Imposition (DI Gardener 5)

“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t going on,” said Reilly.

“What about Grace? Have you found her?”

“No, sir. I did manage to find one of her best friends, a girl called Louise Warton, who said that after two years of putting her heart and soul into the matter, Grace eventually sold the house.”

“Her heart and soul into what?” asked Cragg.

“Investigating what happened to her mother. Louise said that Grace would never rest until she knew what happened. She blamed Raymond from day one, and said she would continue to blame him for the rest of her life until she found out, one way or another.

“She sold her mother’s house two years after the event. Grace had a heart to heart with Louise, and said that she was going to start a new life for herself, move away from all the bad memories. Louise was pretty pleased, I can tell you. She reckoned Grace’s mother’s disappearance and her refusal to accept the facts really had an effect on her health.”

“Where did she go?”

“She moved to Hull. Worked as a secretary, took IT courses and, according to Louise, really moved on with her life.”

“Is she still there?”

“No. About seven years ago she moved to Harrogate and took a job as a legal secretary.”

“Looks like she has managed to put it behind her,” said Gardener. “Do you have an address in Harrogate?”

“No. Her and Louise kept in constant contact until about three years ago.”

“What happened three years ago?” Reilly asked, his tone intrepid.

“Grace disappeared off the radar.”

“Just like that?” asked Rawson.

“According to Louise. One minute she was there, the next gone. She managed to get over to Harrogate herself, but all she hit was a dead end. The legal outfit said that Grace simply announced one day that she was leaving for New Zealand. She worked a week’s notice and disappeared.”

“Just like that?” asked Rawson.

“Is your hard drive stuck or something?” Bob Anderson chuckled as he said it.

“It just seems a bit odd, that’s all.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” said Gardener. “How long had Grace and Louise been friends?”

“Years.”

“And Louise never heard from her again?”

“No.”

“It doesn’t sound right,” said Reilly.

Anderson laughed. “Christ, his hard drive’s stuck now.”

“What if she continued to harbour the grudge in secret?” offered Gardener. “Maybe she found something out about Raymond, but she never told her friend. She continued to investigate him herself.”

“Or maybe he got to her, made her disappear like her mother.”

“But why go to her employer and say she was emigrating?”

“Maybe she had every intention,” said Benson. “Perhaps Raymond Culver got to her before she could leave. Let’s face it, everyone thought she was going, so no one would question the fact that she wasn’t around. Maybe he’d found out where she was, followed her, spoke to people, got to know what she was planning. If he made her disappear for making his life a misery, no one would be any the wiser.”

Gardener nodded his agreement. “Good point, Paul.” He turned and added it to the chart as an action.