Page 112 of Don't Believe A Word

CRISTY: ‘I guess so.’

CONNOR: ‘So he watches the place until Janina shows up then he follows her when she drives to meet Lottie – that’s what we’re being asked to believe?’

CRISTY: ‘It’s what Lukas and Gabe believe.’

CONNOR: ‘Then answer me this: why would Albescu want her dead instead of back where he could control her?’

CRISTY: ‘Because Lottie made it worth his while to abandon his own plans and adopt hers? But, remember, there was no body, so maybe he got hold of Janina and took her off the island.’

CONNOR: ‘And no one saw it happen? Finding that hard to swallow, but I guess it’s possible. Did anyone see this guy again, after he turned up at the landlady’s door?’

CRISTY: ‘We don’t know, but the assumption has to be that he left the island as soon as the job was done.’

CONNOR: ‘OK, what did Gabe do after the search for Janina was abandoned?’

CRISTY: ‘He eventually went back to the farm in Somerset hoping she’d manage to escape again and come to find him there.’

CONNOR: ‘But she never did. How long did he wait?’

CRISTY: ‘A few years, apparently. His cousin Verity, whose insanely rich husband seems to have bankrolled a new start for Gabe, turned up one day in 2010 and persuaded him to return to the States with her. I think he was pretty destitute and desperate by then, and she promised to pay someone to keep a watch on the farm in case Janina did turn up. So he went with her. The someone who was keeping an eye out was in fact a private detective by the name of Sean Littleday, who found Lukas in 2015. That’s when Lukas and Evie were hired by cousin Verity to take care of Gabe. He’s … I’m not sure how to describe him …’

Cristy looked at David.

DAVID: ‘To quote Gabe himself, he’s not quick and clever like the rest of his family, and frankly you can see how easily exploitable he must have been back then. Probably still is, actually. He’s the type who would have been bullied at school; definitely shunned by his parents. Fast forward to him as a lonely forty-something when he answered anad he found in a newspaper offering to connect the right clients with companions or housekeepers, and the rest, as they say, is history.’

CRISTY: ‘So let’s get back to Janina’s disappearance. Did she go off the road in a tragic accident, or was Albescu, possibly hired by Lottie, making sure she wouldn’t be able to come back for her daughter again?’

DAVID: ‘Why would Lottie only target Janina when she knew that Gabe was also on the island?’

CONNOR: ‘If, as you say, he’s not the fastest on the uptake, maybe she decided that he wasn’t going to be as much of a problem. And if she could persuade him Albescu had made a return … Plus, Gabe was – is – very well connected. There could have been a hell of a lot more fuss about him disappearing, estranged from his family or not.’

CRISTY: ‘You’re quite good at this.’

CONNOR: ‘Which is why you pay me the big bucks – not. Anyway, we need to talk to that landlady, find out what she remembers. Lucky I’m in Guernsey now, so if you can get me a name, or an address, or both, I’ll see if I can track her down.’

CRISTY: ‘OK. Meantime, let’s listen to the whole interview again and then we should probably send it to Sadie. As you’re there, perhaps you and Anna can break the news about Gabe being her father so it doesn’t just come at her the way it did for us.’

CONNOR: ‘Got you. OK, this is me ending the recording.’

As the red light disappeared on their screens, Connor said, ‘How do we feel about recording Sadie’s reaction to the news? To the whole interview, in fact. Do you think she’ll be up for it?’

‘The fact that we now know Gabe was very much more victim than villain,’ Cristy replied, ‘definitely makes it worth asking.Especially as he seems to have really loved Janina. That’ll mean a lot, I’m sure. Where are you staying?’

‘Chez David. Your mother and Anna insisted.’

David laughed. ‘I hope they’re taking good care of you.’

‘The best.’

‘Have you interviewed Corny, the housekeeper, yet?’ Cristy asked.

‘This morning,’ Connor replied. ‘I’ll send it over, but she hasn’t added anything we don’t already know, so she’s either been briefed by Mia, or she really was in the dark about Sadie. Needless to say I can’t get near Mia herself. How have you left things with the ex-pat trio?’

‘We’re meeting for dinner at their club tomorrow evening,’ Cristy told him, ‘which means we now have the onerous ordeal of trying to fill our time in this rich man’s paradise.’

‘Hard. I guess you must be feeling quite at home there, David, being one of them and all that.’

‘Already got my eye on a property or two,’ David assured him dryly.