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Authors: Stephen Leather
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Mike.
She flicked through the sheets, nodding. “These are all my cases,” she said. She grimaced at the Mills sheet. “Suzanne was walking home from choir practice and never showed up. No history of problems. I’ve always had a bad feeling about Suzanne.”
“Because she was a pretty girl?”
Her charcoal eyes narrowed. “You say ‘was’ like you know something, Jack?”
“Slip of the tongue,’ he said. “Have you made any progress on the three cases?” he asked.
“No. Not really.”
“They’re not the typical missing persons cases, am I right?”
“A nun, a priest and a choir girl, no, I’d say not.”
“Like I said, most missing persons turn up eventually, don’t they?”
She nodded. “Ninety-nine per cent. And those that stay missing are usually alive and well but have a good reason for staying missing. Abusive spouse, debts they can’t pay, the cops on their trail. To be honest, most of my work is just keeping track of who is missing and who has turned up. The difference between the two is quite small and as I said, most of them have gone missing voluntarily.”
“And these three?”
Inspector Chen sighed. “Father Mike and Sister Rosa aren’t priorities, obviously. I checked all the hospitals and the morgues but other than that...” She left the sentence unfinished. Nightingale assumed that like police officers around the world she was overworked and underpaid. “The girl, I was more concerned about abduction but no one saw her being taken. I spoke to the family, no problems at home, and I checked her social media and she didn’t seem to be planning to run away with a boyfriend.” She smiled. “Or girlfriend. I did the basic checks, now we wait.”
“Wait?”
“To see if she turns up. I put her name in all the databases, if she tries to get on a plane or use her credit card or comes into contact with the police, I’ll be notified. And we check her against all Jane Does as they come in.”
“But other than that, the investigation has gone cold?”
“We’ve got priorities. You know about the two ten-year-olds who went missing last week?”
Nightingale shook his head.
“Brett Michaels and Sharonda Parker. Both just plain vanished.”
“Any connection?”
“None that we can see. He’s white and from a good family, she’s black, mother’s a single parent. They live on opposite sides of town. But they went missing on the same day.”
“Coincidence?”
“I hope so.”
“You hope so?”
“If it’s the same guy then he could strike again. If they’re just missing and they turn up, then all’s well that ends well.”
“You’re assuming a guy.”
She shrugged. “Women don’t usually abduct children, other than family members. And we’ve run all the usually family checks on both kids. Missing kids are always our priority.”
“Sure, of course. I hope they turn up.”
“You and me both.” She gave him back the papers. “So when are you going to level with me?”
“Level with you?”
She smiled coldly. “You’re a journalist but you don’t take notes. You ask cop questions. And you’ve got a cop’s eyes.”
Nightingale forced a smile, but his mind was racing. He couldn’t tell her the truth, but she’d already seen through one lie. All he could do was to try to tell her a better lie. And a better lie was one that was closer to the truth. “You’ve got me,” he said. “I’m a private eye.”
“An English private eye working in the States. I’m not sure I buy that.”
“Father Mike has relatives back in Ireland. They want to know what’s happened to him.”
Inspector Chen pulled a face as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. “They think we’re not up to the job, is that it?”
“They understand that you have priorities and they wanted to make sure that everything that can be done is being done. And I think there might be a financial motive too.”
“How that?”
“Father Mike still has some assets back in Ireland. Some
She flicked through the sheets, nodding. “These are all my cases,” she said. She grimaced at the Mills sheet. “Suzanne was walking home from choir practice and never showed up. No history of problems. I’ve always had a bad feeling about Suzanne.”
“Because she was a pretty girl?”
Her charcoal eyes narrowed. “You say ‘was’ like you know something, Jack?”
“Slip of the tongue,’ he said. “Have you made any progress on the three cases?” he asked.
“No. Not really.”
“They’re not the typical missing persons cases, am I right?”
“A nun, a priest and a choir girl, no, I’d say not.”
“Like I said, most missing persons turn up eventually, don’t they?”
She nodded. “Ninety-nine per cent. And those that stay missing are usually alive and well but have a good reason for staying missing. Abusive spouse, debts they can’t pay, the cops on their trail. To be honest, most of my work is just keeping track of who is missing and who has turned up. The difference between the two is quite small and as I said, most of them have gone missing voluntarily.”
“And these three?”
Inspector Chen sighed. “Father Mike and Sister Rosa aren’t priorities, obviously. I checked all the hospitals and the morgues but other than that...” She left the sentence unfinished. Nightingale assumed that like police officers around the world she was overworked and underpaid. “The girl, I was more concerned about abduction but no one saw her being taken. I spoke to the family, no problems at home, and I checked her social media and she didn’t seem to be planning to run away with a boyfriend.” She smiled. “Or girlfriend. I did the basic checks, now we wait.”
“Wait?”
“To see if she turns up. I put her name in all the databases, if she tries to get on a plane or use her credit card or comes into contact with the police, I’ll be notified. And we check her against all Jane Does as they come in.”
“But other than that, the investigation has gone cold?”
“We’ve got priorities. You know about the two ten-year-olds who went missing last week?”
Nightingale shook his head.
“Brett Michaels and Sharonda Parker. Both just plain vanished.”
“Any connection?”
“None that we can see. He’s white and from a good family, she’s black, mother’s a single parent. They live on opposite sides of town. But they went missing on the same day.”
“Coincidence?”
“I hope so.”
“You hope so?”
“If it’s the same guy then he could strike again. If they’re just missing and they turn up, then all’s well that ends well.”
“You’re assuming a guy.”
She shrugged. “Women don’t usually abduct children, other than family members. And we’ve run all the usually family checks on both kids. Missing kids are always our priority.”
“Sure, of course. I hope they turn up.”
“You and me both.” She gave him back the papers. “So when are you going to level with me?”
“Level with you?”
She smiled coldly. “You’re a journalist but you don’t take notes. You ask cop questions. And you’ve got a cop’s eyes.”
Nightingale forced a smile, but his mind was racing. He couldn’t tell her the truth, but she’d already seen through one lie. All he could do was to try to tell her a better lie. And a better lie was one that was closer to the truth. “You’ve got me,” he said. “I’m a private eye.”
“An English private eye working in the States. I’m not sure I buy that.”
“Father Mike has relatives back in Ireland. They want to know what’s happened to him.”
Inspector Chen pulled a face as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. “They think we’re not up to the job, is that it?”
“They understand that you have priorities and they wanted to make sure that everything that can be done is being done. And I think there might be a financial motive too.”
“How that?”
“Father Mike still has some assets back in Ireland. Some
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