Philip had never felt useful in any of his dealings with the police. As the victim’s father they had at first looked to him to lead, until it became as clear to them as it had always been to him that Patricia was in control of everything that mattered. So, with a creeping sense of humiliation, he’d found himself excused from the proceedings, with every subsequent question directed at his wife, and if she was not there, waiting until she was.
He lingered in front of a hotel restaurant. It puzzled him there were so few police around – surely they should be swarming the resort looking for clues – but then he overheard a waiter tell a table of diners there had been a sighting of the woman in a car heading towards a neighbouring town. It was, apparently, the talk of Saros. He edged closer to the table so he was better able to hear.
‘Someone called 112, our emergency number,’ Philip heard the waiter explain in broken English. ‘It is a white Seat Leon, which is no good for the trace because it’s Spain’s most popular car in the most popular colour.’
It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, thought Philip. Feeling defeated, he decided to stop for a coffee himself. When the waiter came over, he asked him to repeat what he’d said to the other diners, then asked if the police had said who’d called the emergency number. The waiter said he didn’t know.
Two cups of strong coffee later, Philip felt his resolve returning. He would continue looking for Maggie and still offer his help to the family of the missing woman, presuming she hadn’t yet been located. And even if she was found, he could still help them with tips on how to deal with the media.
Extracting a ten-euro note from his wallet, Philip deposited it on the table and got to his feet, ready to resume his search. He looked over at the beach. It wasn’t as busy as usual and as he watched the few families who were there interact with one another, their expressions happy and their bodies relaxed, a chill ran through him. How could somewhere so beautiful and dazzling and full of life also appear so dark and malevolent?
Philip quickened his pace and kept his gaze resolutely forward as he passed the section of beach where he’d last seen his daughter. For a long time his mind had shuttered the memory of what happened that day, as though it was protecting him from the horror of it. Instead it came back to him in snatches, like a photo gallery scrolling on a computer screen: Patricia shouting at him to pack up the bags . . . him trying to locate Declan swimming in the sea, to tell him to get out . . .
He stopped suddenly, causing a young couple walking hand-in-hand towards him to yank apart to avoid a collision. The man muttered a rude word under his breath as they passed by him and reattached themselves.
Philip could feel his heart juddering against his ribcage as he forced himself to turn and look down at the spot where they had been that day. While Patricia had stuffed their belongings into their bags, scattering sand into every crevice in her haste, he’d gone down to the shore to look for Declan. When he hadn’t spotted him, he’d gone back up the beach and, lo and behold, there was Declan, towel in hand, looking bewildered as Patricia barked orders at him to get dressed and pack up.
Philip had thought nothing of it at the time, assuming Declan must’ve got out of the water and gone past without him noticing. Afterwards they had been so focused on finding Katy that he hadn’t dwelled on it.
But being at the scene of her disappearance had brought it back into sharp focus and he was now certain that when Declan had returned to their sunbeds after saying he’d been in the sea swimming, he had in fact been bone dry.
So if he hadn’t been in the water like he claimed, where had he been?
39
Maggie got up from the bench and walked across to the hotel, pushing thoughts of Umpire and George to the recesses of her mind as she focused on what else she needed to ask Jade’s family. Experience had taught her that relatives never quite knew what information was helpful, and either held back crucial details thinking they were irrelevant, or instead dumped a tsunami of trivia at her feet for her to wade through, as Clive and Mandy had earlier. But time was of the essence now and, after Mason’s revelation about the man in the bar, she needed to hone in on other incidents that might be related.
She was about to cross the threshold into the hotel’s reception when a hand suddenly grabbed her arm and she twirled round to find a breathless Philip Pope beside her.
‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump,’ he said. ‘I’ve been looking for you for ages, and then I tried to call your name when I saw you, but I couldn’t do that and run at the same time.’ He peered through the double glass doors. ‘Is this where the missing woman’s family is staying?’
