by Mary Birk
“Bad, guv. This is bloody bad.” Harry’s voice sounded as shaken as Reid felt.
“Makes me sick.” Reid’s phone rang. Seeing it was Sebastian, he picked up right away.
“Sorry to bother you, my lord, but we’ve had some disturbing news. Lady Anne asked me to let you know.”
“Tell me.”
“Mrs. MacTavish called. Tabby Low is missing.”
“Tabby Low?” The name was familiar, but he couldn’t immediately place it.
“Their au pair.”
“The one that helped watch Michael last week?”
“That’s the one.”
“What happened?”
“Mrs. MacTavish said they got home late Sunday. She assumed the girl was upstairs asleep in her room, but this morning when she didn’t come down, Mrs. MacTavish checked her room, and she wasn’t there.”
“She might have decided to stay with a friend over the weekend, I suppose, and not phoned yet because it’s early.”
“That’s what I said, but Mrs. MacTavish sounded like she didn’t think that was likely. The only friend they knew of was Lizzie Frost, and all of Tabby’s things were gone from her room.”
“Call Mrs. MacTavish back and tell her we’ll start a search.”
“Yes, my lord. Also, I don’t want to alarm you, but Lady Anne is very upset. She’s blaming herself for leaving Tabby alone at the MacTavishes’ house. She didn’t want me to tell you, but I thought I’d better.”
“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll try to get home as soon as we’re finished here.”
Reid briefed Harry on Sebastian’s call. “Put out an all-points bulletin for Tabby Low. She’s gone missing, same m.o. as the other nannies.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And let Jack Shelton know.”
.
* * * * *
Greg Gunderson heard the main phone ring. Someone must have picked it up, because it stopped ringing after a couple of rings. Not long after that, he heard his parents going downstairs, their voices going back and forth in frantic whispers. Something was very, very wrong. He went downstairs to the kitchen where his father was saying something about telling Lizzie’s mother, and about this not being his fault, and other bluster shite.
“What happened?”
“Go back to bed, Greg.” His father’s voice was brusque.
“Is it Lizzie?” He wanted to believe there was good news. “Did they find her? Is she all right?”
His father shook his head. “I’m sorry, son. Lizzie’s dead.”
Greg wanted to scream at his father, but instead he went back up to his room. He closed and locked his door, then reached into the drawer by the bed, and pulled out the mobile phone he’d bought at the corner store. He dialed the number the detective had given him.
The phone rang and rang, then, at last, Harry picked up.
Greg kept his voice down. He didn’t want anyone to hear him calling. “This is Greg Gunderson; I don’t know if you remember me.”
“I do.” Greg could tell from his grim tone that Harry knew why he was calling.
He swallowed. “I heard about Lizzie.”
“Aye, I’m sorry, lad.”
“I need to tell you something.” He took a deep breath. He couldn’t start crying yet, not until he’d told Harry what he needed to tell him.
“Go on.”
Greg started to cry, but on the other end, he could tell Harry was waiting patiently. When he got control of himself, he said, “Remember we talked about when Lizzie left?”
“Aye.”
“About her things being gone?”
“Aye.”
“I saw her go out the door that morning. She didn’t have her suitcase with her.”
“Why didn’t you mention this before?”
“I just remembered.”
“Right. Go on.”
“I heard my dad saying maybe Lizzie packed it up and took it out of the house already, before she left. But that couldn’t have happened.”
“Why not?”
“After Lizzie left that day, I went into her room.”
“Why?”
This part of the story was also true, but not the whole truth.
“Do I have to say why? All you need to know is her things were all still there and she wasn’t packed up or anything.”
“I won’t tell anyone why you went in there if it’s not important, but I need to know.”
Greg sighed. He’d hoped he wouldn’t have to tell this part. “I had a thing for her. Like maybe I was in love with her, or something. I never told her, but being around her made me . . .you know. I would sometimes go into her room when she wasn’t there, look at her things, touch her lacy bits, you know, just for, well you know. You’re a bloke, for chrissakes.”
“I get it. Sorry for being so thick. For now, let’s just say you happened to look in, and leave it at that.”
“Her things were there when she left, and when my mom took us kids out that day. When we got back they were gone.” Harry already knew his father had been there working at home that day, and that no one else had been there. Greg wasn’t going to have to come out and say his father was the one who’d packed up Lizzie’s things. Harry would be able to figure it out.
“Have you told anyone else about this?”
“No.”
“You did the right thing in telling me. I’ll take it from here.”
Greg hung up, took the hard drive with the recordings from his surveillance camera from the closet where he’d hidden it, and slipped it inside his rucksack. He’d get rid of it in the rubbish bin at school tomorrow.
Chapter 34
FROM HIS vantage point at the master bedroom window, Reid saw the MacTavishes’ car pass through the driveway gates, and knew Sebastian must have buzzed them in. He’d asked Claudia and Peter to come to his house, rather than him going to theirs, because he didn’t want to leave Anne right now. Reid kissed his sleeping wife and baby, adjusted the blankets covering them, and went downstairs to the kitchen where, pursuant to his instructions, Sebastian had taken the couple.
