Most Gracious Advocate (Terrence Reid Mystery Book 4)

by Mary Birk

  “If I don’t get the job, I won’t need anyone for a while.”

  “What does Terrence say?”

  “He thinks we need a nanny whether I get the job or not.”

  “He’s right. If you want any time for yourself, you need help.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Why don’t you let Terrence handle it? After all, he did a brilliant job finding Sebastian.”

  “That’s the problem. If Terrence hires the nanny, it’ll probably be someone like Sebastian. A commando nanny.” Anne glanced over to where the big Jamaican stood by a tree. At first, the large black man hanging around the park had made the other mothers and nannies nervous, but now they were used to him. Anne had been, unwillingly, the subject of media attention more than a few times in the past couple of years, and she was pretty sure everyone in the neighborhood knew who Terrence and she were, especially after she’d had to kill a man in their backyard last New Year’s Eve.

  “You’re not happy with Sebastian?

  “Sebastian’s great. I adore him. But a nanny should be someone a little softer, especially for a baby.”

  “It doesn’t do to coddle children. That way lies anarchy.”

  Anne touched Michael’s soft face. She intended to coddle him as much as she could for as long as she could.

  Claudia scrolled through her smartphone screen. “We’re not taking our girl with us to Majorca. You could use Tabby while we’re gone.”

  “How old is she?”

  “Sixteen.” Claudia gave a wry smile, putting her phone away. “Going on twenty-two. You’d get on with her. She’s American.”

  “Have you had her long?”

  “A little over two months.”

  “Is she good?”

  “Good enough.”

  “You wouldn’t mind us borrowing her?”

  “I’d be glad of it. Peter’s been insisting we need to pay her for the week even though the children are coming with us. You taking her on while we’re gone takes care of two problems. You’ll have a nanny and we won’t have to pay her for doing nothing. You’ll just need to cover her week’s salary.”

  Anne privately agreed with Peter; the girl should certainly not lose money because the family decided not to take her along on their vacation, but she didn’t share her opinion with Claudia.

  “Could Tabby handle Michael?”

  “If she can handle our mob, she’s well able to take care of a baby that stays where you put him.”

  “She’s good?” Anne asked again. Maybe trying out a temporary nanny wouldn’t be such a bad idea. It wasn’t as if she was going to leave the girl to take care of Michael for long periods of time. Either she or Sebastian would always be close by. And it would give her more time to find someone perfect on a more permanent basis. Hiring someone to stay in your house and look after your child long-term was almost like adopting someone into the family, and Anne didn’t want to rush it.

  “Really, Anne. I told you, she’s fine. Do you want me to ask her or not?”

  “I’d need to talk to Terrence before committing, but yes, please, ask her.”

  “Wonderful. If Terrence says yes, Peter will have to quit nagging at me to bring her along. He won’t worry if she’s with you. He doesn’t think it’s safe to leave her here alone.”

  “Why not?”

  “One of her friends, another au pair, has gone missing, and he’s making a fuss, says we can’t let anyone say we didn’t take proper care of Tabby.”

  Tabby’s friend had to be one of the missing girls Jack Shelton was coming here to see about. Terrence hadn’t said whether anything he’d told her about the missing girls was public knowledge. Best to play dumb.

  “Missing? That’s awful. What happened?”

  “The Gundersons, the people she works for, think she got tired of child minding, and took off. They’re not worried, but apparently, her mum is.” A yelp of distress came from a little girl who’d fallen in the gravel. Claudia stood up and called to her youngest child to come to her. “Melly’s always scraping up her knees. She’s such a butterball that when she runs to keep up with the other children, she always ends up on the ground.” The chubby little girl ran to her mother and let herself be fussed over. Claudia handed the girl a chocolate caramel, giving Anne a guilty smile. “I shouldn’t give her sweeties, but she loves them so much.” Melly, mouth bulging with candy, ran back to the other children, tears forgotten.

  Anne wondered what had happened to no coddling. “The healing powers of chocolate. Do you know the family the missing girl worked for?”

  “Not well. Some of their children go to the same school as our older two.”

  “I assume they called the police?”

  “I think it was actually one of the girl’s other friends that called them.”

  “The girl’s parents must be beside themselves.”

  “I imagine. I’ll ask Tabby about working for you when I get home. I’ll let you know what she says.”

  “Is there anything I need to know about her? Food allergies, anything like that?”

  “She eats anything and everything. Though you couldn’t tell by looking at her.”

  “Oh?”

  “She’s got a smashing figure.”

  Anne felt like there was something Claudia wasn’t saying. “And?”

  “She’s a little man-crazed.”

  Anne smiled. “What sixteen-year-old girl isn’t?”

  “Peter says the same thing. I think he’s flattered by the way she primps and prances around him. He doesn’t get that reaction from women a lot.” Claudia’s voice was tinged with rueful amusement.

  Thinking of the portly Peter MacTavish, Anne tried not to smile. “That’s kind of sweet.”

  “Just keep her away from your husband, and from your housekeeper, for that matter.”

  Anne laughed. “I’d be surprised if either one of them even notices her.”

  Claudia gave a little harrumph. “She works hard at being noticed.”

