I can hear Mitch and Esme continuing their search in the bedroom. How long will it be before they finish their tasks and come in here? I want to try and find out what this note says all by myself. It might not be relevant to the case, but it could also be the lead we’ve been looking for to get this investigation up and running. OK. Breathe. Focus. I move the remaining pieces of paper around. Come on, I chant silently. Please let the pieces fit and the note reveal its secret.
If it has a secret to hide, that is. I might well be scrambling around on my hands and knees on the bathroom floor for no good reason.
“Amber! What have you found?” Mitch marches into the bathroom, closely followed by Esme.
Sugar. I wasn’t quick enough, and now Mitch is going to take over. Well, technically, he is the one in charge of this investigation, I remind myself as Mitch crouches on the floor next to me, nudging me unceremoniously out of the way. And we are supposed to be working as a team. Hmm. Perhaps I should just have taken my discovery straight to him anyway.
“You should have come and fetched me to check this out,” he says, as he starts trying bits of paper here and there, attempting to complete the note.
I push back, resting my head against the wall and meet Esme’s gaze. She rolls her eyes behind Mitch’s back. Clearly she’s not impressed with his lack of working-as-a-team abilities either.
“What is it?” Dorothea gasps as she walks into the bathroom. “Have you found something?”
“Do you know if Poppy might have kept in touch with any old flames?” I ask her, earning myself another shot of disapproval from Mitch. I’m thinking maybe Poppy could have got cold feet because she still had feelings for one of her ex-boyfriends.
Looking uncomfortable, she nods. “It’s possible. Poppy’s such a sweetheart. She’s pretty, she’s smart and she’s successful. But she’s also vulnerable and men, well, they take advantage of that, don’t they?”
“They do indeed,” Esme replies with a sigh which suggests she knows all about men messing women around. “So, Poppy had dated quite a bit, had she?”
“I’m afraid Poppy had a weakness for men who are trouble. She always thought she would be the one to turn them around and bring out their inner goodness. She wanted to help, but more often than not she just ended up getting used and it would all end in disaster.” Glancing out of the bedroom window she adds with a distinct bitter edge to her voice, “I blame her father and our divorce. Maybe she’s a bad judge of character because of what she saw me going through when Tony left us both. She was only twelve at the time. As if she didn’t have enough to cope with, all of that teenage angst, then she had her father walking out as well.”
“Do you think Poppy might call the men she’s been involved with mistakes?” I ask as I get to my feet, recalling the words I’d managed to piece together from her note. “Have you heard her use that word about her ex-boyfriends?”
“Yes, absolutely.” Dorothea nods. “I’d agree with her too. In my opinion all of the men she got herself involved with were huge mistakes, except for David and Taylor.”
So the note could be a clue then.
Dorothea continues, “With each of them I thought she might have finally found a decent, honest man, worthy of her love. Taylor, well, he isn’t like a rock musician, is he?”
Mitch stands up and raises an eyebrow. “And what, in your opinion, Miss Randall, is a typical rock musician?”
“You know,” she replies with a delicate shrug. “Sex, drugs and rock and roll. Taylor loves his rock and roll, but he also loves my daughter. Of that I’m sure. He works with a charity which campaigns to encourage sobriety amongst young people too, so he isn’t into getting stoned or drunk. He’s a good and honest man. Poppy disappearing like this is tearing him apart.”
“It looked as though the bridesmaids were doing a good job of consoling him when we left the marquee,” Mitch says, with a hint of a smirk. “Who are the bridesmaids by the way?”
I step forward and open my mouth to reply, recalling their names from when I asked Dorothea in the marquee. Mitch shoots me a grumpy look and stares me down as if daring me to say something he can have a go at me about. I decide, on this occasion, to keep quiet. I know I need to play an active role in this investigation in order to be in with a chance of passing this assignment but I obviously need to tread carefully around Mitch.
