by Jack Stroke
His mostly grey hair would probably have been described as salt-and-pepper once, although these days it was decidedly salt. Thinning, yet still all there. He was about Joan’s height, which made him relatively small. Ben towered over them like they were two escaped residents from Lilliput.
“And how do you fit into this little ensemble?” he asked Amber.
“Oh, Ted. We literally just had this conversation,” Joan said, not giving Amber a chance to respond. “This is Amber, remember?”
He didn’t.
“She was Megan’s best friend growing up. We used to holiday up here with her when she and Megan were little. And not so little. Now she’s staying with us in cabin six. How do you not remember that conversation? It was like five minutes ago.”
Gosh, he was in trouble already, just like an old married couple.
“I hear you two are off for a walk today,” Amber said, trying to save him.
“Something like that.”
An awkward silence took over. Lion the cat observed from a small distance away, as though he was attempting to make sense of this strange scene.
“So, Joan. Could I ask a favour?”
“Of course, dear. Anything.”
“I just need to make a quick trip into Port Simmons.” Amber could feel Ben’s eyes on her. She ploughed ahead regardless. “Would it be all right if borrowed the hatchback?”
“Oh, you would have to check with Megan. Didn’t she say something about needing the car, Ben?”
“I don’t know.”
“Oh, you’re all hopeless. Yes, that’s probably fine. Megan often says she needs it when she doesn’t.”
“No problem. I’ll check with her.”
“She… You… could come with us, if you like,” Ted offered in a quiet voice.
“Oh, yes,” Joan said. “What a lovely idea.”
“I thought you two were going for a walk.”
“We are. In Port Simmons. And then we are stopping for some tea and cake at Mar Lar.”
Of course Joan was dragging Ted to Mar Lar. Joan squeezed Ted’s hand, the idea of Mar Lar was about the most exciting thing in the world.
“I don’t want to impose.”
“How would us driving you to Port Simmons be imposing?” Joan asked.
Amber quickly ran the prospect of getting a lift through her head against what she planned to do. “Okay. Great. Sounds good. Thanks.”
“Oh, but how will you get home again?”
“I’ll figure it.”
“Because I don’t want you walking again. Do you know Amber walked all the way here from Port Simmons when she first arrived? Crazy.”
And several times since. Amber didn’t bother to tell Joan that part.
Ted nodded. “That’s… a long way,” he said, not quite sure what Joan was getting out.
“It’s bonkers, is what it is. And she went along the beach, where there’s cliffs and no path for some of it.”
“There you go,” Ted said.
“I can be ready in five minutes.”
“Okay, perfect,” Joan said. “We’ll go tell Megan that we’re leaving.”
The pint-sized duo strode off hand in hand towards the owner’s cottage.
“Cute couple,” Amber said to Ben. “Although it’s hard to imagine them getting very far on this walk if that’s the speed they are going to move.”
“Hmmm. You’re going to Port Simmons?”
“Yep. Oh, it’s not about the two guys who attacked Grubby though.”
“It’s not?”
“No. I just need to do a bit of shopping.”
Amber hurried back to cabin six to get changed and grab her Sig.
She felt bad lying to Ben, but there wasn’t a whole lot else she could do.
21
About five minutes into the journey to Port Simmons, Amber realised it may have been easier to walk. Or take the dreaded bus. To suggest Ted was a cautious driver was a massive understatement. He seemed to believe every stop sign required not just coming to a halt but quadruple checking each way to make sure it was safe to proceed. Still, it was a pleasant day for a slow drive, and the company was nice, so really it didn’t matter too much.
“Goodness, such beautiful weather,” Ted said.
“Every day is like this up here.”
“It is certainly not like this in my neck of the woods.”
Ted’s sensible white hire car puttered along the quiet roads. Amber watched the green of the hills pass by, contrasting against the deep blue sky.
“And what is it you do, Amber?”
Joan jumped in, not giving Amber a chance to respond. “She’s in logistics, whatever that is. Not that she tells us much. Although she is semi-retired now, right, Amber?”
“Sure. Something like that. How about you, Ted?”
“Nothing anymore. Fully retired,as opposed to semi. I used to be in umbrellas.”
“Regular, golf or cocktail?”
“What?” Joan said, swinging around to face her. “What does that mean?”
It took Ted a moment, and then a booming laugh escaped from him. Quite the contrast to his quiet speaking voice.
“Cocktail,” he repeated. “Good one.”
Joan glared at him. “Well, I don’t know what either of the two of you are on about.”
“No, no. We used to make real ones. All types, really,” Ted said. “Not cocktail though.”
He continued to chuckle.
“And what brings you up here to this corner of the world? Not a lot of use for umbrellas up here.”
Any jolliness evaporated in an instant.
“I’m looking for my daughter.”
“His daughter is missing. Isn’t that terrible?”
Amber’s heart jumped into her throat. He couldn’t mean Ava, could he? Not likely. If Ted had a daughter, she would be close to Amber’s age, not Ben’s.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Ted. What was her name?”