‘No, they aren’t staying here but the hotel is kindly letting them wait inside for news.’
‘Where are they staying?’
‘I’m not entirely sure,’ she hedged. She did know, but she didn’t want word getting out and the family being besieged there.
‘Is it a villa, out of town?’
‘What makes you ask that?’ She was curious that he’d landed on the correct answer so quickly.
‘The one where we stayed ten years ago was up in the hills,’ said Philip worriedly. ‘We had to drive to get to the beach. What if it’s the same place?’
Maggie knew it couldn’t be: the villa where the Reynolds and Mason were staying was only a ten-minute walk across the main road at the back of Saros. There were no hills between there and the beach.
‘It’s not, I promise,’ she said, before swiftly changing the subject. ‘Are you heading back to Orquídea now? Me and the others won’t be free until later, so if you do want to go ahead with the memorial service today I’m afraid it’ll have to be without us.’
‘It’s on hold for now,’ said Philip with a solemn shake of his head. ‘It would be wrong to proceed while history is repeating itself.’
‘The police in Saros don’t believe today’s incident is connected,’ she said gently, hoping the assurance would calm him down. ‘There’s been a sighting of Jade in the next town.’
‘Yes, a waiter in a cafe just told me. But the person who reported it could be mistaken,’ he said firmly. ‘You know as well as I do that there are more similarities with this case and my daughter’s than there are differences. The location, the time of day, the fact she was wearing her beach attire – she’s even a brunette like Katy, or so I’ve been told. It’s the reason I’ve come to find you. Actually, one of two reasons.’
His eyes were lit up with emotion. It was the most animated Maggie had seen him since they had been introduced. He was usually so docile, the tortoise to Patricia’s hare.
‘Okay, what’s the first reason?’
‘I’ve remembered something. About the day Katy went missing.’ He exhaled deeply before his words poured out in a long gush. ‘I don’t think Declan went swimming like he said he did. I went looking for him on the shoreline when Patricia and I realized Katy had been gone too long but I couldn’t spot him anywhere,’ he said. ‘Yet when I returned to where we’d been sitting, he was already there. He said I must’ve missed him as he walked up the beach a minute or so earlier, but I am now positive, absolutely positive, that he was completely dry when I found him by our sun loungers.’ He paused for another deep breath. ‘Maggie, I am now certain he hadn’t been anywhere near the water.’
It took her a moment for the implication of what Philip was saying to sink in. By doubting Declan’s whereabouts that day, Philip was effectively withdrawing his alibi for him.
‘Well?’ Philip prompted.
She knew what he wanted to hear, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She should speak to Walker first, so he could decide what action should be taken – if any. Maggie didn’t doubt that Philip was being sincere now, and he didn’t strike her as someone who would make something up for the sake of it, but what if his memory was now being muddied by what was going on with Jade?
‘Has Declan said something to make you question what you remembered?’ she asked.
‘No, I haven’t spoken to him about it. I think it was because I was down at that part of the beach. I’ve always avoided it, you see. But something about being there, seeing the spot where I last saw Katy, made me go over it again.’ He looked troubled. ‘I always accepted at face value that Declan had been in the water because he said he had. Now I think he was lying.’
‘There is another possibility,’ said Maggie cautiously. ‘If he only went for a paddle, that would account for him not being fully wet.’
‘No, no, I would’ve seen him. I went down to the shoreline and walked back and forth. If he’d been standing there with only his feet getting wet I would’ve come across him.’
Maggie was struck by a thought.
‘Was Katy still with you on the beach when Declan said he was going for a swim?’
Philip’s brow furrowed. ‘Yes, I’m sure she was. In fact, she was going to go in with him, but he stopped her—’
‘What are you two conspiring about?’
George Pope suddenly swooped over them like an eagle defending her chicks with her wingspan. He was almost as tall as Umpire, and fair-haired like him too. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to him, Maggie thought, because he reminds me a bit of Will. But when his hand brushed against her bare arm she experienced another involuntary shiver.
