herself, but to him.
As I considered calling the police, I couldn’t rule out him changing his mind about us, deciding that when it came to it, he couldn’t leave Amy. If he was cosily back at home with her, I was past caring if the police turned up and embarrassed him. But if he genuinely was missing, I needed to be sure the police knew.
Halfway through the morning, having still heard nothing, I called them. A male voice answered. ‘Brighton and Hove Police. Can I take your name and the reason for your call?’
‘Fiona Rose. I wonder if you could help me. It’s about my partner. We don’t live together, but I haven’t heard from him since the day before yesterday. It’s completely out of character and I’m worried about him. Is it possible to check if anyone else has reported him missing?’
‘Can I take his name?’
‘Matthew Roche.’
‘Can I take your contact details?’ After giving them to him, he took more information: Matt’s description and when I last saw him. Then for the rest of the morning, I tried to concentrate on work. In between calls, I thought about our last conversation. He’d been distracted, talking about how Amy’s moods were all over the place; how he was worried about what she’d do when he told her – not just to herself, but to him.
It wasn’t until lunchtime that I got the call back from the police.
‘Ms Rose? It’s PC Page – Brighton and Hove Police. I understand you reported a missing person earlier today?’
‘That’s right – my partner. Matthew Roche.’
‘Can I ask you when you last spoke to him?’
‘The night before last. We spent the evening together.’
She pauses briefly. ‘What makes you think he’s missing?’
I frowned. ‘Partly my instincts. He came to see me the night before last. He was supposed to call me yesterday and I haven’t heard from him. Usually he texts or calls several times a day. I’ve tried him several times. I’ve tried him at work too, but they haven’t seen him.’
‘You say Mr Roche is your partner?’ There was uncertainty in her voice.
‘Yes. It’s complicated. We don’t live together. He lives with a woman called Amy Reid. I’m guessing she will have reported him missing.’ If she hadn’t, she certainly should have, I wanted to add, but I bit my tongue. It was still possible I’d got this wrong and they’d reconciled their differences, Amy persuading him to cut off contact with me, after he’d decided to stay with her. But a sixth sense told me that wasn’t what had happened. ‘Matt was going to leave her. The night he disappeared, we spent the evening together. When he left my flat, he was going back to tell her. He was worried about how she’d react. That was the last time I saw him.’
There was a moment’s silence. ‘We are aware of him. Go on.’
So Amy had been in touch. ‘I’m not sure what else I can tell you. It was obvious Matt had been restless for some time. Living a lie was getting to him. Matt isn’t a compulsive liar – he’s just not the type. I’m a lawyer. I can see the signs coming a mile off.’ It’s true. At the start, he’d been so weighed down with guilt, I thought he was going to break it off with me. ‘He was dreading having to tell Amy, but it wasn’t fair to keep leading her on. Their wedding is only a couple of weeks away. He knew he wanted to be with me. He meant every word.’ I paused, swallowing. ‘He was about to move his things into my place. Yesterday.’
‘I see.’ As she paused, I’d imagined her reconciling the Matt I was describing with Amy’s Matt. She went on. ‘Do you have a photo of him?’
‘Several. Would you like me to send them to you?’
‘We’ll come and collect them – I have a photograph I’d like you to identify. If you give me your address, I’ll get onto it straight away.’ After I gave her the address, PC Page hesitated. ‘There is one thing I do have to ask. If you’d guessed Ms Reid would report her fiancé missing, why did you feel the need to call us?’
‘In case she hadn’t …’ I broke off for a moment, gazing through the window at a seagull perched on a rooftop. ‘This is difficult, because I only know what Matt’s told me about her. But what I do know is he worries about her.