Page 28 of Worse Than Murder

‘By then, Jack had disappeared too. A second tragedy. All the attention was on Lynne and Alison and making sure they were all right.’

‘Who are the main players here apart from Lynne, Jack and Iain? Who else was involved? There was someone in the articles I read… Travis?’

‘Travis Montgomery. Also known as Lady Chatterley’s Lover.’

‘Really?’ I can feel my eyebrows disappear sky high. I should be on the stage with my acting skills.

Tania stifles a smile. ‘No. I’m probably reading more into it than what was there. Travis was employed by Iain and Jack’s father as a farm hand not long before Granville died. He stayed on for a while afterwards and helped with converting it into stables. There was rumour Travis and Lynne were having an affair.’

‘Any truth in it?’

‘It depends who you ask.’

‘Where’s Travis now?’

‘No idea. He did a moonlight flit when the gossip started. He was only young. Mind you, he was a handsome young man: firm jawline, amazing cheekbones, dark floppy hair and his body was a bloody work of art.’

‘It sounds like you had a bit of a crush yourself.’

‘He was proper pin-up material. He could have made a calendar. Everyone lusted over him, but he was so shy with the attention, poor puppy.’

‘He wasn’t local?’

‘No. He had a lovely Liverpudlian accent. Granville only employed him temporarily after his heart scare. He stayed on after he died to help out. Hang on a minute,’ Tania suddenly sits upright and glares at me. ‘My journalistic skills must be on the wane. I should have asked this right at the start: why are you asking all these questions about the Pembertons? What’s going on?’

‘Alison wants me to help. I did say I wouldn’t get involved, but… I don’t know, something isn’t sitting right with what I’ve read so far.’

Tania’s face softens. ‘My heart really goes out to that lass. I’ve known her since she was little. She was there. She saw them get taken and there was nothing she could do about it. If you think about it, she’s got all the answers locked away somewhere in her head and she can’t find the key to access them. It must be torturous for her. So, what does your detective instinct tell you?’

It’s a few long moments before I answer. ‘I’m not sure. But Jack’s disappearance and more than fourteen sightings of him, plus Travis doing a moonlight flit, are leading to more questions.’

‘Who are you going to ask?’

‘Lynne. Iain. Alison. You?’

‘Me?’

‘You were there at the time. You know all the key players.’

‘If I help, will you let me write about it?’

‘Something tells me I wouldn’t be able to stop you.’

She rubs her hands together and grins. ‘What’s the first plan of action?’

‘We need alibis for Lynne, Jack, Iain, and Travis for the time the twins went missing.’

‘That’s not going to be easy. Jack’s possibly dead and I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for Travis.’

‘But, surely, you’ll have in your archives your interviews from the time. Maybe something is in there.’

‘I’ll have a look.’

‘Celia and Jennifer’s teacher at the time of their disappearance: male or female?’

Tania looks up to the ceiling as she thinks. ‘Male.’

‘Was he a suspect?’