‘Oh, it was nothing,’ said Philip quickly.
Maggie was surprised. Why wouldn’t Philip want his son to know his suspicions about Declan?
‘I thought you were napping,’ Philip added.
‘That was ages ago, Dad. Do you realize you’ve been gone for hours? Mum’s doing her nut wondering where you are. She sent me to track you down,’ said George.
‘Have I really? I should get back.’
Maggie held a hand up to stop him. ‘You said there was another reason you wanted to see me?’
‘Ah, yes.’ He paused. ‘I was hoping you could introduce me to the missing woman’s family. I believe I can be of some assistance, because I understand their position. I want to help,’ he added eagerly.
Maggie floundered for a response and looked to George, who gave her a quick nod as he put his arm around Philip’s shoulders.
‘Dad, that’s such a lovely idea, but, really, you can’t possibly meet them, not at the moment anyway.’
Philip looked upset. ‘Why ever not?’
‘How do you think they’d feel if you of all people knock on their door? They must be worried sick about their daughter and hoping – no, praying – that her going missing is just a coincidence. The last thing they’ll want is Katy Pope’s father offering to sit down and share his thoughts with them on the subject.’
‘I wasn’t going to make it about me,’ said Philip forlornly.
‘But it would be. It’d be about you and Katy.’ George looked at Maggie. ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’
She nodded. ‘You are. Now wouldn’t be the right time.’
Philip nodded morosely.
‘Will you at least tell me her name?’ he asked.
‘It’s Jade, Jade Reynolds,’ said George. He caught Maggie’s frown. ‘It’s everywhere online,’ he clarified.
‘Jade is a lovely name,’ said Philip. ‘Does she look like Katy? They have the same colour hair, don’t they?’
George squeezed his dad’s shoulders tighter. ‘Come on, let’s get you back to the apartment.’ He mouthed ‘thank you’ to Maggie, then asked if they would be seeing her later.
‘Yes, I’ll come by as soon as I can,’ she said. ‘Please tell your mother she can call me if she needs to.’
‘Are you mad?’ George laughed. ‘You’ll never get her off the phone if I tell her that. Best I say nothing and let her store it all up until you get there.’
‘Thanks,’ she said, matching his grin and trying to ignore the fluttery sensation in her stomach as their eyes locked.
‘See you later,’ he smiled.
She felt tense as she watched them head along the seafront. Even if she were single there would be no question of her acting on her attraction to George – any FLO who became intimately involved with a member of a family they were assigned to would end up on a disciplinary charge, and rightly so. FLOs arrived in people’s lives at a time when they were at their most vulnerable as they grieved for a loved one. Even though George was a decade along that path compared to some, to pursue an attraction, however strong, would still be seen as her exploiting his vulnerability.
Nor did it change matters if it was the other way round and the relative was pursuing the officer. Maggie knew of a male FLO who had to be reassigned after a victim’s girlfriend propositioned him because she’d misread his attention as being something more. It meant she had to deal with two men disappearing from her life: first her dead lover, then the FLO she had convinced herself should take his place.
But even if the rules were different, no way would she risk ruining what she had with Umpire for someone she’d only known for a few days. It was crazy even thinking about it.
40
Maggie hadn’t got more than two steps towards the hotel again when someone else called her name.
She turned to see Lyndsey Shepherd, the consular officer, bearing down on her.
‘How’s it going with the family?’ Lyndsey asked.
‘Good. I’m getting a lot of info from them – now it’s a case of deciding what’s relevant and what isn’t. What brings you here?’
‘I wanted to see how they’re bearing up and to discuss rearranging their return flights and accommodation in case Jade doesn’t turn up by the time they’re due to go home. It’s not going to be the easiest of conversations, so it would be good if you were there while I had it.’
‘Agreed. Let’s go up together.’
