Page 32 of Dead to Me

‘Oh, yeah…’ Tess said, her expression thoughtful.‘That was awful, too.I didn’t know her, but a girl in my college was on the team with her and was a mess about it.Felt like she’d let her down.’

‘Let her down how?’I asked.

But at that point I have to admit that I lost track of what Tess was saying in reply.Because having let my eyes drift around the cricket grounds, my gaze had suddenly landed on a very familiar face.

Probably only a hundred yards away, standing in a small group up in the stands, was James Sedgewick, and he was looking at us with a flat, furious stare.The kind of stare that makes your stomach feel like it’s falling out of your shoes.

Whatever Tess was saying got cut off, anyway.She followed my gaze and just… stopped.Broke off in mid-sentence.

And when I looked at her face, she looked terrified, Reid.Genuinely terrified.

14.Reid

Seeing Seaton Laws in the flesh was another punch of giddy, painful nostalgia for Reid.

Eighteen months hadn’t changed Anna’s father a whisker.His short-cropped beard was shaped exactly as it had been the last time Reid had seen him, which he guessed must have been at Anna’s birthday dinner the September before they broke up.Seaton might, Reid thought, even be wearing the same suit.It was hard to tell, though.He seemed to have a whole range of blue or navy suits that were difficult to distinguish from one another.

It was stifling in the bar.Seaton had commandeered a high-backed armchair alongside a fireplace that fortunately held only flowers.When Reid arrived he was sitting in there with his legs crossed, his chin propped on his hand, with an untouched coffee on the table in front of him.He was the picture of a distracted academic.But the picture didn’t last long.He noticed Reid quickly and rose with clear agitation.

‘Reid, hello.’

Despite the probable urgency of the situation, Reid felt himself slipping into an awkward social mode as he took Seaton’s hand.

‘It’s good to see you,’ he said, half truthfully.‘I… how are things with you these days?I didn’t ask before.’There was a brief pause, while Seaton shrugged, and Reid tried, ‘How’s the garden?’

‘Fine, fine,’ Seaton said, immediately.‘Blooming.Would you, er… like a drink?’

Though feeling that it was wasted time, Reid accepted the offer and asked for a pint of Diet Coke.He felt like he needed both the hydration and the caffeine.

Reid sat in the free chair, discovering that it was a great deal lower than Seaton’s.The Reid of a few years ago might have felt humiliated, but years of interviews in all manner of situations had removed any such concerns.It was possible to perch on a wobbly stool and still dominate a conversation if you wanted to.

And that went for situations when you were unofficially interviewing your ex-girlfriend’s dad about her disappearance.

Seaton returned a few moments later carrying the pint of Coke and, somewhat unexpectedly, a packet of salted kettle chips and a glass of water.Reid wasn’t quite sure what he’d expected Seaton to buy, but for a man who was generally into champagne and fine dining, there was something disconcerting about it.

‘Should probably eat something,’ Seaton said as he sat.‘I got through three glasses of Krug waiting for her, all on an empty stomach, and I’ve still not managed to rectify the situation.’He tore open the crisps.‘It’s not exactly Michelin-starred fare, but it’ll do.’

Something about the sight of Seaton willingly consuming crisps when he could have stayed in Cambridge eating gourmet food was unexpectedly touching.He’d somehow expected Seaton to just want all of this sorting out.He hadn’t anticipated her father’s own determination to help her, or the shake in the man’s hands.

‘I’ve been to Anna’s London flat,’ Reid said, assuming his professional voice.‘I was able to access it, which was helpful.No sign of Anna.It’s hard to say whether she’s been there today.I’d guess not, but that’s not necessarily much use if you were expecting her to be in Cambridge.Also no sign of the laptop or this phone you say she’s been using.’

Seaton picked the water up.His hand shook a little more as he drank.‘So no leads at all is what you’re saying?’

‘Can you tell me more about what she was doing?’Reid asked.‘This murder she was investigating.Am I right in thinking it was the death of Holly Moore?’

Seaton gave him a look of mild surprise.‘Yes, it was.How did you happen on that?’

Reid couldn’t help smiling.‘Well, you did give me the names of Kit Frankland and Esther Thomas.I looked them up on the way over here.They both gave quotes to the press about Holly.’

He decided not to add that connecting people with crimes was basically his job.

‘Oh.’Seaton gave this a moment of thought.‘Yes, it was fairly high profile.’

‘Can you tell me how Anna ended up investigating it?’Reid asked, thinking of Gael’s comment that Anna was working on a financial piece.‘Did the paper send her, or was this her own thing?’

‘Oh, they agreed to it all,’ Seaton said, ‘but it was Anna’s investigation.A young woman approached her, positive her friend had been murdered but nothing had been done about it, and Anna realised she had a point.’

Reid gave a slow nod.Hearing that there had been enough evidence for a fullEnsigninvestigation was, if anything, worrying.Of all the scenarios about Anna’s disappearance, the idea of her having waded into a covered-up murder was the most concerning.Generally speaking, people will do a lot to keep murders from coming to light.

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