After greeting his friends, Reid motioned for them to take a seat around the kitchen island. He pulled out one of the stools for himself, and Sebastian poured mugs of steaming hot tea and set out a plate of chocolate biscuits before going upstairs to take Reid’s place keeping watch over Anne and Michael.
“How’s Anne?” Claudia MacTavish poured cream in her tea, and added several spoonfuls of sugar. She pushed the creamer and sugar bowl toward her husband, but Peter shook his head.
Reid said, “I finally got her to lie down for a nap with Michael, and they’ve both fallen asleep. She’s been distraught since we got the news about Tabby. Unfortunately, the doctor couldn’t give her anything as we just found out she’s pregnant.”
Claudia said, “Michael’s only four months old.”
“Aye,” Reid said, not appreciating the implied criticism. Truth be told, he felt a little shaken himself. They’d thought they were safe while she was nursing, but apparently, they’d been wrong. They’d intended to start practicing the Church-sanctioned natural family planning once she’d resumed her periods, but they seemed to have skipped that step.
“Congratulations, Terrence.” Peter’s voice didn’t hold any of his wife’s censure. “When’s she due?”
“Mid-December. They’ll be over a year apart,” he added.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Peter asked.
“Thanks, but not right now. We’re expecting Anne’s mother to get in tomorrow night from California, and my brother Rick is coming down from Inverness tonight. He’ll stay at least until Irene gets here.” This wasn’t the way he’d planned for them to celebrate their wedding anniversary today, but he’d make it up to Anne later.
“I’m sure you’ll feel better having a doctor in the house.” Claudia said.
“Indeed.”
“I hope she’s not blaming herself for Tabby’s disappearance.”
/> “I’m afraid she is.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Claudia said. “I told her to drop Tabby off at our house Thursday night. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s ours.”
“You planned for Tabby to be there alone all weekend?”
“She is sixteen, Terrence, and we have a security system.” Claudia took a drink of her tea. “We didn’t have any reason not to think she’d be perfectly safe.”
“When exactly did you two get back from Majorca?”
Peter said, “I actually ended up coming back Thursday night for a client meeting. We were supposed to be meeting Friday morning in Mitford, so I went straight there, and stayed at the client’s cottage until Sunday.”
Claudia said, “I stayed on in Majorca until Sunday with the children.”
“When did you get back to the house?”
“Sometime after midnight.”
“What about you, Peter? When did you get back to the house?”
“Sunday.”
“What time?”
“Just before seven.”
“At night?”
“Yes.”
“Tabby wasn’t there?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. I called out her name, but she didn’t answer. I went upstairs and knocked on her door. When she still didn’t answer, I opened the door. She wasn’t there.”
“Did that surprise you?”
“A little, but I assumed she’d stayed on longer with Anne at Dunbaryn.” Lines of tension tightened around Peter’s mouth.
“Did you think to call Anne or me to make sure?”
Peter wouldn’t meet Reid’s eyes. “No.” Something more was going on, here, Reid thought.
“Claudia, when did you first realize Tabby wasn’t home?”
“About seven-thirty this morning. I couldn’t imagine she was still sleeping that late on a day when she would be watching the children, so I went to check on her. The bed was made, and there was no sign of her. I called Peter at the office, and he said she hadn’t been home when he got back. Then I called Anne, and she told me about dropping Tabby off Thursday night around ten. She said Tabby promised to put the alarm on, and that she didn’t leave until Tabby was in the house and the door was closed.”
“Peter didn’t mention last night that she hadn’t come home?” Reid looked first at Claudia, then Peter.
Claudia looked uncomfortable. “I didn’t speak to him last night. He was asleep when we got home.”
Peter hastened to add his own, equally awkward explanation. “I’d bedded down in the guest room, so I wouldn’t be disturbed when they got in. I had an early morning meeting today. When I left, Claudia was still asleep.”
Claudia went on. “After I talked to Anne, I went back to Tabby’s room. That’s when I realized her things were gone. I called her back, and I think that’s when she called you, Terrence.”
Reid nodded. “When’s the last time either one of you heard from Tabby?”
Peter didn’t respond, but Claudia said, “The day we left.”
“Peter?”
“Same.”
But Reid had a feeling his friend knew more than he was saying. He’d pursue that line of questioning when he got Peter alone.
“Claudia, Anne mentioned that you got Tabby on kind of an emergency basis after your last nanny left?”
“Yes. About two months ago.”
“Tell me about that.”
“Hilary, our nanny, quit rather suddenly. I called the agency I usually use for a replacement, but they didn’t have anyone available. Peter mentioned that one of his clients needed to find a place for their au pair because he’d taken a job in Australia. He set up a meeting for me with Tabby, and we hired her.”
“Tell me about Tabby. What’s she like?”
“Didn’t you meet her when she went down to your offices?”
“No, some of my officers talked to her, and I was away the whole time she was helping Anne with Michael.”
