Page 62 of The Unseen (Echoes from the Past #5)
FIFTY
Quinn was about to walk into her building when someone called her name. She turned around, startled out of her reverie, to find Drew Camden striding toward her. He looked rather dour and his limp was more pronounced than before, possibly because he’d been rushing to catch up with her.
“Good afternoon,” Drew said as he stopped next to Quinn. “Did you not hear me calling you?” he asked irritably.
“Sorry, I was a million miles away. I didn’t know you were coming today.”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to give you an update in person.”
“Have you got something?” Quinn asked, breathless with anticipation. “Have you found Quentin?”
Drew shook his head. “I haven’t. I have a good mate in Border Protection.
He ran Quentin’s information from the year she left Jesse Holt through the system.
She left the U.K. that summer. The next entry for her came up three years later.
She flew into London from Paris. After that, the trail goes cold. ”
“So, what now? How do we find her?”
“I have an idea, but I have to wait and see if it works before telling you about it. I don’t want to get your hopes up.”
“Drew, how can a person just disappear in this day and age? Would there be no record of her changing her name?”
“Change of name records are not public domain. You wouldn’t find it online.”
Quinn stared down at the tips of her shoes.
She hadn’t meant to cry in front of Drew, but bitter tears of disappointment slid down her cheeks.
Her sister’s absence pained her like a phantom limb.
She’d been desperate to find her parents, but that quest had never felt as important or urgent as this need to find her sister.
“Drew, please. I need to find her,” she whispered.
Drew placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.
“Quinn, I’m pursuing every possible lead, but they don’t seem to go anywhere.
As a private investigator, my resources are limited.
My buddies on the force were able to look into Quentin’s passport control record, but I can’t ask them to do more than that.
That would be unlawful use of resources.
There’s one more thing I’d like to try before admitting failure. Shall I give it a go?”
Quinn nodded. “Yes. Try anything you can think of. I’m not giving up, Drew. I’m not.”
“I’ll ring you in a few days.”
Quinn watched Drew walk away. She felt angry and deflated. Without the cooperation of Quentin’s solicitor or her siblings, Drew had hit a dead end in his investigation without getting much further than Quinn and Logan had.
She fished out her mobile and dialed Logan before walking into the building. Logan answered on the first ring. “Hey, Quinny. Any news?”
“The only news is that there’s no news. Drew has exhausted his resources, Logan.” Quinn sniffed loudly.
“Are you crying?” Logan asked, his voice softening.
“A little,” she admitted.
“Look, sis, it seems to me that Quentin doesn’t want to be found.
Maybe we should respect her wishes and back off.
Surely she’s heard of our existence by now, either from her solicitor or from her siblings.
It’s been months, and still we’ve had no word.
Sometimes you have to let things go, no matter how much it hurts to admit defeat. ”
“I can’t, Logan,” Quinn whimpered. “She’s our sister—my twin. If she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me once we’ve found her, I will walk away and never bother her again, but I want to see her and speak to her. If only just once. I’ll never feel whole until I do.”
“I understand,” Logan replied. “And I’m here to help in whatever way I can.”
Quinn ended the call and walked slowly toward the door of her flat, her shoulders slumped and her head bowed.