Page 24 of The Burnt (The Declan Hunt Mysteries #3)

Charlie enjoyed his drive out to Banff in The Beast. It had been a long time since he’d taken the muscle car out on the highway and felt the power of its engine. He pulled up to the intercom in front of Simon’s property and pressed the button. Within moments, the big steel gate slowly swung open.

As Charlie parked in front of the house, the door opened. A tall woman, who appeared to be in her mid-fifties, poked her nose out. “Mr Watts, I presume?”

“Yes. Is it okay if I park here?” Charlie asked.

“That will be just fine.”

Charlie made his way into the house and removed his coat. The Rocky Mountain Leisure magazine was right—The Paddock was magnificent.

Charlie’s thoughts were interrupted when Jasmine said, “I hope that old car of yours has a good heater.”

“That car has a better heater than my apartment.”

She looked out of the window at The Beast. “I love to see a beautiful car like that. So many of the ones you see around these days all look the same. They have no style. Not like yours. Now, come with me into the kitchen. Do you prefer tea or coffee?”

“I love both. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

Charlie sat in the sunlit room, admiring the panoramic view of the mountains through the bay window as the woman prepared a pot of tea.

“Sorry, I haven’t properly introduced myself—I’m Jasmine Robertson, but you can call me Jasmine.”

“And you can call me Charlie. I never was a Charles. My family has a tradition of always going straight for the nickname.”

“Just cut to the chase. I like that.”

She set a plate of Nanaimo bars on the table. “Help yourself. I’ll bet a young man like yourself loves sweets, and I bet you never put on a pound. Trust me—that won’t last forever.” She laughed.

Charlie was immediately taken with her.

She poured the tea and let Charlie help himself to milk and sugar. She took hers strong and black.

“So,” she started, “you want to know about young Milo?”

“Yes. Do you mind if I take a few notes?”

“No, go right ahead.”

Charlie opened his note pad. “I’m just trying to get the fullest picture of him that I can. What kind of boy was he?”

Jasmine settled back into her chair. Charlie could sense that she was looking through a decade of life to get back to the time when Milo was living in this house.

“He was a good boy. A kind boy. I’ll never forget that he always remembered my birthday.”

“Did he have many friends?” Charlie asked.

“No. He was usually on his own. He was always reading and he liked to spend a lot of time outdoors, even in the winter. He loved looking for animals and taking their pictures. Milo also had a particular fascination with history. I think he got that from his father. Mr Griffin lives and breathes history. I remember him saying to Milo once, ‘Boy, you were born to be part of ancient history.’”

“So Milo got along with his father?”

“Not exactly. Milo and Mr Griffin weren’t on friendly terms. It was definitely a father-son relationship where Mr Griffin insisted he be shown respect—as he should have.

I think one of the reasons Milo didn’t have a lot of friends was that Mr Griffin was really protective of the boy.

What you’d expect from a man with…well, let’s just say he’s not hurting for money. ”

“Do you think he was concerned that someone might take advantage of Milo?”

She nodded. “When you are rich, you’ve got to think of those things.”

“When Milo disappeared, did Mr Griffin ever think that the boy might have been kidnapped?”

“At first he did, but no one ever asked for a ransom—at least not that I heard of. The police just thought the boy got it in his mind to run away and live his own life.”

Jasmine took a long sip of her tea. “I never felt that Milo was happy here. I think he may have felt a bit like a prisoner. Even when he was old enough to go for walks on his own, he had to take one of us with him.”

“One of you had to go with him?”

“Oh, yes.” She smiled. “Sometimes me. Sometimes one of the others. He was never supposed to be without us except when he was on the property, or in class at school.”

“So there are more staff than just you?”

“There used to be. We used to have a full-time gardener and a maintenance man. Now we just hire as needed. We still have Mr Semple.”

Charlie leaned in. “And what does Mr Semple do?”

“Well, he’s Mr Griffin’s right-hand man. He’s been with him for even longer than I have.”

“Does he live here?” Charlie asked.

“Not full-time, but he does have a bedroom upstairs for times when Mr Griffin wants him here. In the early days, he was usually the one who kept his eye on Milo.”

Charlie looked up from his note pad. “Sort of a personal bodyguard then?”

“You could say that.”

“And this Mr Semple, could I have his first name? Just for the records. My boss is a real stickler for the details, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I understand that,” she said. “It’s Tom.”

“Is he in today?”

“Not at the moment, but he might be here later this evening when Mr Griffin gets back.”

“So, getting back to Milo,” Charlie said, “you mentioned he was rarely on his own off the property other than at school?”

“Well…he’d still manage to sneak away from time to time. He was a boy, after all. Always dreaming of adventure, and he was tired of waiting to grow up.”

Charlie reviewed his notes. “Mr Griffin told me they had a fight the night he ran away.”

She sighed. “Boys and their fathers always fight, don’t they?”

Yup , Charlie thought.

“And usually about the simplest things,” she added.

“Do you have any idea what they fought about that night?” Charlie asked.

“I do remember something about Milo being in the vault in his father’s office, and some money. Later on, Mr Griffin said five thousand dollars was missing. It didn’t make sense. Why would a boy who had everything want to steal?”

To get away from this prison…

Charlie made a note. “And Mr Griffin said that Milo had a…special friend?”

She stared off into the distance. “Yes, but Milo was very secretive about it.”

“Did you ever meet him, or did Milo ever mention his name?”

“No, I never met him and, no, he never mentioned a name.”

“Thank you. Just one more question. Have you seen this?” Charlie passed her the copy of the note that was supposedly from Milo. “Mr Griffin said it arrived last week.”

She glanced at it. “I never saw what it said, but I’m guessing it’s the one that was brought to the door.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “You mean it didn’t come in the mail?”

“No. It was delivered by a boy.”

“A boy? How old?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Fifteen. Maybe a bit younger.”

Charlie had an idea. He looked at his watch. They had time.

“Would you recognise him again if you saw him?”

“Possibly,” she said, nodding.

“Would you be willing to try and identify him? Now, I mean. School will be getting out soon, and I don’t know when I’ll next be getting back to Banff. It could be a clue that’ll help me find out what happened to Milo.”

It’s a long shot, but why not?

Jasmine smiled. “I can see why Mr Griffin hired you. Let’s go get our coats and maybe you can give me a ride in that car of yours.”