  “I’d have to take her with us up to Dunbaryn for a couple of days. I need to get the garden refurbish work started there as well and talk with Juliette about the remodeling for our family’s wing.” Anne bounced Michael on her lap, leaning over to smile at him and make him laugh.

  “She’ll be dazzled with the prospect of living in a castle.” Claudia offered Anne a chocolate caramel. Anne shook her head, and Claudia unwrapped one for herself. “Who’s watching Michael Sunday night while you’re at our party?”

  Anne shifted the baby on her lap and tucked a blanket around his winter playsuit. She thought she caught a subtle reminder in Claudia’s question that children were not on the invite list. “Sebastian. Thanks for inviting us, by the way. I’ll finally get a chance to wear the dress I got for your New Year’s Eve party.”

  Claudia made a face. “I had to get a new dress. Nothing I have fits me. I’ve not been able to shed the extra weight I gained with the last baby—who’s now four years old. I’ve got to get on some sort of regimen.” She patted her stomach, which was undeniably protruding. At least Claudia’s husband shared the same tendency to pudginess, Anne thought, so he shouldn’t care.

  “Don’t be silly. You look great.”

  “I feel like a frump. When we decided to change our annual Easter party from a daytime buffet to a dinner dance, I’d planned to lose the extra weight in time to wear something really smashing and to wear a bikini in Majorca. I just didn’t get it done. Another reason not to take Tabby to Majorca. Put her in a bikini and there’s no telling what she’d be up to.” She looked enviously at Anne. “You look smashing already and it’s only been months for you.”

  “It’s my first. Talk to me after number three.”

  Claudia nodded, seeming appeased. “It gets harder as you get older. To make it worse, Peter’s been slimming. He’s lost two stone already. It’s much easier for men.”

  “So true,” Anne agreed. “I’m really looking forward to your party. Terrence says you always ha
ve a lot of people.”

  “Tons. We use our Easter-do to pay back all of our invitations for the year.”

  “We get lots of invitations, but we never go. Except to your house. In fact, we owe you.” A niggling thought appeared. “Do we owe the people whose invitations we didn’t accept?”

  “Only if you want to keep up the acquaintance.”

  “I have no idea. I don’t know any of them.”

  “Presumably Terrence knows them. Ask him.”

  “What did Terrence do before me? Did he entertain?”

  Claudia considered. “Not that I can remember. We all put him in the category of a single man, since the two of you weren’t living together. No one expects much of single men except to come to dinners and parties, charity events, things like that. He did do a lot of that. He looks smashing in a dinner jacket.”

  “He does.” Michael started to whimper, and Anne realized he wanted to nurse. She tucked him under her sweater inside her coat, and wrapped a shawl around them for extra privacy. Sebastian caught her eye to see if she needed him, but Anne shook her head.

  “Being in the police, Terrence wouldn’t be expected to do as much entertaining as Peter or I would, with our jobs, but he’s in a different situation than a regular police superintendent.” Claudia averted her gaze as she spoke. She probably hadn’t nursed her children, or maybe she just disapproved of it being done, however discreetly, in public.

  “Because of his family?”

  “That, and because he’s not going to be a police superintendent forever.”

  “He hasn’t mentioned wanting us to do any entertaining.”

  “Maybe he’s waiting until you’ve had a chance to see how other people in our circle entertain. So you’ll know what’s expected.”

  Anne flinched at the not-so-subtle note of condescension in Claudia’s voice. Between her job and her relationship with Andrew, Anne was pretty sure she’d been to as many lavish entertainments in the past five years as the other woman had, though she’d never hosted them on her own. She decided to treat the remark as if it hadn’t been meant to wound.

  “He says he prefers staying home.”

  “There’s been a lot of publicity about the two of you. Maybe he thinks it’s best to stay tucked away until no one remembers.”

  “Are you saying he’s ashamed of me?”

  “Not ashamed. Perhaps he’s just being cautious.” Claudia took another piece of candy from her bag, still not looking at Anne. “At least until after his promotion.”

  “Promotion?”

  “To Chief Superintendent. Didn’t he tell you?” Claudia’s smug tone made Anne want to slap her, but not before she learned all she could.

  “Terrence is getting a promotion?

  “That’s what Peter says.” Claudia, unwrapping the chocolate caramel, said, “He also says Terrence is going to be the next head of MI-5 in Scotland after the current head steps down.”

  Anne felt as if someone had popped a balloon in her face. “MI-5? The intelligence agency?”

  “That’s the only one I know of.”

  “But Terrence is in the police.”

  “Really, Anne.” Again that note of condescension.

  “He’s never mentioned anything about MI-5 to me.”

  “Maybe he didn’t think you’d be interested.”

  “How could I not be interested?’

  “It does seem odd.” Claudia said, sounding like she actually thought it made sense for Terrence not to have told someone as flighty as Anne.

  “Are you saying he’s not with the police?”

  “As I understand, it’s a bit of both, police and MI-5, but his real skipper is the Deputy Director General of MI-5. Nelson Schilling.”

  “Commander Schilling? Terrence’s commanding officer from when he was in the Navy?” Anne had met the man several times when he’d come to the house for lunch.

