shopping bags and the contents fell out all over the slate tile effect lino. She bent down and started to pick up onions and potatoes from where they had rolled across the floor. As she started to stuff the groceries back in the bag, she noticed something unexpected at the bottom. But before she had time to give it any thought, she heard clattering coming down the stairs again and hastily started to stuff everything back into the bag.
She looked up as Mimi walked in the room. The two women regarded each other without a word.
Leo broke the silence.
‘I think I’d better go.’
Nothing else was said. But then, nothing else was needed.
* * *
Leo had been right about one thing on Tuesday evening. There was a hell of a lot of tension in the Saunders household at the moment. Tom had felt it like a waft of cold air the minute Leo had opened the door. Leo had been pleasant enough, but there was nothing relaxed in her manner. Even when she was stroppy and sarcastic, she had an easy grace about her. But her movements had been jumpier, her voice less modulated.
And Ellie was worse. She hadn’t even wanted to talk about their intruder, which was strange as Leo said that Ellie was the one who was most concerned about it. She was hiding something, but Tom couldn’t think of any reason why she would.
Well, whatever was going on, all he could do was help when he was asked. Which reminded him - that’s exactly what Leo had done the previous evening. She was desperate to finally know the truth about her father’s disappearance, and Tom had a few routes to intelligence, although it was strictly forbidden to use police computers to track information for personal purposes. But he had done similar research before and had a good idea where to start. Local knowledge.
Sitting at his desk in the study, he grabbed the phone. Steve had called the day before and fortunately he had stored the number. There was one thing that his old sergeant might be able to help him with. The phone was answered almost immediately, but it was a noisy line and not very clear.
‘Steve? Tom Douglas. Sorry to bother you - do you have a minute to chat, or are you in the middle of something?’
‘Morning, Tom. Good to hear from you. I’m in the car on hands free, and about ten minutes out from my destination. So shoot. I should warn you to keep it clean, because I’ve got my sergeant with me, and he’s of a delicate disposition.’
Tom laughed as he imagined the accompanying wink from Steve. He heard an echo of his laughter from the noisy car. The sergeant, no doubt.
‘I wanted to ask if you have any old timers around the office who might be able to provide a bit of local information from about fifteen to twenty years ago. About a resident of Little Melham at that time, by the name of Harris. Edward Harris. Lived at Willow Farm.’
‘We’ve got a couple of guys who are coming up to twenty-five years, so they might be able to help. What do you want to know?’
‘His daughters have become friends of mine.’ Tom was interrupted by laughter and a few remarks about the fact that he had used the plural term. He let them finish before continuing.
‘His daughters, one of whom is happily married to my next door neighbour - just so that we’re clear - don’t know what happened to him. He disappeared, possibly in the summer of 1995, and they don’t know where he went or if he’s still alive. I know you can’t help with that bit, but any background, gossip, local knowledge might help.’
‘Okay - Edward Harris, you said? I’ll ask my sergeant here to get hold of anybody who we think might be able to help, and see if there’s anything we can find out for you. Do you know any more about him?’
‘Only that he was a bigamist, but was apparently never done for it. One wife died, and the remaining one had him declared dead in 2002 allegedly, although his daughter can’t find any trace of a death certificate in the relevant period.’
‘Quite a little mystery, then. Perhaps the surviving wife topped him and buried him in the garden.’ Steve laughed.
‘Don’t think that hadn’t occurred to me,’ Tom said, not entirely joking. From what Leo had said about her stepmother it didn’t actually sound like