Dorothea clears her throat. “There are three of them. Lottie, Connie and Deedee. Lottie and Poppy have been friends since university. Constance, she prefers to be called Connie, is a colleague of Poppy’s, they work at the same public relations firm. The company is called Go To PR. The third bridesmaid, Deidre, known as Deedee, is Poppy’s cousin, she’s like a sister to Poppy.”
“Is that how Poppy and Taylor met?” Esme asks. “Is Taylor a client at Go To PR?”
“Yes, he is. A friend of his recommended the company to him,” Dorothea answers.
I check my watch and my stomach clenches, the time is going too fast. Will we be able to solve this case before the deadline of six o’clock tomorrow evening? I push back the rising panic and force my mind to focus on the case. “You were telling us about the two men Poppy has been involved with who you thought were decent,” I prompt. “You told us about Taylor but what about this David guy you mentioned just a few moments ago? You said you thought he was a good guy. What happened there?”
Dorothea’s fingers go back to twirling the beads on her necklace. “Ah, yes, David. They first met at university, they were friends, but after finishing their studies they eventually lost touch. Fate intervened though when they met up again at a party years’ later.” She sighs. “David was so upset when she ended their relationship. It didn’t help matters that she began seeing Taylor straight away either.”
“How long ago did they break up?” I ask.
Dorothea looks thoughtful for a moment. “It was just over a year ago, I think. As I say, as soon as she broke things off with him, she started seeing Taylor. Poppy and Taylor hadn’t been together very long when they got engaged. She said she knew Taylor was the man for her and they started planning the wedding straight away. Taylor had touring commitments coming up in America with his indie rock band, so they scheduled the wedding to give them time for a honeymoon in the States before the tour started.”
“Did you ever meet David?” Esme asks, backing up my line of questioning, as Mitch, who is now back on the floor, scrabbles around once more with the pieces of paper from the ripped up note.
“Yes, several times. Poppy and David were in a relationship for about two years prior to her meeting Taylor. David was a gentleman. He was from a wealthy family and really looked after Poppy, always treating her to trips and gifts. They spent pretty much all of their time together, when they weren’t at work. You don’t seriously think David could have kidnapped her, do you?”
“It’s a possibility,” I reply cautiously. “Did David know about the wedding? Did he know when and where it was going to take place?”
“I don’t know,” Dorothea replies with a shrug of frustration. “I suppose Poppy could have told him, but there’s no way David could be involved with all of this.”
“I think this note could have something to do with Poppy and one of her bad guy ex boyfriends,” Mitch says, scooting back so we can all see the now complete note on the bathroom floor. “Could she have been in contact with one of them about the wedding?”
Taylor, my sweet, I’ve been waiting for this day since we first met. As soon as I saw you I knew you were the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. The man I wanted to marry and raise a family with, but now everything is such a mess. We’ve both made mistakes. I know, in my heart, you and I could work things out given a chance but I fear it might be too late and now our wedding day is ruined. The future we had planned out is torn to pieces. Just like this note you’ll never read. I’m so sorry. Poppy. xxx
Dorothea nods, tears falling from her perfectly made-up eyes, as she plays her role in this faux cas
e to the hilt. “I think she might have. Like I mentioned, she can be vulnerable sometimes. I thought she’d given up on her ex-boyfriends and had finally learned her lesson. Maybe she did get back in touch with one or two of them, but it could have just been because she wanted to share her good news about the wedding.”
“Or it could have been because she still had a thing for one of them, and wanted him to swoop in here like some kind of mistaken hero and declare undying love to her,” Mitch retorts.
Esme shoots him a look of incredulity. “And what would you know about undying love? You don’t strike me as a relationship kind of guy. You’ve got this whole frosty exterior thing going on.”
WHAT?! Esme seems to want to pick arguments with Mitch but now really isn’t an appropriate time to do so. “Dorothea, can you think of any particular ex-boyfriend Poppy might still have feelings for?” I ask, keen to steer the topic of conversation back to the investigation.