“Sandy. I knew I probably wouldn’t find her. I was more hopeful than anything else. I think she fell in with a bad crowd. We haven’t seen each other for a while.”
Joan patted the back of his hand as it sat on the gear stick. They shared a melancholy smile. The breakfast scene that had been floating around Amber’s mind all day reappeared, rearranging itself. Now Ted was present too. Ted and Joan. Megan and Vaughan. Maybe Ben with a girlfriend too. Everybody happy. It was a nice image. Could it ever happen?
Finally, they hit the outskirts of Port Simmons.
“Where would you like us to drop you?”
“Oh, the Pines Shopping Centre would be great if that’s not too much trouble.”
A few minutes later she said goodbye to the happy couple.
“Now, you’ve got my number?” Joan said. “Give us a call if you would like a lift back.”
“Will do. Thanks for the ride.”
Getting out, Amber took a deep breath. Time to become someone else.
22
Entering the Target, Amber headed for women’s wear. She purchased a plain white top and a straight, dark grey skirt. With her hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, she could easily pass for some sort of law enforcement officer.
Generally speaking, people want to believe their eyes and what they’re told. And they usually do, so long as you don’t give them a reason not to. More than anything else, confidence is the key.
A concierge with a bright smile greeted Amber as she approached the front desk of the Mayflower. The hotel had a strange setup. The desk was under cover and yet outside. A long pool snaked around, close enough to touch. Beyond the desk a corridor led to the rooms which surrounded the pool in a horseshoe formation.
“How may I help you?” the concierge asked. The badge pinned to his chest suggested his name was Chaz.
“Hi, Chaz. I’m hoping you might be able to help me.”
Amber flashed her fake credentials while maintaining eye contact. The concierge didn’t examine them too closely, not that it w
ould have mattered if he had. They were real enough to fool trained professionals. Especially mixed with the appropriate attitude.
“I’m looking for a couple of men. Probably part of a larger group that would have all checked in together. One has a scar on his cheek, the other wears an old-style fedora hat.”
Chaz furrowed his brow. “No, we haven’t had anyone like that to check in.”
Amber observed his facial expressions for indications he might be lying. A hotel employee like this may or may not tell the truth, regardless of who he thought Amber was. There could be a whole range of reasons for this. Loyalty to his customers through to general distrust of law enforcement. She waited for a sign, like a tell in poker. There was nothing.
“We haven’t had any groups check-in for a while,” Chaz said. “Off-season. Only couples and families really at this time of year and not many of them.”
“All right.” She slapped the top of the desk. “Thanks for your help.”
It was the same story at all the major hotels in town. No one appeared to have seen the two men, and no one appeared to be lying.
Amber found herself outside the Port Simmons marina, mind circling as she wandered aimlessly. Could the smugglers be staying on a boat? Unlikely, if that’s how they were bringing the drugs in. Too much of a risk.
Her eyes drifted across the births. It was about one-third full, which made sense given the time of year. There was a whole range of boats, from gargantuan to tiny. A few speedboats including a hydrofoil Candela. Gosh, what would that be worth? A quarter of a million? Some people around here had far too much money.
She continued to think. Where else could they be staying? Something told her a caravan park wasn’t that likely. It seemed beneath them somehow.
Amber headed back into town. Not many people about.
A woman bustled past, flashing one of the biggest, most plastic smiles Amber had ever seen. The woman was slathered with makeup and sported nails that couldn’t possibly be practical in any way. She tottered across the road on her ridiculous heels and into an office building.
A sign out front proudly proclaimed it to be the offices of Ace’s Real Estate. Port Simmons’ number one estate agents.
That gave Amber an idea.
23
Amber strode into the Ace’s Real Estate office, having killed some time getting something to eat and sitting around in a nearby park. She was greeted at the door by the same woman. Up close her makeup looked even more intense. It was difficult to understand how someone managed to get so much eyeliner to attach to their lashes.
“Hi, I’m Amber. I believe someone from my office called earlier.”
“Oh my goodness,” the woman said, literally quivering in anticipation. “This is so exciting.”
A couple of other employees stood or poked their heads around their cubicles to get a look at Amber like she was famous or something.
“I’m Danni,” the woman went on. “Danni with an ‘i’.”
“Wouldn’t that make it Dinni?”
The joke went completely over Danni’s head. Or through her ears.
“No. D A N N I. I couldn’t believe it when your office called.”
Amber had no office of course, just herself sporting a slightly affected voice.
Danni placed a hand on Amber’s forearm. “I know, I know. You can’t say too much, but like, everyone in Port Simmons will flip out when they hear. Flip out!”
“Nothing is for certain,” Amber said.
“But they are going to film a big-budget Hollywood production? Right here in Port Simmons?”
“The plan is to shoot the film here, yes, but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then.”
“I know, but seriously, wowwee. Would we be in the credits? Ace Real Estate?”
“Umm, sure.”
