Paris Love Match - By Nigel Blackwell Page 0,18

before I call rape.”

Piers stopped and let her go. She massaged her side and eased herself upright. “For your information, that hurt.”

Piers nodded. His shoulders slumped and the muscles in his face relaxed downward. “I’m sorry. But the train leaves in six minutes.”

Sidney grunted and rubbed her stomach. “All right, action man, go on.”

They hurried to platform four, passing several railway employees who were more interested in their lunch destination than checking passenger tickets.

“How are we going to find this person?” Sidney said, still holding her side.

“Easy. They haven’t got a ticket, so they’ll still be here when the train leaves.”

Piers slowed his pace. A train sat idling, but a mass of people stood waiting, their luggage beside them. Small shops ran along the rear of the platform. Stairs led up to a balcony that ran the length of the shops and gave access to offices above. Sidney pointed to the departure board. A second train departed from the same platform ten minutes after the Milan train.

He rubbed his forehead. “Great, so we don’t even know which train these people are waiting for.”

“Who do you think it might be?” Sidney said.

Piers shrugged. “A woman?”

Sidney hummed and looked around the crowd. “Maybe. He could be married.”

“You didn’t nick his ring then?”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t take his wedding ring?”

She glowered at him, her eyebrows pressed down hard. “He didn’t have a wedding ring.”

“So, you did check?”

She shook her head angrily. “Women notice these things. Unlike men who think they’re just a decoration.”

“Right.”

Occasional people joined and left the platform, a sandwich seller did a brisk business in baguettes, but no one stood out as Auguste’s companion.

“It might be a he,” Sidney said.

“Maybe.”

“We’re not really getting anywhere here. Perhaps we should just walk up and down calling out his name.”

Piers turned his attention from the crowd to Sidney. “You think someone’s going to answer us? The guy was obviously doing something bad, and has tickets to leave town in a hurry. Whoever it is, they’re hardly likely to put their hands up, now are they?”

Sidney grunted. “So what’s your plan?”

“I—”

The phone in Piers’ pocket vibrated. The sound of the ringer was muffed but persistent.

“You going to answer that?” Sidney said.

“I don’t care. It’s probably just the office.”

“You have the same ring tone as the dead guy?”

“I—oh, shit.” Piers thrust his hand into his pocket, grabbing for the phone and pulling it out. He flipped it open and the ring tone stopped. “Bugger, missed it.”

He pressed a few keys and found the missed call list. “April.”

“April, what?”

“The call was from someone called April.”

Piers looked at the station clock. Three minutes before the train was scheduled to depart. “Maybe his companion is getting worried.”

April’s number still glowed on the display. He placed his finger over the redial button. “Spread out, see if anyone’s phone rings.”

Sidney pushed her way through the people on the platform. Piers knew this was going to be a long shot. There were a lot of people and even if they could hear a phone ring they’d only have seconds to locate the person. He took a deep breath and pushed the button.

There were a few moments of agonizing silence, then clicks, then the earpiece started to give a ringing tone. He looked around and saw Sidney doing the same. There was no telltale phone sound, and no one was rummaging in their pockets or handbags. He moved the phone back to his ear to hear a whistling sound.

Damn, the call hadn’t gone through.

The clock said two minutes to go. He punched off and redial in quick succession. There was the same silence, the same clicks, and the same ringing. Only this time a shrill chirrup joined in. It wasn’t coming from the earpiece, it was on the platform. It was April’s ringtone. He looked all around, his eyes and ears searching. He glimpsed Sidney doing the same. Whoever it was had to be between them. He pushed through the crowd, his eyes scanning left and right. The noise seemed close, but no one was answering a call. Sidney was closing in too. They made eye contact. She shrugged.

He heard a voice on Auguste’s phone and whipped it to his ear. Then he heard the same voice nearby. April had to be close, but still no one was moving. He looked straight up. A woman stood on the balcony. As if by psychic connection, she looked down at the same instant. Their eyes met. Without words or facial movements, she knew she had blown her