Read Online The Abduction: A Novel by Jonathan Holt - Free Book Online
Authors: Jonathan Holt
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Mia’s back.”
“Is there a recent picture of her I can take?”
The major handed her a framed photograph. It showed a pretty, smiling girl in a mortarboard and gown, holding some kind of school diploma.
“I have these,” Holly said quietly, before Kat could say anything about the usefulness or otherwise of the major’s photograph on the streets of Vicenza. From a folder neatly labelled “Mia Elston” she produced a shot of the same girl surrounded by friends in a pizza restaurant. She was dressed up and wearing a little discreet eyeliner. Kat was struck by how much older she looked than in the other picture.
“Will you circulate that?” the major said. “I mean, immediately, to all the police forces? And trace her phone and so on?”
Kat said carefully, “I’ll do what I can. The difficulty is that there’s no evidence yet of any crime.”
He looked puzzled. “We don’t know where she is. Isn’t that enough?”
“Until seventy-two hours have gone by, she isn’t officially a missing person. And checking her phone records at this stage would breach data privacy laws.”
“She’s a child, for Christ’s sake. How can her privacy be more important than her safety?” he demanded.
Kat asked a few more questions, jotting down the names of some friends she could speak to. It was certainly curious. With most reports of missing teenagers, there was a back-story that instantly explained things – a boy the parents didn’t approve of, a group who were a bad influence. Neither seemed to be the case here.
Her eye was caught by a chart pinned up next to the cooker. It was headed “KP Duty” and listed various household chores – cleaning, laundry, garbage. Along the top were the children’s names, Mia and Michael. Each box contained a silver or gold star to show what had been done. In the case of Mia, she noticed, the stars were all gold.
Major Elston followed her gaze. “She’s a good kid,” he said simply.
Holly got to her feet. “I’ll show you her room.”
The two women went upstairs in silence. Somehow the moment had passed to say hello to each other.
“Thanks for coming,” Holly said at last. She spoke Italian, as she’d always done with Kat when they were alone. Having grown up on an army base near Pisa herself, she was as fluent as any native.
“It’s no problem. My bosses were fine with it in the end. Anything for our friends the Americans, in fact.”
“I’d hoped we’d see each other under different circumstances—”
“But we didn’t,” Kat interrupted brusquely. “Is this her bedroom?”
Holly sighed. “Yes.”
Kat had been expecting a typical princess’s boudoir, filled with posters of teenage heart-throbs. But Mia’s bedroom was nothing like that. A bookcase, meticulously organised, held a row of framed photographs, mostly of Mia doing various sports. There were a couple of posters, but they’d been properly framed and hung on the wall. The only clutter was on the bed, on to which two drawers of underwear had been emptied. A young carabiniere sat going through them. Another stood by the window, his back to the room, gesticulating angrily.
“You need to clean the carburettor before you look for the leak. No, listen to what I’m telling you. The filters were new three months ago—”
The carabiniere on the bed scrambled to his feet and saluted. Hearing him, the other one turned, slipping his phone away and saluting Kat in one practised gesture.
“Found anything?” Kat asked pleasantly.
The men looked at each other and shrugged.
“Well, what exactly are you looking for?” she prompted.
“Clues?” the first one said tentatively.
“Such as?”
Both men looked blank. Kat gave an inward sigh. “Clueless” would be a more fitting description. “OK, I’ll take it from here.”
When they’d gone she started putting underwear back into the drawers. “All right, I can see why you called me,” she conceded.
Holly nodded. “Bad enough when it
“Is there a recent picture of her I can take?”
The major handed her a framed photograph. It showed a pretty, smiling girl in a mortarboard and gown, holding some kind of school diploma.
“I have these,” Holly said quietly, before Kat could say anything about the usefulness or otherwise of the major’s photograph on the streets of Vicenza. From a folder neatly labelled “Mia Elston” she produced a shot of the same girl surrounded by friends in a pizza restaurant. She was dressed up and wearing a little discreet eyeliner. Kat was struck by how much older she looked than in the other picture.
“Will you circulate that?” the major said. “I mean, immediately, to all the police forces? And trace her phone and so on?”
Kat said carefully, “I’ll do what I can. The difficulty is that there’s no evidence yet of any crime.”
He looked puzzled. “We don’t know where she is. Isn’t that enough?”
“Until seventy-two hours have gone by, she isn’t officially a missing person. And checking her phone records at this stage would breach data privacy laws.”
“She’s a child, for Christ’s sake. How can her privacy be more important than her safety?” he demanded.
Kat asked a few more questions, jotting down the names of some friends she could speak to. It was certainly curious. With most reports of missing teenagers, there was a back-story that instantly explained things – a boy the parents didn’t approve of, a group who were a bad influence. Neither seemed to be the case here.
Her eye was caught by a chart pinned up next to the cooker. It was headed “KP Duty” and listed various household chores – cleaning, laundry, garbage. Along the top were the children’s names, Mia and Michael. Each box contained a silver or gold star to show what had been done. In the case of Mia, she noticed, the stars were all gold.
Major Elston followed her gaze. “She’s a good kid,” he said simply.
Holly got to her feet. “I’ll show you her room.”
The two women went upstairs in silence. Somehow the moment had passed to say hello to each other.
“Thanks for coming,” Holly said at last. She spoke Italian, as she’d always done with Kat when they were alone. Having grown up on an army base near Pisa herself, she was as fluent as any native.
“It’s no problem. My bosses were fine with it in the end. Anything for our friends the Americans, in fact.”
“I’d hoped we’d see each other under different circumstances—”
“But we didn’t,” Kat interrupted brusquely. “Is this her bedroom?”
Holly sighed. “Yes.”
Kat had been expecting a typical princess’s boudoir, filled with posters of teenage heart-throbs. But Mia’s bedroom was nothing like that. A bookcase, meticulously organised, held a row of framed photographs, mostly of Mia doing various sports. There were a couple of posters, but they’d been properly framed and hung on the wall. The only clutter was on the bed, on to which two drawers of underwear had been emptied. A young carabiniere sat going through them. Another stood by the window, his back to the room, gesticulating angrily.
“You need to clean the carburettor before you look for the leak. No, listen to what I’m telling you. The filters were new three months ago—”
The carabiniere on the bed scrambled to his feet and saluted. Hearing him, the other one turned, slipping his phone away and saluting Kat in one practised gesture.
“Found anything?” Kat asked pleasantly.
The men looked at each other and shrugged.
“Well, what exactly are you looking for?” she prompted.
“Clues?” the first one said tentatively.
“Such as?”
Both men looked blank. Kat gave an inward sigh. “Clueless” would be a more fitting description. “OK, I’ll take it from here.”
When they’d gone she started putting underwear back into the drawers. “All right, I can see why you called me,” she conceded.
Holly nodded. “Bad enough when it
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