They walked into the reception and Maggie revelled in its air-conditioned coolness after the heat of outdoors.
‘I passed George Pope and his dad a moment ago,’ said Lyndsey. ‘The dad looked upset.’
Maggie felt her cheeks warm and cursed herself for reacting to the mere mention of George’s name.
‘That’s my fault. He wanted me to introduce him to Clive and Mandy so he could offer his support. I told him it wasn’t a good idea. George was walking him back to his apartment.’ She caught the look of disquiet on Lyndsey’s face. ‘Philip meant well.’
‘I’m sure he did. It’s a shame the same can’t be said of his son.’
‘You really don’t like George Pope, do you? What’s up with that?’
Lyndsey pulled a face. ‘Is it that obvious?’
‘Blindingly,’ Maggie laughed.
‘I know I should be kinder because of his sister, but I find him obnoxious. The way he talks down to people really grates on me.’
‘I can’t say I’ve noticed myself.’
‘He’s on his best behaviour for the anniversary. But George is a regular visitor to Majorca and he’s not a nice person to deal with, trust me. The last time he was in Palma the police had to be called when he threatened a jeweller at his store – the same one your boss tracked down over Katy’s missing ring. I was called in to smooth things over and the way he spoke to me was so awful I should’ve let the police arrest him.’
Maggie felt a spike of alarm.
‘Why was he there?’
‘He said he wanted to see if the jeweller could remember anything else about the man who came in asking about the value of a ring like Katy’s.’
It sounded like a plausible reason for him being there, Maggie thought.
‘He wants his sister’s killer to be caught. There’s nothing wrong with that,’ she said.
‘He called me a stupid bitch for doing my job,’ said Lyndsey.
Maggie was shocked: she couldn’t imagine George calling anyone by that name, let alone a consular officer.
‘No, you’re right, that’s indefensible.’
The lift pinged to announce it was on the ground floor and the doors slid open for them to board.
‘Exactly. He’s got
a nasty streak, so watch yourself with him.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ asked Maggie abruptly.
Lyndsey shot her a look. ‘George Pope is all charm when he wants something, that’s all I’m saying.’
Maggie squirmed under the woman’s hard stare. ‘How regularly does he come over here?’ she asked, wanting to deflect it.
‘Once or twice in the spring usually but this year it’s been four times since April. Each time he’s stayed in Orquídea.’
The lift rose smoothly, taking them towards the top floor.
Maggie was shocked. George hated the place so much, why would he stay there on a regular basis? ‘How do you know all this anyway?’
Lyndsey gazed up at her reflection in the lift’s mirrored ceiling as though she was mulling something over, then looked back at Maggie. ‘I’ve been keeping tabs on him. There’s something about him I don’t trust.’
‘Is that based on anything specific besides how he was at the jewellery shop?’
‘No, it’s just a gut feeling I have.’
Maggie knew all about trusting gut feelings – normally hers never let her down. But right now it wasn’t sharing Lyndsey’s concern about George; nothing he’d done so far had alarmed her, other than being too attractive for his own good. She decided to deflect the conversation.
‘What happens if Jade isn’t found in the next few days? Do you think we’ll be asked to stay on?’
‘If the police here put in a request to the Home Office asking for that, then yes. But they might not want outside help.’
The lift glided to a halt and the two women got out.
‘Why wouldn’t they?’ Maggie asked.
‘People have long memories and they haven’t forgotten the kicking that the British press gave the police here over their handling of the original investigation. It still smarts. Plus Brexit being dragged out hasn’t helped. Police from non-member states can ask for cooperation on investigations involving nationals in EU countries but it’s not as easy when you’re one yourself.’ Lyndsey explained. ‘I suspect Inspector Jasso will bide his time before any invitation is issued. That doesn’t mean you can’t stay on though – whether you do is up to you, as long as DCI Walker remembers that it’s not in any official capacity.’
Dead Guilty Page 15