“Well, I think she might still be fond of a guy called Leon, she has mentioned him a few times. And then there’s David, of course. Of all her relationships, she was with him for the longest time.”
“Can you remember anything about this Leon?” Esme asks, her mind now thankfully back on the job.
Dorothea frowns in concentration for a few moments. “Black. I think his surname is Black. He used to work for another public relations company in London. Poppy met him at some conference. I think they dated for about six months or so.”
“And why did they break up?” I ask, scribbling the details down in my notebook as fast as I can. My memory isn’t the best, so I want to take notes to ensure I don’t forget anything critical.
“He had a drink problem and could be volatile when he’d had a few too many,” Dorothea answers.
“Volatile as in violent?” Mitch checks.
Dorothea nods.
“That could be our guy. Leon Black’s an unusual name, he shouldn’t be too difficult to track down,” Mitch says, pulling his phone from the pocket of his jeans. “Whilst I request a background check on him, can you tell us everything you know about the other guy, David?”
CHAPTER FOUR
Time now: 18:30
Time to deadline: 23 hours and 30 minutes
I shove some clothes out of the way and sit down on the bed next to Dorothea. “Was Poppy maybe still seeing David behind Taylor’s back? Is that a possibility? Even if it was just as friends.”
“I don’t know,” Dorothea says, sniffing back tears.
“Has she mentioned him to you recently?” Mitch asks. Having completed his text message regarding the background check, he’s now standing in front of us, arms crossed and a frown on his aristocratic features.
“No, not really. If Poppy is involved with David again then it can’t be as more than friends. She’s so crazy about Taylor that I can’t bring myself to accept it was anything more than that.”
“Tell us everything you know about this David,” Mitch instructs, pulling a notepad from his jacket pocket. “What’s his surname? Where does he live? What’s his job?”
Dorothea looks flustered and I bristle at Mitch’s sharp tone. It seems to me as though he’s not very hot on people skills in general - whether it’s with co-workers or with a pretend distraught mother of the bride.
“Take your time,” I say to her, handing over a box of tissues I’ve just spotted on the floor. They must have fallen there when Mitch and Esme searched the room.
She takes a handful of tissues and flashes me a grateful look. “His name is David Smith. He’s some kind of financial whiz kid. Works in London, in the City.”
“Which bank?” Mitch asks, as he scribbles all this down.
“I don’t think he works for a bank. His family have an investment brokering business or something along those lines. That’s who he works for. Well, works probably gives the wrong impression. He’s being groomed to run the company when his father retires.”
“What’s the company name?” Esme asks Dorothea with an encouraging smile.
Esme might come over as determined and ambitious and she might look a tad scary with her Goth image but she clearly has people skills. Unlike Mitch.
“Hammond and Astor, I think,” Dorothea replies uncertainly. “Something like that anyway.”
“Where’s Poppy’s mobile phone?” Esme asks her gently. “Any idea, Dorothea? I’m thinking that if Poppy has been in touch with David, then surely his number will be in the memory on her phone.”
I look at Esme and telepathically try to beam her a good thinking message. She winks. I think I’m growing to like this feisty wannabe support officer.
“I don’t know,” Dorothea shrugs, looking as though she’s beginning to wilt under the pressure of all the questions we’re firing at her. “Didn’t any of you find it when you searched her room?”
We all shake our heads.
“You haven’t already tried to ring her? You know, when you first discovered she was missing?” I check.
“Yes, of course I did, but there was no answer, it went straight to voicemail,” she replies.
“Call the number again. Now,” Mitch instructs. “If it’s anywhere around here, then we’ll hear the ringtone.”
Dorothea ferrets around in her bag and pulls out her own phone. We wait as she calls Poppy’s number. Holding our breath we listen for any sounds – ringing, beeps, bursts of the 1812 Overture. Anything that might be a modern version of a ringtone. There’s nothing.
“Hello?” Dorothea says cautiously into her mobile phone, startling me.
Someone answered Poppy’s phone?
“Who is this?” she asks, as we all crowd close to her, trying to eavesdrop. “What have you done with my Poppy?”
