A Woman Unknown Page 0,45
houses, and to the convent.
‘Have you known Deirdre a long time?’
He nodded. ‘Always. I think we was almost sweethearts once, before I lost my brains.’
His eyes darted around the room and came to rest on Gerald’s photograph on the sideboard. ‘Who is that?’
‘My husband. He didn’t come back from the war.’
He nodded. He did not have to tell me that he was an old soldier. I could see it in his eyes.
‘Come on then, Mr Flanagan. The sooner I get started the better.’
‘Call me Eddie. Everyone calls me Eddie.’
I led Eddie into the kitchen.
Mrs Sugden said, ‘They’ve gone without you, Eddie. Never you mind. I’m going to make you some breakfast.’
‘I have to go to Roundhay,’ he said, as if he had not heard her. ‘To the nursing home, to see if I can find out where Deirdre went.’
‘You listen to Mrs Sugden, Eddie. She’ll look after you, and then explain how to get to Roundhay.’
He was the one with least claim to find Deirdre, but I had the feeling he was the one who loved her best, and most unselfishly.
His guess as to where Deirdre might be would be better than mine.
Len Diamond had not arrived at the newspaper offices by the time I got there, at about half past nine. I hovered near the entrance, waiting for him.
When he did turn up, about twenty minutes later, he looked genuinely pleased to see me. ‘Kate, hello! Bumping into you twice in a week, the heavens must be smiling on me.’
‘Hello, Len. I was hoping you might be able to help me with an enquiry.’
He pulled a mock fearful face. ‘Sounds worrying.’
‘Do you have a moment? I can wait until you’ve put in your appearance.’
‘Let me see what the editor has in store for me. I’ll be with you in a flash.’
Twenty minutes later, we were sitting in Schofields over coffee and toast. I felt guilty about detaining him from his work but he assured me it was a treat to have breakfast. ‘So what’s this enquiry of yours, Kate?’
I wanted to ask him about the altercation he had with Philippa’s secretary at the races, and about the photographs he had taken at the shoot. But if Diamond got a whiff that I was investigating on behalf of Philippa Runcie, he would dine out on the story for a decade.
By starting with my search for Mrs Fitzpatrick, I would be able to lead into the questions concerning Runcie in a more roundabout way.
‘It concerns one of your fellow employees at the newspaper.’
He looked suddenly interested. ‘Are you going to tell me who?’
‘One of the compositors, Cyril Fitzpatrick, came to see me. I have his permission to talk to you.’
Diamond spread strawberry jam on his toast. ‘Is something wrong?’
Len and I usually converse in a light-hearted banter, even where our shared passion of photography is concerned but I resisted the urge to say that Mr Fitzpatrick had mislaid his wife.
‘His wife is missing. He is concerned for her welfare because her mother died yesterday.’
‘How sad for her, and what a worry for him. But I haven’t got her, Scout’s honour.’
‘I tried to reassure Mr Fitzpatrick. Said that perhaps she just didn’t feel like going home and visited a friend, or booked in somewhere.’
‘Does he want a missing person piece in the paper? If it comes to a major search, there’s a photograph of her in the files. I took it last summer at Kirkstall Abbey.’
‘Then I would certainly like a copy, today if possible.’
He nodded. ‘Consider it done.’
‘Mr Fitzpatrick said you saw her not long ago. He got the strong impression she must have been with a man.’
Diamond pulled his reluctant-to-tell face. ‘She was talking to someone, but not a person who would have run off with her. Look, if she doesn’t come home soon, I’ll break all my rules and tell you the man’s name. Then you can don your deerstalker and track him down, just in case.’
‘Anything else you know about her?’
He swallowed a mouthful of toast. ‘No. Sorry. He has reported her missing I take it?’
‘Yes, last night, which isn’t long ago but I’m not sure how urgently it will be treated.’
‘Well it ought to be.’
Now for my change of tack. ‘I agree. But the police are at full stretch.’
‘You mean because of the murder? Now there’s a shocker.’
‘It seems unbelievable, Len, given that we both saw Mr Runcie only on Wednesday at the Ebor.’
‘I nearly got what would have been the last photograph of him. I would