Patterson were there.
‘Nothing we can do’ was the verdict he offered almost before she’d finished. He closed the daybook with a slap as if to emphasise his point.
‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Karen, taken aback at his offhandedness. ‘You’ve got to do something. It’s your job. Two people have gone missing!’
‘They’re both adults. If they choose to go off together, it’s not against the law. I’m sorry but we can’t get involved in domestic matters like this,’ said the sergeant.
‘But they didn’t “choose to go off together”,’ exclaimed Karen. ‘They’ve disappeared and they could be lying injured somewhere. Surely you don’t want that on your conscience? Can’t you contact the Welsh police and ask them to check?’
A queue was building up, making the sergeant uncomfortable. He picked up the phone and after a short conversation he said, ‘Inspector Grant will have a word with you, madam. He’ll explain our policy on these matters.’
Karen and Patterson were shown into a small office which lacked light, space and anything resembling charm. They were invited to sit on two hard chairs and Karen felt that they had been called to the headmaster’s study to account for some misdeed. This time, Patterson had a go at explaining what had happened, with interjections from Karen where appropriate. At the end of it Grant nodded sagely and said more or less what the desk sergeant had. ‘The police really can’t become involved in domestic matters.’
‘But can’t you see that it’s only an assumption on the company’s part that Peter and Ian’s wife have run off together? They could just as easily have had an accident or be lying injured somewhere out on the hills.’
Grant looked at her thoughtfully. ‘This man who told you they’d run off, you said his name is Grossart?’ he asked.
‘Paul Grossart at Lehman Genomics. He’s the managing director.’
‘Phone number?’
Karen recited the number and Grant wrote it down. He got up and went to another room. When he came back he said, ‘I’m sorry but there really is nothing we can do.’
‘What did Mr Grossart say?’ demanded Karen. ‘Did he offer you one scrap of evidence that Peter and Amy had run off together?’
Grant looked uncomfortable. ‘Well, no,’ he admitted. ‘But employers do get a feel for these sorts of things. I know it’s difficult for you, and I do sympathise, but frankly this sort of thing happens much more often than you’d think.’
‘Then you won’t help us?’
‘Not so much won’t as can’t,’ said Grant. ‘As the law sees it, they’re both adults and this is a free country.’
Karen ran out of adrenalin. Her shoulders sagged and she felt a wave of hopelessness wash over her. Tears started to run down her face and she hung her head.
It seemed to have an effect on Grant. ‘Did they both take their cars with them to Wales?’ he asked.
Karen shook her head. ‘No, the company provided transport.’
‘The same for your wife, sir?’
Patterson nodded. ‘They travelled down together.’
‘Mr Grossart hasn’t reported the loss of a company vehicle,’ said Grant thoughtfully. ‘Where is this field station?’
Karen looked blank. She looked at Patterson, who shrugged.
‘Neither of you knows?’
‘I don’t think Peter knew exactly,’ said Karen, feeling embarrassed about it.
‘Amy didn’t say, either,’ said Patterson.
‘So you couldn’t write to them or send them anything, even if you had wanted to?’
‘I suppose not,’ agreed Karen. ‘Not that the need arose. I suppose we could have sent things to them through the company. We had a telephone number, though. I used to speak to Peter every night at the beginning.’
‘And me with Amy,’ said Patterson.
Grant said, ‘That’s something. Have you got the number?’
Karen checked her handbag and handed over a piece of paper. Grant excused himself and was gone for several minutes. When he came back he said, ‘I’ve checked with Mr Grossart about the transport. He thinks they travelled to Wales in a company Land-Rover but he’s not sure.’
‘Not sure?’ exclaimed Karen and Patterson in unison.
Grant’s look suggested that he might share their surprise. ‘He’s going to get back to me with details of the vehicle and registration number and whether or not they want to report it missing.’
Karen and Patterson went quiet for a moment while they digested this information.
‘I have to stress once again that there’s nothing we can do in a situation like this, unless of course the vehicle is reported stolen, but… in the interests of… crime prevention, shall we say, I might just pass on the registration number to our Welsh colleagues. If the vehicle should still happen to be in North Wales, they might care to stop the driver and enquire about ownership and destination.’
‘Thank you,’ said Karen.
Ian Patterson added his thanks. ‘It’s really the not knowing,’ he said.
‘As for the telephone number Lehman gave you,’ said Grant, ‘it’s ex-directory so I can’t pass on the information to you.’ As he spoke, he pushed across the desk a piece of paper with an address on it.
‘Of course not,’ said Karen, slipping the paper into her handbag. ‘Thank you for seeing us, Inspector.’
‘Sorry I couldn’t be more help,’ said Grant, getting up to show them to the door.
Outside on the pavement, Karen looked at the paper and read out, ‘Plas-y-Brenin Experimental Field Station, near Capel Curig, Gwynedd, North Wales.’ She looked at Patterson. ‘I’m going there,’ she said with sudden resolve. ‘I have to know for sure. Well, what d’you say? Are you coming?’
‘All right,’ he said. ‘I’m game. We’ll use my car — it’s a four-wheel-drive.’
Next morning Karen dropped Kelly off at her mother’s along with a bag full of the essentials required for looking after a seven-month-old baby. She gave Ethel a big hug and said, ‘I can’t thank you enough.’
‘That’s what grannies are for.’ Ethel smiled, cuddling Kelly. ‘Didn’t you know?’
‘I’ll call you as soon as we get there.’
‘Take all the time you need. And take care!’
Karen nodded and ran to her car. It was already seven-thirty and she was due to meet Ian Patterson back at the house at eight. Despite her fears, she was only a few minutes late in getting back after the stop-go frustration of driving through rush-hour traffic. She swung her car into the small run-in in front of the garage and locked it, then ran up to the house to collect the overnight bag she had left ready behind the front door.
Patterson was sitting waiting in a dark-green Toyota Land Cruiser adorned with wildlife stickers and one proclaiming his membership of the RSPB. For some reason the fact that he was ‘Saving Whales and Dolphins’ registered with Karen as she climbed into the passenger seat and she wondered idly how.
‘Sorry I’m a bit late,’ she said. ‘Kelly was playing up.’
‘No problem,’ said Patterson. He took off from the kerb and headed south.
‘How long do you think it will take?’ asked Karen.
‘I reckon from the map it’s about three hundred miles,’ replied Patterson. ‘Normally about five hours but I’m not sure about this trip. I don’t know what the mountain roads are like; I’ve never been there before. How about you?’
‘I once went to a Girl Guide camp in Llandudno,’ said Karen. ‘We went by train. I remember it rained a lot.’
‘We’ll just have to play it by ear,’ said Patterson.
They stopped for coffee in the Scottish borders and again for lunch at a service station on the M6, although neither of them was particularly hungry. It just seemed like a welcome gesture of normality. Patterson ate a bacon roll while Karen pushed a salad around her plate, trying to make it look smaller than when she started.
Patterson asked, ‘How are you feeling about all this?’
‘Scared,’ admitted Karen. ‘I just don’t know how I’m going to cope if we find out that they really have run off together. You?’
