Page 116 of Don't Believe A Word

‘I wish,’ Gabe began and faltered.

Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, David said, ‘It’s OK, my friend, I get it.’

A few minutes later, as they drove away from the house, Cristy said, ‘What do you get?’

Waving a thanks to the security guard who opened the gates, David said, ‘He wishes we could find Janina.’

Cristy nodded, impressed that he’d intuited that, while wishing the same thing for them all – and what a coup it would be forHindsight.

‘Clove and Jacks have already started a search for Albescu,’ she said, as they headed for I-75, ‘but my gut is telling me that whether he was involved in the disappearance or not, the answers are all with the sisters. Either written down, or, more likely, stored inside Mia’s head.’

*

Cristy and David had already checked in at Miami International when Connor rang.

‘Has Mia been released yet?’ Cristy asked right away.

CONNOR: ‘FYI, I’m recording this. The answer is yes, Mia’s free and Sadie’s back at the lodge. Anna and I have just left.’

CRISTY: ‘Is Sadie OK?’

CONNOR: ‘I think so. Not as angry as she was, anyway, but she’s obviously still shaken up and now she’s totallyfocused on reading Lottie’s journals. The ones that were in the safe. Apparently, Mia told her it’s where she’s going to find the truth.’

CRISTY: ‘Why the heck can’t Mia just tell her?’

CONNOR: ‘She says she doesn’t know all of it.’

CRISTY: ‘So she’s not read the journals herself, but claims it’s where Sadie will find the truth? How does that work?’

CONNOR: ‘I’ve no idea, but it’s what’s happening right now. Sadie’s got the journals and has promised to call if she finds anything. Have you spoken to Clove and Jacks?’

CRISTY: ‘Not yet, have you?’

CONNOR: ‘They’re still in Vilnius, and they’ve interviewed the older sister. All it’s really adding is more background to Janina and Lukas’s childhoods – an expansion of what he’s already told you. They’re heading back this afternoon, and I’m on my way to St Peter Port to interview the landlady who’s already told me on the phone that she doesn’t remember renting her flat to anyone with the names I gave her.’

CRISTY: ‘But it was a long time ago, maybe photographs will jog her memory?’

CONNOR: ‘That’s what I’m hoping. Where are you now?’

CRISTY: ‘Waiting to board a flight to Dublin. Changing there for Guernsey, so I’ll call as soon as we land. Before you go, how did Sadie take the fact that George Symmonds-Browne is her father?’

CONNOR: ‘She didn’t actually say much at first, I think she was in shock, needed time to process, then she heard Lukas speak and started to cry, sobbed when Gabe came in. It was hearing about Lottie directing Janina to some random house that really got to her … Incidentally, she didn’t know that the sisters ever had any other properties on the island. Anyway, that’s when she took off to the villa.’

Anna’s voice came down the line. ‘If it helps, she told me while Connor was on the phone that she’s really excited to meet her father and uncle, and nervous, but she wants to find out what happened to her mother first. Then she thinks she’ll probably want to go there rather than them come here, because it’ll punish Mia for lying to her all these years if she just ups and leaves.’

Cristy checked her phone as a text arrived. It was from Matthew so she let it go for now. ‘Does she understand that her father has a slightly impaired cognitive ability?’ she asked Anna. Was that the best way to put it; right now she couldn’t think of another.

‘Yes, she does and she says it just makes her feel more protective of him.’

Cristy smiled. ‘Much like her mother did, by the sound of it. I’ll let him and her uncle know that sheiskeen to meet them. This being the States with practically everything on same-day delivery if you can pay, we should have their DNA results pretty quickly so we can be certain they match with Sadie’s.’

‘Are you doubting it?’

‘No, I’m not.’

After speaking briefly with Connor again, she rang off and, seeing David was on his phone, she checked Matthew’s text.

How’s it going over there? Am I allowed to say I’m missing you? OK, not what you want to hear. He’s a lucky guy, but he’ll never love you as much as I do. Mx