Vanished by James Delargy (free novel 24 TXT) 📕

Grant as he helped himself to a glass of port. Emmaline had declined the offer. He might have been winding down for the evening but she still had work to do.

The colour of his well-fed but handsome face matched the port on his lips, tainting his full but perfectly trimmed beard.

‘Why did you want to meet with Naiyana Maguire?’ asked Emmaline.

If her question had upset his equilibrium he hid it well, slowly taking another sip and savouring it in his mouth.

‘To try and get this horrendous issue resolved to the satisfaction and benefit of both parties.’

‘And what would have been to the satisfaction and benefit of both parties?’

‘Brightside Foods have always been willing to compromise, Detective. To gradually alter the ingredients in the offending product to something more widely regulated.’

‘But this wasn’t enough for Naiyana Maguire?’

‘She was on a crusade to do good.’

He said this with a brusqueness that made it sound like it was a bad thing, revealing an anger and frustration directed at Naiyana Maguire, almost like he’d forgotten she was missing. After a second, he glanced back up as if he had realized his mistake, offering a sympathy that seemed all the more false now.

‘But obviously this whole thing is horrendous.’

‘For you or her, Mr Grant?’

‘Hey, that’s not—’ he started.

Now that Emmaline had him flustered she switched paths. ‘Why choose you as the mediator?’

‘My job is to mediate. To represent the people in my constituency. And people include companies. They have to be treated as such as they are the main employers. Happy people are working people. And that is one thing I stand for, most of all.’

Emmaline let him espouse his political bullshit. She wasn’t one of his constituents.

‘So did you meet with her?’

He took another sip of port.

‘No, she didn’t want to. Then everything blew up. It’s a shame. Brightside Foods weren’t doing anything wrong. The ingredient wasn’t banned here yet they were punished by this circus trial.’

Emmaline wanted to ask what punishment the Maguire family had suffered in this so-called circus trial but left it.

She had also noted the slight pause before he answered. It had been a simple yes or no answer but it had caused him to hesitate, using the port as cover.

‘I want to know if you met her after everything had blown up. Since she moved out of Perth.’

‘No.’

A quicker, stronger denial this time.

‘Did anyone from Brightside Foods meet with her?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Despite your close connection?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m referring to the rumours of a connection between you and Brightside Foods.’

The abundance of colour in Chester Grant’s face drained. Nothing the port could do about that.

‘What rumours?’ Squeezing his eyes shut, he rephrased the question. ‘I mean, what connection?’

‘That you are close.’

‘They are the major business in my constituency. The biggest employer. Biggest taxpayer.’

‘More than that.’

‘I’m not keen on this line of questioning, Detective.’

‘People are generally not happy with any line of police questioning, Mr Grant.’

‘I think you want to accuse me of something.’

‘I think you are afraid of being accused of something.’

‘What could I be accused of, Detective?’

‘Something that might cause a scandal.’

Chester Grant paused, studying her as he swirled his port as if weighing up what exactly she was implying, for fear of suggesting something that implicated him further.

‘There are always scandals, Detective.’

‘This is not a scandal, Mr Grant. This is a murder investigation.’

‘Well, unless you are arresting me for it, I think you should leave.’

That was fine with Emmaline. She decided to keep what she knew to herself. It might come in useful later. To rustle a few cocked feathers.

53

Naiyana

Naiyana was happy. Today had been a good day. And she had this place to thank. The rock bottom that had spawned this upsurge.

‘You look like you just won the lottery.’ Her husband was at the table fiddling with a small electric heater. For the chillier evenings. No doubt he would try and burst her bubble. He had accused her in the past of being insufferable when she was happy, impossibly chirpy. Forcing everyone else to query what was missing in their lives. But that was not her fault. It was theirs.

Dylan was sticking close to her, feeding off her energy, helping her pack the groceries into the old cupboard and stuffing food into the cool box.

Lorcan threw down the screwdriver. He looked worried and frustrated. She didn’t want to ask what was wrong. He would tell her soon enough. She intended to relish her own high while it lasted.

‘What do you want for dinner, little man?’ she asked, ruffling Dylan’s hair.

‘Snags!’

The expected answer.

‘Try the bottom of the bag,’ she said.

She watched him dig to the bottom and pull out a packet in each hand, grinning. Removing the plastic, she stabbed holes into the sausages with a fork before placing them into the pan.

Dylan helped her prep the hot dog buns, liberally buttering them so that the sausages would be swimming in a sea of fat. This was more like a proper family. Making food together. Then just like that, it all came crashing down.

‘We were down the tunnel today, Mummy.’

She flicked her head towards Lorcan, who visibly winced.

‘It was dark and I was scared.’

Naiyana drew a long breath. ‘Why don’t you go and get your toys from the backyard?’

‘But I was telling you—’

‘Can you get them, please?’ The remnants of her good mood allowed the smile to look genuine. Dylan nodded and ran off.

Lorcan got in first. ‘There was no rumbling. They weren’t there.’

‘That doesn’t matter. They might have been. And you took our son?’

‘It was safer if he was with me.’

‘Safer? It was better when we thought the rumblings were ghosts. Ghosts might be scary but they aren’t dangerous.’

‘We can’t just avoid the elephant in the town,’ said Lorcan. ‘They obviously have a greater purpose here than we do. It might be dangerous if we interrupt it.’

‘And going down that tunnel unannounced aids that?’

‘I was trying to confirm what they are doing.’

Naiyana shook her head. When had her husband lost all his