Mitch gestures for Dorothea to hand him the phone but she backs away, shaking her head.
“Put it on speaker phone,” Mitch hisses at her. As she does so, a robotic voice echoes eerily around the bedroom. The kidnapper is obviously using one of those software gadgets which disguises a voice to the extent where you can’t even tell if it’s a man or a woman speaking.
“I wondered how long it would take for one of you to call Poppy’s phone. I assume all of your little friends are listening in too?” the distorted voice says as we hold our breath. “Your twenty-four hour deadline is fast approaching and the victim is most anxious to be rescued. Especially as she’s still wearing her fancy dress which, I have to say, is not very practical or comfortable for being kidnapped in! You’re not going to let her down, now are you?”
“What do you want in exchange for her freedom?” Mitch demands of the kidnapper. “Is this about money?”
The voice laughs. “No, nothing like that. Personally, I find money rather distasteful. I’m sure you’ll all beaver away and figure this out before too long. I look forward to seeing you all soon.” The line goes dead.
“Don’t you just wish it was about money and then we could just turn up at the designated spot and time with a briefcase of fake Monopoly money and get the runaway bride back?” Esme says, flopping into a chair. “Nothing’s ever that simple though, is it?”
“I thought I heard a sound in the background on that call,” Mitch says, ignoring Esme’s griping. “Did anyone else pick it up too?”
“You mean that faint clinking sound?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah. Anybody know what the noise is? I thought it sounded a bit metallic.”
“I recognise it from somewhere,” Esme says. “It reminds me of holidays for some reason.”
A picture flashes through my mind. When we arrived, I was taking in the view and across the hotel grounds there was a lake and a small marina. Boats. “The noise is like the one you get when the rigging on boats rattles and clinks in the wind. There’s a marina at the hotel. The kidnapper could be holding Poppy on one of the boats.”
“I’m going down there to take a look,” Mitch says, already striding from the room.
“But it’s dark!” Esme shouts after him.
Dorothea follows us into the corridor and I turn and rest a hand on her arm. “I think it would be best if you stay here. I’ll keep you informed about what’s going on.”
Dorothea gives me a small nod. “Wherever she is, I hope and pray that she’s safe. Being forced to miss her wedding is bad enough, but knowing her disappearance is causing so much distress to Taylor and to her family and friends will be tearing her apart.”
I rub Dorothea’s shoulders to try and console her a little. “I know, but try not to worry too much. We’ll find her. I promise.”
Sniffing into a tissue she turns away, walking back into Poppy’s bedroom and closing the door.
This is all so weird. I don’t feel as though this is fake, with actors, pretend emotions and a set up situation. I feel as though I’m genuinely trying to help solve a crime and catch a kidnapper. Everything seems real - the people, the tension, the ticking clock and looming deadline. Dashing along the hotel hallway, with its thick carpet and dark wood doors, I hope I haven’t just made a promise to Dorothea that I can’t keep.
Mitch doesn’t wait for us as he sprints through the floodlit grounds in the direction of the marina. Come to think of it, I’m sure he’d rather Esme and I weren’t planning on accompanying him down to investigate the boats tied up on the lake. He did say, ‘I’m going’ not ‘let’s go’. It seems Mitch prefers to work alone. Well, tough. This is an assignment for all three of us and Esme and I are going to play our part in this investigation whether he likes it or not. We have to if we want to be in with any chance of being offered a job by the agency at the end of all of this.
By the time Esme and I have reached the first of the three wooden docks the boats are tied up to, Mitch is already climbing aboard the nearest yacht. Aren’t you supposed to knock or ask permission to come aboard or something first? I have no experience of boats whatsoever but I’m pretty sure just leaping aboard is frowned upon, rather like bursting uninvited into someone’s home.
Amber Reed Mysteries Volume One: Romantic Comedy Mystery Series Box Set (Amber Reed Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency Mystery Box Set Book 1) Page 21
