Read Online Murder... Now and Then by Jill McGown - Free Book Online

dissatisfied customer,’ said Holyoak. ‘I answered the door, and …’ He shrugged.
    The man looked a little startled. ‘What business are you in, Mr Holyoak?’ he asked.
    He might well want to know. ‘I run a finance company,’ Holyoak said. That was true; that was the legitimate arm of his business. ‘Some people don’t think they should have to pay back loans.’ That was true too, but they didn’t usually take cut-throat razors to you as a result. Holyoak’s business, and how he came by his current looks, were not fit subjects to discuss with even private detectives to whom he was paying enormous sums to ensure confidentiality.
    â€˜Have you reported the attack to the police?’ he asked suspiciously.
    The others had respected his privacy; Holyoak might have to get heavy with this one. ‘ No,’ he said. ‘I accept these things as an occupational hazard.’
    This one’s a bit iffy, said the detective’s look But that was all right; he had always been a bit iffy, but he wasn’t going to have the police getting curious about him at this late stage. If that was too rich for the private eye’s blood, he’d better turn down the work now before he was in too deep.
    â€˜Is that why you don’t want to involve the police in Catherine’s disappearance?’ he asked.
    â€˜Is that a problem for you?’ asked Holyoak, his voice deceptively polite.
    The man shook his head. ‘None of my business,’ he said.
    â€˜Good.’ Holyoak relaxed a little.
    â€˜So you were badly hurt, and she just took off?’
    Holyoak sighed. ‘ No. She called an ambulance, and waited for it to come. But when I got back from hospital, she wasn’t here. I went to bed, and this morning I realized that she hadn’t come back. Then I got the call from London.’
    â€˜Did she see your attacker?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜So you don’t think she’s in any danger – I mean, she couldn’t identify him?’
    â€˜She didn’t see him, and it wouldn’t matter if she had, because I know who did it,’ said Holyoak.
    â€˜This is a very nice place,’ he said, looking round the extremely comfortable sitting room in which they were talking. ‘My guess is that she’ll not want to fend for herself for too long.’
    â€˜Your guesses don’t interest me,’ Holyoak said.
    But yes, he had done well for himself. He had had the house built for his wife, who now had to use a wheelchair; everything was within reach. He had a full-time nurse. He had a Daimler and a chauffeur. But Catherine had chosen to run away just when he was in danger of losing it all; perhaps the lure that the detective guessed would bring her back wouldn’t be there for much longer. He had a lot of thinking to do, and this joker had better not be a time-waster.
    â€˜Do you get on with your stepdaughter as a rule?’
    Victor had had enough. ‘What’s that got to do with it?’ he asked.
    â€˜I … I thought that if she was frightened by what happened—’
    â€˜Don’t think,’ Holyoak said, his voice quiet.
    The man looked at him, his eyes widening slightly.
    â€˜Catherine wasn’t frightened,’ Holyoak went on. ‘ She disapproves of me, of what I do. She was ashamed, maybe, but not frightened. And I just want you to find her, not psychoanalyse her. Whether or not she can cope with my lifestyle is something her mother and I have to worry about – not you.’ He leant forward, and the other man shrank back. ‘I’m employing you to find her with minimum fuss and maximum efficiency. Don’t think. Just look.’
    The man licked his lips slightly, nodding. ‘Just trying to get the picture,’ he said hastily. ‘No offence. I just meant that if you and she don’t exactly … hit it off, well – she’ll probably just stay