The Cold Light of Mourning - By Elizabeth J. Duncan Page 0,76
dead.”
“Well, never mind that now,” said Penny. “Come on, let’s get after them or we’ll lose them. We’ll ring him later, first chance we get.”
They followed the couple at a discreet distance and watched as they left the pier, ambled slowly along the promenade toward Mostyn Street, and then ducked into a pub. The two women stopped in front of a bookstore a few doors down and looked at a towering display of bestsellers.
“Should we go into the pub, do you think?” asked Victoria.
“You look in the window and see if you can see them, while I stay here out of sight,” said Penny. “Just walk past and look in as if you’re thinking about maybe having something to eat.”
A few minutes later Victoria was back.
“They were looking at the menus,” she said. “They might be there for a while. Do you think we should try to find a phone box and ring the police?”
“I don’t know. I wish we could hear what they’re saying, but that would be too obvious. They’d see us and know what we were up to. I don’t think one of us can leave, either, to find a phone in case they decide to leave. If one of them leaves, or if they split up, then we’ve really lost them.”
“Argh, I wish I could think this through.”
Suddenly, Victoria started to snicker.
“It’s just like something in the movies, only we don’t have a clue what we’re doing.”
“Be serious, Victoria,” admonished Penny. “We have to get this right. The only thing we can do is wait and see what happens, and phone Gareth as soon as we can.”
They kept watch on the pub for what seemed like an eternity, and eventually the couple emerged and stood on the pavement as if unsure what to do next.
Emyr made a faint gesture with his right hand and the woman smiled at him.
She reached up and patted him on the shoulder and then, still smiling, turned and walked away down the side street. He stood there for a few moments looking after her and then ambled away.
The two women were left staring after them.
“What was that all about, then?” asked Victoria. “They’re leaving? Is that it? Do you think we should follow her to see where she goes?”
“Well, we don’t need to follow Emyr,” said Penny. “We know where to find him. But we’d better see where she goes and what she’s up to. But if she realizes she’s being followed we could do more harm than good so we’ve got to be careful. Come on, let’s get after her.”
They followed the woman down the side street at a safe distance and watched as she turned into one of the better hotels.
“You have to admit this doesn’t look good, the two of them together, whoever she is,” said Penny. “Right. I’ll have to wait out here and you get in there and see what you can find out.”
Victoria looked mortified.
“Me? Find out what, exactly?”
“Well, who she is, of course! That’s what we need to know. Then we’ll really be getting someplace with our investigation.”
Victoria sighed, took a few steps toward the entrance, and then turned around to look at Penny who nodded encouragingly and gave a little flutter with her hand in the direction of the door.
A few steps later Victoria found herself in a large, old-fashioned hotel lobby, filled with overstuffed wing chairs and sofas, huge potted plants, and a couple of side tables with folded newspapers on them. In the distance, she could hear the steady, back and forth drone of a Hoover.
She made her way across the highly patterned burgundy carpet to the long wooden reception desk where a young man in a dark green uniform was tapping away on a keyboard. Victoria stood in front of him until he stopped typing. He shifted his eyes from his computer screen and gazed at her with an impatient, sullen look as if he deeply resented the interruption.
“Good afternoon. May I help you?” he asked impersonally.
Victoria cleared her throat and smiled weakly.
“I hope so, yes,” she began, and then gaining confidence, added, “I think I just saw a woman come into the hotel. She’s about thirty-five, well dressed. I believe she was a friend of my, ah, niece’s, yes, that’s it, niece’s from school and I wondered if you could just let me have her name so I can tell my niece I saw her.”
She groaned inwardly at how lame and pathetic it sounded.