  “Schilling’s not in the Navy anymore. He’s MI-5 Scotland’s DDG.”

  Anne felt like an idiot. “What’s a DDG? The head?”

  “Yes. Besides, Terrence was never in the proper Navy. He was in Intelligence. Him and pretty boy Stirling. From what I hear, neither one of them ever really left.”

  “John doesn’t work for the government. He has that security company, and,” Anne tried to remember what other businesses John Stirling owned. “And the oil company.”

  “John’s still involved, though not as fulltime as Terrence.”

  “And Terrence is going to be taking Nelson Schilling’s place?”

  “That’s what Peter thinks.”

  Anne breathed down her annoyance. Terrence and she needed to have a heart-to-heart about communication. No more secret career plans, and no more houseguest invitations without checking with each other.

  When her cellphone buzzed, she thought Terrence must have read her mind. But then she saw from the caller i.d. screen it wasn’t Terrence. It was Andrew. Again. To make matters worse, from the disapproving way Claudia looked at her, Anne knew the other woman had seen as well.

  “Aren’t you going to answer it?”

  Anne shook her head. “I’ll call him back.”

  “Does Terrence know you two are still in contact?”

  “Of course.” Anne could tell Claudia didn’t believe her, but she wasn’t going to try to defend herself to the other woman, especially since she was uncomfortable with Andrew’s unceasing attentions herself. But how could she cut him off when he was still so devastated by Lenore’s death? “I think I’d better get Michael home. He’s had enough fresh air.”

  And Anne had had enough of Claudia.

  Chapter 5

  “RUN IT AGAIN, PLEASE, ALLISON.” The guv indicated the large screen television at the end of the conference room at High Street. He was sitting in one of the chairs around the long table, his notebook and files in front of him. Just down from him, Harry balanced his chair on its back legs against the wall, his attention on the screen.

  After the High Street team got the case Sunday morning, the guv had immediately ordered the CCTV films collected from the entire area around the cinema where the girl was supposed to have been meeting her friend. For years now, closed circuit television cameras fitted out both by the local councils and private businesses, and aimed strategically around the city, had helped law enforcement catch criminals in the act. Not everyone liked the cameras, but the police loved it. Better than an eyewitness, the camera told the absolute truth.

  Allison hit the play button on the remote control and the CCTV recording started over again. The footage started with Lizzie Frost walking with a young man. Lizzie was a petite blonde with a nice figure. Not beautiful, but pretty. She’d been animated, shy but happy, talking, when on the street directly in front of her, a car’s back door opened, halting her progress. A woman got out of the car, her face turned away from the camera. Lizzie smiled and pushed her hair back behind her ears using both hands at once in a gesture that looked touchingly young. Then the other woman got back into the car, a black Audi. With an almost effortless motion, the young man pushed Lizzie in beside the woman, before sliding in next to her. Lizzie looked startled, and had obviously not expected to be getting into the car. The door closed, and the car drove away. No registration number was visible.

  Allison flipped the light switch back on when the recording finished playing and rejoined the Superintendent and Harry at the conference table. Oscar Browne, the team’s quiet, serious accounting genius and a dab-hand at computers, had spent Sunday night drinking endless cups of tea and watching hours of footage from the area around the cinema where Lizzie was supposed to have met her friend, as well as around the nearby restaurants. He’d struck gold when he found this recording, and been given the day off to catch up on his sleep.

  Superintendent Reid leaned back in his chair, and took a drink of his tea. “I’ll get the film to the press so they can show it on their broadcasts. Frank set up a tip line this morning. Maybe someone will recognize the one of the kidn
appers.”

  Harry said, “By tomorrow, we’ll probably be inundated with calls, most of them worthless shite from crazies.”

  “Maybe, but perhaps one or two of them will have something we can use. We’ll have to decide how much of what we know about the three disappearances to make public. It’ll need to be enough to put other girls who might be targeted on notice.”

  “You think there’ll be another one?”

  “We now have three girls missing—Kristen Daly, Susan Clark, and Lizzie Frost. If it’s the same kidnappers, and they’ve been successful so far, why would they stop?”

  “The three disappearances might not be connected.”

  “For now, let’s assume they are. The first step in a kidnapping is target selection—so why were these particular girls targeted? What ties these girls together, or what makes them similar?”

  Harry looked at Allison, giving her first dibs, but she froze up. She gave a slight shake of her head, so he went first. “They were all teenagers, all Americans, all white, and all au pairs. And all disappeared in, or around, Glasgow.”

  Without being asked, Allison went to the large erasable whiteboard and started writing down the points.

  Reid turned his attention to her. “Allison? What else?”

  Harry had taken all the obvious points, but she thought she had something to add. “The families they worked for weren’t particularly concerned about the girls’ disappearances. Annoyed at the inconvenience, and put out that they were out the price of the girls’ airline tickets, but they all assumed the girls decided babysitting wasn’t much fun and decided to take off in search of something more fun. None of them reported the girls missing.”

  The Superintendent nodded, still looking at her expectantly. “And?”

  Allison considered what she’d seen in the files. “They were from different towns in the States, so no link there.”

  “True.”