The Cold Light of Mourning - By Elizabeth J. Duncan Page 0,43

difficult to tell about the face, but the clothes are exactly right. I would say that’s her.”

Half an hour later, after having heard Penny tell her story again, the two police officers left.

“She was remarkably true to the first version, her story didn’t change at all. Not in any detail,” remarked Morgan as they made their way to their car.

“I wish all our witnesses were so good,” agreed Davies.

“But it looks as if we’ve got something much worse on our hands now than a simple disappearance. I think she’s right, that there was another woman. And that means, well, I don’t have to spell it out for you, do I?”

Finally alone, Penny sat down on her sofa, put her feet up, leaned back, and closed her eyes. Her body was tired, but her mind was not.

She needed to reflect on the events of the day, starting with the funeral and the beautiful music in the church. She smiled as she recalled it. There was no doubt Victoria was very talented and Penny wondered if she had made a CD. What would that be like, Penny wondered, listening to a CD of harp music in the evening, say. Would it be peaceful and comforting or just terribly depressing?

As her thoughts turned to Victoria, she was glad they had met and looked forward to getting to know her better. Maybe she would stay in the area for a bit longer.

With that, Penny felt tears welling up. Her friendship with Emma, as unlikely as it might have seemed to others, had been dear to her. She found it hard to accept that the clever, dedicated teacher whom she had known as a caring friend was gone. And while she was giving herself over to long-forgotten emotions that felt strange and uncomfortable, she finally recognized them for what they were. She was grieving.

The funeral, though, had been lovely and exactly as Emma would have wished it.

But as she thought about it, Penny realized again that something about it hadn’t been quite right. Something she couldn’t put her finger on had been out of place. Shaking her head, she told herself to leave it alone, and whatever it was, it would come to her when she least expected it. Or maybe it wasn’t anything important, just one of those niggling details that don’t seem right at the time, and are forgotten the next day in the business of everyday life.

For Morgan and Davies, the disappearance of Meg Wynne would take up a great deal of their time over the next few days as they checked bank account and credit card activity, and re-interviewed everyone who had been connected with the wedding. Their search took them to London where they searched her flat, talked to her colleagues at the design firm, and interviewed her neighbours.

They came up empty.

“I think we’ve reached that point in the investigation,” observed Morgan, “when we need a really good break. I hope something turns up soon.”

Meg Wynne, it seemed, had simply vanished.

Fourteen

She hadn’t vanished off the pages of the Daily Post, though. Morwyn Lloyd was writing a new story almost every day, based on material given to her by the police, who were trying to keep the story alive in the hopes that some small detail would jog someone’s memory and lead to the break they so desperately needed.

NEW TWIST IN MYSTERY OF THE MISSING BRIDE-TO-BE

Police are seeking a woman who apparently posed as missing bride-to-be Meg Wynne Thompson shortly before her disappearance on Saturday.

Detective Sergeant Bethan Morgan from North Wales police said that there is widespread concern for Ms. Thompson, who has not been seen since Saturday morning. At first, detectives believed she had had a manicure at the Happy Hands salon on Station Road, but now think the woman who had the manicure was someone else who, for unknown reasons, was posing as the bride.

“If anyone knows who this mystery woman is, we would ask them to come forward,” she said. “We believe this woman might be able to help us find Ms. Thompson and return her safely to her family.

“We certainly are hopeful but as time goes on we become more and more concerned about her well-being.”

Ms. Thompson had been scheduled to marry Emyr Gruffydd, son of local landowner and businessman Rhys Gruffydd, on Saturday afternoon. For unknown reasons, she did not appear at the church, and has been the subject of a widespread police missing persons inquiry.

Over the next few days, however, the story gradually fell off