, as Matt slumped at the table and stretched out his long legs. He wondered if the smoke he could smell was just plain cigarettes, or something a little more flavoursome.

‘Out with some mates. So how did it go with Andee Lawrence?’

Putting the chicken on to grill, Blake gave his hands a quick rinse and took a couple of beers from the fridge. Handing one to Matt, he said, ‘She’s going to make some more calls.’

Matt nodded, and continued to nod as he cracked open the can. ‘Did she think anything had been missed?’

‘Not that she said, but she probably won’t know for certain until she’s carried out her own enquiries.’ He was making it sound a lot more hopeful than Andee had, but Matt needed the boost to get him past this two-year anniversary. They both did, and if a little self-delusion on his part was necessary, well, bring it on, as Jessica would have said. ‘I forgot to tell Andee that you know her son.’

Matt shrugged and picked up his phone to read a text. ‘I saw him today,’ he said.

‘Luke Farnham? To speak to?’

‘Yeah, to speak to. He came down to the beach with his sister where we were all hanging out. She’s pretty hot these days. I don’t remember her being like that before.’

Blake cast him an interested look.

Matt’s eyebrows rose. ‘You don’t have to read something into everything I say,’ he protested.

Grinning, Blake let it drop, though a summer romance would be a godsend for Matt right now, it might just focus him in a direction that was a whole lot healthier than the place he was in at present. However, getting involved with Andee’s daughter? What would Andee think of that?

‘What?’ Matt prompted. ‘Nothing’s going to happen, if that’s what you’re afraid of.’

‘I’m not afraid. I wish it would. Maybe you need a refresher on the birds and the bees. We could sit down after dinner if you like.’

‘Yeah right, I’m definitely up for that.’

Blake laughed past the memory of Jess teasing her twin for being a virgin. Those days were a long way behind them now, but there had been no steady girlfriend since Jessica’s disappearance.

A few minutes later they were tucking into large bowls of steaming noodles topped with delicious oils, spices, chicken and veg. After agreeing that it was one of his better culinary efforts, Blake said, ‘Something else happened today. Or I thought it did. I’m not sure now.’

Matt scowled. ‘Duh! Riddles.’

Blake had thought hard about whether or not to go down this route, especially when it was probably
going to lead nowhere, or at least nowhere helpful. In the end, it was the pact that he and Matt had made almost two years ago, that they should have no secrets from each other, that persuaded him to speak up.

‘There was someone on the square outside the shop,’ he said, reaching for his beer. ‘He looked just like Tyler Bennett.’

Matt stopped eating as his expression turned sour. ‘Was it him?’ he asked quietly.

Blake shook his head. ‘I’m not sure. By the time I got outside he’d disappeared into the crowds.’

Matt sat back in his chair, his face hard with loathing. ‘What would he be doing here?’ he demanded.

Blake shrugged and shook his head. ‘He could be on holiday, or maybe it wasn’t him at all.’

‘If it is, and he’s looking for trouble, I’ll be ready for him.’

‘No, Matt. If you see him I want you to turn around and walk the other way. He’s caused this family enough grief for one lifetime, we really don’t need any more.’

Though Matt didn’t argue, Blake could tell that it was going to be almost impossible for him to ignore the caution.

‘Did you tell Andee Lawrence that you saw him?’ Matt asked.

‘If it was him – and no, I didn’t, although I probably should, just in case I was right. The build and hair colour were definitely the same, and he was staring across at the shop when I spotted him next to the fountain. I don’t know how long he’d been there, maybe he’d
just stopped to check his phone. All I know is that he’d vanished by the time I got out there.’

‘What would he want?’ Matt growled. ‘What the hell else does he think he can do to us?’

Blake had no idea, so he simply shook his head.

‘He can’t have had anything to do with what’s happened to Jessica,’ Matt stated angrily. ‘The idiot’s so thick he’d never be able to pull off something like that.’

‘Like what? We don’t know what happened to her, but I’m inclined to agree. She’d never have gone near him, but even if she did . . .’ He broke off as Matt’s mobile started to ring. ‘Do you want to take it?’ he asked.

Matt checked the caller and shook his head. ‘It’s only Zac. I can ring him back.’ His dark, injured eyes returned to Blake. ‘If he is here, do you think we can get him arrested for harassment?’

‘Not unless he harasses us and so far he hasn’t.’

‘But standing across from the shop, staring in . . . That’s got to mean something.’

‘He has nothing to gain from coming here and being associated with us again. Anyway, just because he had razor-cut red hair and tattoos . . .’

‘Are you going to tell Andee Lawrence?’

‘If either of us sees him again and feels convinced it’s him, I will. Otherwise, there doesn’t seem any point.’

‘So where were
you
until after ten last night?’ Rowzee demanded, intrigued to know, and enjoying the tease.

Pamela was at her dressing table, studying her reflection with deep interest.

‘It’s you,’ Rowzee assured her.

Pamela’s eyes flicked to hers in the mirror. ‘I don’t think I heard you knock,’ she remarked smoothly.

‘The door was open. Can I ask why you’re pulling your face about like that?’

‘I’m thinking of getting it lifted,’ Pamela admitted, raising and tugging the loosened skin on her cheeks and neck, apparently trying to work out how much younger it would make her look if she could be rid of the baggy bits.

‘I see.’ Rowzee was amused. ‘Will that be before you have liposuction, or at the same time?’

Pamela’s eyes narrowed.

‘I just thought,’ Rowzee said innocently, ‘if you’re going to have a general anaesthetic to reduce your hips and thighs, which is what you were talking about last
week, then why not get the whole lot done at once? They might even give you a discount for bulk.’

Pamela winced at the last word. ‘I’m fed up with dieting,’ she sighed, sitting back in the chair. ‘I’ve been doing it all my life and I’m bigger now than I’ve ever been.’

‘You’re not big, you’re just curvy, and most men love curvy women.’

Pamela’s eyes sharpened. ‘If you’re about to mention Bill Simmonds . . .’

Rowzee’s hands shot up. ‘He never even crossed my mind,’ she lied. ‘Anyway, they say dieting makes you fatter, so maybe you should just give it up and enjoy life? You’re looking very lovely in that dress, by the way. Coral suits you, and it’s a good idea to wear something that fits, you should try it more often.’

‘And you,’ Pamela spat back, ‘should cover your arms. A woman your age never has good arms and whether you like it or not, you’re no exception.’