Lost Souls by Jenny O'Brien (android e book reader txt) 📕

him so that he can carry on working. It’s a wonder you didn’t see him on your return?’

‘I came in the side entrance,’ she said, not wanting to admit that she’d been afraid he’d stick around after she’d walked out of the interview. No one ever got the better of Ivo.

She shut her eyes, dimly aware that Malachy had picked up her hands and wrapped them around her mug.

‘Go on, take a sip. It will make you feel better.’

He was wrong. Nothing would make her feel better except having Ivo out of her life. She still loved him, despite everything, but she wasn’t prepared to trust him. If he could throw her over for a bimbo with two brats, who’s to say that he wouldn’t kick her out again? It had taken her weeks to get back on her feet and it was only now that she was starting to feel in any way normal. But her confidence and self-esteem remained at rock bottom despite moving into Malachy’s spare room. The fun-loving party girl she’d once been seemed a thing of the past. What was worse than having your hopes trampled on by the person who was meant to love you the most? Nothing!

Washing down the bitter taste of regret with a swig of extra sweet chocolate, she managed to swallow back the tears starting to gather.

‘Thank you. What did I do to deserve such a nice flatmate?’

He didn’t answer. Instead he propped his hip against the desk and proceeded to change the subject.

‘So, what are you up to?’

She tapped the next item on her list with her index finger, pleased that he’d turned the conversation back to the case. It was probably the threat of tears that had done it but, whatever the reason, she heaved a sighing breath of relief. She’d never found it easy to discuss her personal problems. Work was what she needed in order to keep her mind from wandering back to the one problem she couldn’t solve.

‘I’m about to phone St Gildas school to see if anyone remembers Miss Jane. It’s likely she used to live in – that’s the way it is with boarding schools. I’m hoping someone remembers if she had any trinkets that maybe we could get traced. All we need is the serial number, from a bicycle or similar, to break the case wide open.’

‘Wouldn’t it be better to head out that way with the original photos of her apartment taken after her disappearance?’ he said after a moment. ‘Seeing pictures is a sure-fire way of flexing someone’s memory muscle.’

‘Now that’s a brilliant idea.’ She managed a smile, which didn’t make it as far as her eyes. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

‘Because you’re not me.’

‘Ha, very funny.’

She threw him a fake punch at his arm, feeling tons better at the resumption of their usual banter. Malachy was a complex individual but they’d settled into an easy groove, which had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with friendship. She’d always thought that a platonic relationship wasn’t possible between a man and a woman – she was pleased to find out that she was being proved wrong.

He leant forward, tweaking her ponytail in the same way a sibling might. ‘Clancy and I have come up with a plan to smuggle you out from right under Ivo’s nose, if you’d like to hear it?’

Marie grimaced at the abrupt return to the previous topic of conversation. She should have realised that he wasn’t finished with trying to sort out her life. While she appreciated his thoughtfulness, it was about time she took ownership of her problems and stood up to her ex.

‘You’re both darlings but I need to sort this out, once and for all. He’s not going to go away otherwise. But thank you anyway.’ She picked up her pen and clicked the end. ‘So, how are you getting on?’

‘Nearly finished. A few loose ends to tie up but I’m going to meet Amy around at Ellie’s mother’s shortly to fill in the gaps. There’s only so much that can be done over the phone.’ He stood, his long fingers hooked around his belt, a trace of his trademark, supercilious behaviour resurfacing. ‘What hard and boring lives people lead. Ms Fry spends most of her life cleaning up other people’s crap and the rest ferrying her daughter to and from ballet lessons, presumably while she sits in the car twiddling her thumbs.’

‘But that doesn’t mean she’s unhappy, does it, Mal? We can’t all be rocket scientists or brain surgeons. She knows how much money she has to live on and arranges her activities accordingly. That’s more sensible than tragic. By all accounts, apart from the problems at school, Ellie’s home life has been full of love and laughter. That’s surely more important to a child than a pile of money?’

‘Mmm.’ He frowned. ‘I’m struggling with that, Marie. If everything was so hunky-dory, why the need to run away?’

‘Why indeed.’

‘There is one thing though that may be of interest to Darin.’

‘Go on then.’ Marie placed her empty cup down beside her keyboard.

‘I’ve been working through her list of cleaning jobs. Mostly local and within a five- or ten-minute car drive radius. You’ll never guess who’s on the list.’

Chapter 40

Ronan

Tuesday 4 August, 11.30 a.m. Caernarfon

Ronan always knew that he wasn’t the most patient of individuals. He wouldn’t go so far as to call himself selfish although that was a term that had been bandied about in the past by others when discussing him, both to his face and, more than likely, behind his back. He’d preferred the expression single-minded: someone who didn’t suffer fools. But whatever the term used to define him, he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep ten-year-old Ellie Fry entertained within the confines of the farmhouse.

He would have been quite happy grabbing a book from one of the boxes piled up by the back door awaiting collection by some charity or other. His grandfather had