formal. He usually wore a jacket and a tie. You don’t think anything’s happened to them, do you?”
“Don’t worry, Tony,” Gristhorpe said. “I’m sure they’re fine. Just one more thing. Did you ever hear sounds of a child there at all?”
Tony frowned. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’d have noticed. Yes, I’m sure. They didn’t have any
children.”
“Fine. Thanks very much, Tony,” Gristhorpe said. “We’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your holiday in peace.”
Tony nodded and accompanied them to the door.
“You’ll let me know, will you, if they’re all right? I mean, I didn’t really know them, but they were neighbours, in a way.”
“We’ll let you know,” said Gristhorpe, and followed Richmond to the car.
“Will you be needing me any more?” asked Patricia Cummings.
Gristhorpe smiled at her. “No, thanks very much, Mrs Cummings. You can go home now. Just one thing, could you leave that set of keys with us?”
“Why?”
“So we can let the scene-of-crime team in.”
“But?”
“This is important, Mrs Cummings, believe me. I wouldn’t ask it otherwise. And don’t rent the place out again until we give the OK.”
Her cheeks quivered a bit, then she dropped the keys into Gristhorpe’s outstretched hand, climbed into her car and drove off with a screech of rubber. Gristhorpe got into the police Rover beside Richmond. “Well, Phil,” he said, “what do you think?”
“I’m not sure, sir. The description doesn’t fit.”
“But it would if they dyed their hair and got dressed up in business clothes, wouldn’t it? Both descriptions were vague enough?Brenda Scupham’s and Tony Roper’s.”
“That’s true. But what about the car?”
“They could have stolen one for the abduction, or rented one.”
“A bit risky, isn’t it? And we’ve checked all the rental
agencies.”
“But we used the descriptions Brenda Scupham gave us.” Gristhoipe scratched his ear. “Better get back to the rental agencies and find out about any couples their general age and appearance. Mention the man’s smile. That seems to be a common factor. And the woman is clearly attractive. Someone might remember them.”
Richmond nodded. “You think it was this Manley couple, sir?”
“I’m not saying that, but I think we’d better treat them as serious contenders for the moment.”
“It certainly seems odd the way they left the place in such a hurry.”
“Yes,” Gristhorpe muttered. “And that cleaning job. Why?”
“Just a fastidious couple, maybe?”
“Maybe. But why did they leave in a hurry?”
“Could be any number of reasons,” Richmond said. “A family emergency, maybe?”
“Did you notice a phone in the cottage?”
“No. I suppose that’s part of the rustic peace.”
“Mm. There is one thing.”
“Sir?”
“Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that they did have to leave because of a family emergency. Nobody could have phoned them, but they could have used the nearest phonebox if they had to keep checking on someone who was ill.”
“You mean they wouldn’t have stayed behind to clean up the place, sir?”
“There’s that, aye. But there’s something odder. The money. They paid cash in advance. How much do these places go for?”
“I don’t know, sir. I forgot to as…”
“It doesn’t matter, but it must be a fair whack. Say a
hundred and fifty a week.”
“Something like that. And probably a deposit, too.’r
“Then why didn’t they ask for some of their money back?”
“They might have had a hard time getting it.”
“Perhaps. But they didn’t even try. That’s three hundred quid we’re talking about, Phil. Plus deposit.”
“Maybe they were loaded.”