“She’s good with the children, does what she’s supposed to do. She’s reliable, neat, responsible. Very pretty.” Claudia looked at her husband expectantly, but he didn’t add anything.
Reid stepped in. “I did catch a glimpse of her at your party. You’re right, she’s very pretty. Any indication she was unhappy at your house?”
Claudia said, “Not that I noticed. She didn’t say anything to you, did she, Peter?”
“Not a word.” Peter stared into his mug.
Reid said, “We have some photos of her, but the description her mother gave of her wasn’t very detailed, and doesn’t mesh with how Harry and Allison described her. For example, the mother didn’t seem to know Tabby’s ears were pierced, but Harry and Allison and Anne were very definite about that. Do you know if she got that done over here?”
Claudia said, “As far as I remember, they were pierced when she came.”
Peter said, “No, she got them pierced after she came to work for us.”
“I don’t remember that.” Claudia said.
“She was showing the kids her earrings right after she got them put in. They were gold studs.”
Reid made a note. “Any tattoos or scars?”
Claudia shook her head. “Not that I know of.”
Peter didn’t say anything, but when Claudia’s gaze went toward the window, he looked at Reid and gave a slight nod.
Reid’s stomach dropped. He gave his friend a what-the-hell-have-you-been-up-to look. Peter just looked away.
“Do either of you remember Tabby mentioning any friends here in Scotland besides Lizzie Frost?”
Peter shook his head. Claudia took another biscuit. “No.”
“After Lizzie disappeared, did Tabby continue to attend Mass with your family?”
Claudia answered. “I’m afraid Peter was a bad influence in that regard. He’s been skipping Mass, and I think Tabby took that as permission not to attend as well.”
Leaving the two of them alone together in the house Sunday mornings, Reid thought, and his bad feeling deepened. “Did Tabby have a boyfriend?”
“No.” Peter’s answer was immediate.
Claudia dusted away the biscuit crumbs that had fallen on to her lap. “No boyfriend, maybe, but she was definitely interested in men.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She’s not subtle about it,” Claudia said. “I’m sure Anne would agree with me.”
“She didn’t mention it. Anything specific Tabby did?”
“No, you could just tell.”
Reid nodded. “What did Tabby do when she wasn’t watching the children?”
“She’d go shopping, or to the library, things like that.”
“By herself?”
“Before Lizzie disappeared, sometimes with Lizzie. Otherwise, by herself.”
“Anne said that Tabby asked to use the internet at our house for her email and things like that. She didn’t have her own computer, so Anne set her up with an extra one of ours. Did anything like that go on at your house?”
“She had the use of the computer in the library, and when Peter got his new laptop, he gave her his old one to use. Why? Does this have any connection to what might have happened to her?”
“We don’t know yet. We’ll need to go through both computers to see if there are any leads there as to where she might have gone. Also, I assume you have no objection to my sending over some officers to go through her room?”
“Do whatever you think necessary to find her, Terrence,” said Peter.
“Either Harry or Allison will give you a call to set that up.”
Peter nodded, and Claudia indicated the stairs. “I’ll pop up and see if Anne’s awake, and say hello before we go, if that’s all right?”
“Of course. Go on up. Sebastian will let you know if it’s okay to go in.”
When Claudia was out of earshot, Reid said, “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, Peter?”
* * * * *
&nbs
p; Reid waited until Peter finally broke the silence.
“Tabby has a small tattoo here.” He touched the back of his neck. “It’s a butterfly.”
A huge sense of relief flooded through Reid’s chest. The tattoo wasn’t in an intimate place. But why had his friend been reluctant to mention it in front of his wife? “Only the one?”
“That’s the only one I know of. I noticed it one day when she had her hair up.”
“Odd Claudia didn’t know.”
“It was a small tattoo. She probably just didn’t notice. Tabby usually wore her hair down.”
“There wasn’t anything going on between the two of you?”
“You know me better than that.”
“Why didn’t you want to tell me about the tattoo in front of Claudia?”
“After Claudia said she hadn’t noticed Tabby’s ears were pierced, and I had, I didn’t want to contradict her again about a tattoo. She’s touchy about being corrected in front of people.”
“Tell me about your security system. Did Tabby know how to use it?”
“Definitely. I saw her turn it off and on many times when she went in and out with the children.”
“You have security cameras; why don’t you use them?”
“The monitor had been making some weird sounds, so I disconnected it. I meant to get it fixed, but I never got around to it.”
“When was that?”
“A month or two ago.”
“If something was going on between the two of you, I need to know, Peter.”
“Nothing was going on. How many times do I have to tell you?”
Chapter 35
HARRY POINTED to a Georgian behemoth nestled among the large trees and carefully groomed gardens. “That’s the MacTavish house.”
“Hard to believe a girl was kidnapped off the posh streets around here,” Allison said. She was wearing a white Irish wool sweater, brown pants, walking boots, and a little cap over her curls. Goddamned cute, Harry thought.
“Bad things happen in posh neighborhoods as well.”
“Maybe so, but I’d guess the neighbors get handled more carefully.”