his way.
Meanwhile, in the petrol-fumed interior of the van, Parsons told Akiko to make herself comfortable. They would be driving through the night, he said.
* * *
N EXT MORNING, OUTSIDE T RESHAM RAILWAY STATION, D EREK greeted his wife and son with a stern face. “I’ve decided to ask no questions,” he said, “except what the hell do you think you’re doing, the pair of you?”
Lois frowned. “I reckon that’s not bad to start with,” she said.
Jamie nodded. “Let’s get in the car and go back home, then we can have one of Gran’s breakfasts and tell all. We made a very early start! But there’s not much to tell, unfortunately.”
Derek had been at the station a good half hour before their train arrived. He would not tell Lois he had spent a sleepless night worrying about her, knowing from experience that nothing would be more calculated to irritate her. He had been far from pleased when she had set off yesterday, apparently on the spur of the moment, to hear Jamie and Akiko playing on their big night. “We’ve never been to a single one of his concerts,” she had said unconvincingly.
He had taken her to the station yesterday, and she had promised to be back home on the late evening train. He’d worried about that, too. Drunks and layabouts making nuisances of themselves. And then her call, saying something important had come up, and she was staying with Jamie in his flat overnight. Dark suspicions had entered his mind, and he had dialled the police station and asked to speak to Cowgill. Unavailable until tomorrow, they had said, and he had replaced the receiver sadly.
The smell of frying bacon was like a blessing as they all stepped into Gran’s kitchen. Without a word, they sat at the table, and she dished up platefuls of her specials. Conversation lurched from polite enquiries about the concert to the efficiency of Virgin railways. Finally Derek pushed away his empty plate, downed his coffee to the dregs, and looked sternly at Lois.
“Time to tell, Lois. Just what did happen? I can see from Jamie’s face that it was something unpleasant.”
“Yes, well. I’ll start. Akiko has disappeared. She seemed nervous during the second half of the concert, and told Jamie she wasn’t satisfied with her performance. She had decided to go straight home, not waiting for visitors backstage.”
“She’s very hard on herself, and an anxious sort of girl,” Jamie confirmed. “Finds being in a strange country a bit daunting. Only child, mother died early, doting wealthy father, and all that. Mum and Inspector Cowgill, who turned up unexpectedly, came round to congratulate us, and then the inspector said he was on police business, and—shall I explain, or will you, Mum?”
“It had better be good, Lois,” said Derek harshly.
Lois frowned and sat up very straight in her chair. “As I said to you on the phone, Derek, Cowgill turning up was a complete coincidence. But I’m glad he did, because he told us the case of the missing cello could be more dangerously complicated than any of us had thought. And take that stupid look off your face, for God’s sake. We’ve got trouble enough. At least, Akiko has. And Jamie has, and I shall help him as much as I can.”
Then she explained as if to a three-year-old about blackmailing scams involving offers to restore musicians’ stolen instruments to them in return for large sums of money. Only the returned ones were fakes. One refusal to be blackmailed had been fatal. “It could have happened to Akiko,” she said.
Silence followed this revelation, and Derek had difficulty in meeting Lois’s angry eyes.
“Sorry, gel,” he said. “So what has Akiko had to say about all of this?”
“We told you—she’s disappeared. Nobody’s seen her since she left the concert hall. And I’m very grateful Mum’s decided to help find her,” Jamie said with a frown at his father.
Gran suddenly thumped the table, and her face was red and shining from
Meanwhile, in the petrol-fumed interior of the van, Parsons told Akiko to make herself comfortable. They would be driving through the night, he said.
* * *
N EXT MORNING, OUTSIDE T RESHAM RAILWAY STATION, D EREK greeted his wife and son with a stern face. “I’ve decided to ask no questions,” he said, “except what the hell do you think you’re doing, the pair of you?”
Lois frowned. “I reckon that’s not bad to start with,” she said.
Jamie nodded. “Let’s get in the car and go back home, then we can have one of Gran’s breakfasts and tell all. We made a very early start! But there’s not much to tell, unfortunately.”
Derek had been at the station a good half hour before their train arrived. He would not tell Lois he had spent a sleepless night worrying about her, knowing from experience that nothing would be more calculated to irritate her. He had been far from pleased when she had set off yesterday, apparently on the spur of the moment, to hear Jamie and Akiko playing on their big night. “We’ve never been to a single one of his concerts,” she had said unconvincingly.
He had taken her to the station yesterday, and she had promised to be back home on the late evening train. He’d worried about that, too. Drunks and layabouts making nuisances of themselves. And then her call, saying something important had come up, and she was staying with Jamie in his flat overnight. Dark suspicions had entered his mind, and he had dialled the police station and asked to speak to Cowgill. Unavailable until tomorrow, they had said, and he had replaced the receiver sadly.
The smell of frying bacon was like a blessing as they all stepped into Gran’s kitchen. Without a word, they sat at the table, and she dished up platefuls of her specials. Conversation lurched from polite enquiries about the concert to the efficiency of Virgin railways. Finally Derek pushed away his empty plate, downed his coffee to the dregs, and looked sternly at Lois.
“Time to tell, Lois. Just what did happen? I can see from Jamie’s face that it was something unpleasant.”
“Yes, well. I’ll start. Akiko has disappeared. She seemed nervous during the second half of the concert, and told Jamie she wasn’t satisfied with her performance. She had decided to go straight home, not waiting for visitors backstage.”
“She’s very hard on herself, and an anxious sort of girl,” Jamie confirmed. “Finds being in a strange country a bit daunting. Only child, mother died early, doting wealthy father, and all that. Mum and Inspector Cowgill, who turned up unexpectedly, came round to congratulate us, and then the inspector said he was on police business, and—shall I explain, or will you, Mum?”
“It had better be good, Lois,” said Derek harshly.
Lois frowned and sat up very straight in her chair. “As I said to you on the phone, Derek, Cowgill turning up was a complete coincidence. But I’m glad he did, because he told us the case of the missing cello could be more dangerously complicated than any of us had thought. And take that stupid look off your face, for God’s sake. We’ve got trouble enough. At least, Akiko has. And Jamie has, and I shall help him as much as I can.”
Then she explained as if to a three-year-old about blackmailing scams involving offers to restore musicians’ stolen instruments to them in return for large sums of money. Only the returned ones were fakes. One refusal to be blackmailed had been fatal. “It could have happened to Akiko,” she said.
Silence followed this revelation, and Derek had difficulty in meeting Lois’s angry eyes.
“Sorry, gel,” he said. “So what has Akiko had to say about all of this?”
“We told you—she’s disappeared. Nobody’s seen her since she left the concert hall. And I’m very grateful Mum’s decided to help find her,” Jamie said with a frown at his father.
Gran suddenly thumped the table, and her face was red and shining from
Similar Books
