‘Grace! How are you?’ He sounded surprised to hear from her.
‘Fine. I’m sorry to ring you over the holidays, but I need your advice.’ Her foot began tapping out a nervous tic as she talked. ‘I just tried to ring Constable Barton but he’s away till after New Year, and I don’t want to sit on my hands till then. A few things have happened over the last few days, concerning Adam’s disappearance …’
‘Go on.’ Niall sounded intrigued.
‘Well, first of all, I went to the Christmas Eve ball at Freeborough Hall – and an old friend of Adam’s came up to me and said she had seen him in the library at Ockton, the day before he disappeared. Apparently he told her he was looking for his dad. Adam’s father was a man called Jonny Templeton – he abandoned Adam’s mother when she got pregnant and moved overseas with his family. So I thought that might be significant …’ She took a deep breath. ‘And then I found his passport. Down in the cellar. Adam had put some boxes there when we moved in, and one of them had his passport in it …’
‘Didn’t the police search there last year?’ Niall asked.
‘It was locked, and I thought it was only a cupboard back then. I think one of the men that conducted the search asked me for the key, but I didn’t know where to find it.’
‘Well, I’m amazed. They shouldn’t have overlooked that.’
Grace furrowed her brow – surely that was beside the point. ‘It doesn’t matter now. I just want to know if this changes anything, with the investigation.’
She was acutely aware of the silence on the other end of the line. ‘Doesn’t this give us some new leads …?’ she begged. There was a tiny note of hysteria in her voice; she could hear it.
‘I’m not sure. Look, you need to talk to Barton. And if the woman you spoke to can come down to the station too, and tell them the same thing she told you, that’d be the best way of getting their attention.’
Grace’s optimism disappeared. ‘I’m not sure she will. She said she hadn’t come forward earlier because she doesn’t want to be involved …’
‘Is that right? And did she say why?’ The suspicion was clear in his voice.
‘No.’
‘Grace, perhaps you should have a think about your loyalty to this woman. She can talk to the police in confidence. No one else needs to know.’
‘In that case I’ll speak to her again, see what she says.’
‘Right then.’ Niall sounded as though he were about to hang up.
‘Isn’t there anything else we can do?’ Grace was aware of how desperate she sounded, and she hated it. Against her will, she was getting sucked back into the emotional turmoil of the last year.
She heard him sigh. ‘Remind me of Adam’s father’s name again?’
‘Jonny Templeton – I think he grew up on a farm around here.’
‘Well, I’ll see what I can find out – might not be for a few days, mind.’
‘Fine,’ Grace said dejectedly. ‘Thank you.’
When she came off the phone she headed downstairs to rejoin the others. Millie was playing with her favourite stacking blocks, while James and Annabel were bickering about what to watch on television. Being cooped up wasn’t suiting them very well.
‘I just asked Niall’s advice about the passport,’ she said. ‘He didn’t sound that interested … which was pretty much what I expected.’ She sat down, trying hard to suppress her exasperation. ‘Adam didn’t simply disappear, I’m sure of that. But I have no idea what happened … How am I ever going to get to the bottom of it?’ With fumbling fingers, she angrily wiped away the tears before they had a chance to fall.
‘Now listen to me, Grace,’ Annabel said, coming across and putting an arm around her sister. ‘This place is no good for you. It’s going to drive you insane. You can’t spend your time obsessing about Adam – because, for whatever reason, he’s gone, and there’s no sign at all that he’s about to come back. James and I will have to head off soon …’
Annabel hesitated and looked at James, who nodded.
Grace sat waiting for the inevitable.
‘We think you should come with us,’ James said. ‘We can’t leave you up here all alone, Gracie. It’s not right at all. It would feel like abandoning you, and this place is far too … well … remote,’ he finished.
‘Mum and Dad are really worried about you,’ Annabel added.
Grace ran a hand through her hair. ‘Look, I know you’re saying this because you love me, but I need to finish what I’ve started. It won’t take long.’
Annabel leaned back and blew out a long, frustrated breath. ‘Grace, this village is sucking the life out of you – you’re so serious all the time.’