“Imagine that,” Danni said, drifting off into a world of imagination. Suddenly her eyes went as wide as saucers. “Would I be in the credits?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“So, your office said you were looking for a house. But don’t they usually shoot these kind of things in, you know, a studio?”
“Usually, yes. But the director is a stickler for authenticity.”
“Makes sense. How do you want to do this?”
“Well, you know where all the locations are —”
Danni giggled. “Locations…”
“ — so how about you drive?”
24
Danni drove Amber around the best rental houses that Port Simmons had to offer. It would have been impressive if Amber didn’t have other things on her mind. Most were enormous properties, incredible views and endless pools. Amber merely glanced at each one and quickly said no.
In between visits, Danni peppered her with questions about the impending production she knew Amber couldn’t say too much about.
“This is a big movie, isn’t it? So, genuine movie stars?”
“Uh-huh.”
Maybe Amber should have said it was a small, independent film, although she doubted that would have captured Danni’s attention in quite the same manner.
“Who do you think might star in it? I mean, I know I know, you can’t say, but is it… Brad Pitt? Imagine that. Brad Pitt in Port Simmons.”
Amber said nothing.
“Okay, so not Brad Pitt. Oh, I know. Is it a Hemsworth? Chris or Liam? Or the other one?”
Amber’s continued silence only appeared to encourage Danni. The estate agent’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, don’t tell me. It’s not, is it? It can’t be.”
“Can’t be what?”
“Not what, who. Chris Steele. Is it Chris Steele? That would be amazing.”
“Who’s that?” Amber asked.
Danni looked at Amber like she was nuts before slapping her lightly on the arm. “Oh, very funny, you. Of course you know who Chris Steele is. He’s going to be huge. He was so good in Firebrand.”
The car weaved in and out of the quiet streets.
“Could I be in the movie, do you think?”
“What? Playing the real estate agent?”
Danni almost drove into a parked car.
“There’s a real estate agent in the film? Really?”
“No, I was joking.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not in casting, but they have rules. They are pretty strict on who they put in the films.”
“No, I didn’t mean like an acting part or anything. Heavens no. No lines. I just meant like a, what you call it… An extra. You know, I could just walk through the background or something. Imagine that. Danni in a movie.”
Amber could imagine that. Danni as obvious as anything, trying not to look directly at the camera and failing. There was no way, even if this was an actual movie. She merely nodded, not wanting to break the poor woman’s heart.
As Amber turned down all the houses on offer, Danni became more and more disheartened before her eyes.
“I’m not sure what else I can show you,” Danni said, clicking her considerable nails against the steering wheel.
“The director was very specific. It was a house here in Port Simmons he stayed in when he visited recently. Any chance it could be through another real estate agent?”
“I mean, not really. There are no other real estate agents. None that do big houses like this.”
“What about places that have been recently leased?”
Danni’s eyes lit up. “Yes. I think I know the one.”
Around ten minutes later they pulled up out front of an enormous block, just outside of Port Simmons. A sign on the gate identified the property as ‘Ocean View.’
Immediately Amber sensed this could be the one. Close to town and yet appropriately secluded.
“This one was just leased last week,” Danni told her.
“Oh, that’s bad luck, isn’t it?” Amber asked. “At this time of year?”
“It is unusual.”
“How many does it sleep
?”
“Up to a dozen.”
“Why is it called ‘Ocean View’?”
Poor Danni checked her notes. “I’m not sure…”
“Never mind,” Amber said, not having the heart to tell her it was another joke.
“Does it have cameras?”
“Cameras?” Danni asked, scurrying through her notes once more. “Wouldn’t you, like, bring your own? And lights and stuff?”
“Not cameras to shoot the film on. Security cameras.”
“Oh. No, no security cameras.”
The more Amber thought about it, the more likely this seemed. A place like Ocean View was even more anonymous than a hotel.
“Of course, we can’t go in,” Danni said. “I mean, I could call them I suppose and ask…”
“No, that’s fine. How long have they leased it for?”
“From memory, it’s on a rolling lease, week by week.”
Amber glanced about. All appeared quiet.
One thing was for sure, there wasn’t a whole lot she could discover from out here.
25
Getting Danni to drop her nearby (and feeling mildly guilty about promising she or someone from the non-existent production company would be in touch soon), Amber strode back to Ocean View.
She spent a good few minutes just observing the house, attempting to get a sense of it. So little of the structure was visible from the road it was difficult to glean too much. A gravel driveway curved down steeply from the road.
Circling the property, Amber eyed the house from as many angles as she could. Trying to find the best vantage point. There was none. It was well designed to be as private as possible, cleverly using the sloping topography of the land and surrounding trees.
There was little doubt the house would have excellent views from inside. But from the edge of the driveway, Amber could see the property’s roof and little else, while a large fence obscured any view from the beach.
It would be a challenging location to snipe anyone from. Any potential sniper would have to wait for the target to make an appearance on the balcony. About all she could tell was that there didn’t appear to be anyone on the balcony right at that moment.