The Courbet Connection (Book 5) (Genevieve Lenard) (28 page)

“I didn’t resign. I’ve asked for a transfer. I don’t want to work with those two much longer.”

“Help us and I’ll put in a word for you.” Manny made the promise sound unimportant, but I knew the value of what he’d
just committed to. “Go back to Lyon, get those files and bring them to us.”

Judith took a long while to consider this. When she straightened her shoulders and relaxed her hands on her lap, I knew we had her co-operation. “I was going to go to his home and ask his wife if he’d left any notes there.”

“Good thinking,” Manny said. “Bring whatever you can find and we’ll check it out together.”

“You’ll clear everything at the office so I won’t have any problems?”

“Sure.” Manny touched his jacket pocket where he kept his smartphone. “I’ll organise the clearance. See if you can be back by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.”

Judith smiled. “My aunt would be happy. She loves it when Maxie and I come to stay. That gives her an excuse not to take any guests. I don’t even know why she has this guest house. She hates having guests other than us.”

Maxie moved and I gently touched the bridge of her nose. It was well-known that animals had a calming effect on people. From experience, I could now agree. Although I still planned to throw away my outfit and take a lengthy hot shower, the summer heat notwithstanding.

“Do you know which were the very last notes Jacques Boucher made?” I asked as something important tried to connect in my mind. “Did you check the electronic date stamps to see when he made his last entry?”

“I didn’t even think of it,” she said. “I’ll check that out when I get to the office.”

“Don’t worry,” Colin said. “We’ve got that covered. Just bring us those files.”

Judith leaned back into her chair, staring at the roof of the marquee. “There was something, but it might be nothing.”

“Never assume that,” I said. “Frequently, it is the seemingly most insignificant detail that solves a case.”

“True that.” She sat up. “In his second last case, he mentioned a survey that needed to be double-checked. I didn’t find any other references to that survey and didn’t think anything of it.”

“What survey is that?” I didn’t like the hollow feeling in my stomach.

“It was the DFW survey.”

“Bloody hell!” Manny pressed his knuckles against his eyes. “That’s the survey I talked about the other day. The Drugs, Friends and Work survey checking what students’ social and work lives are like and if and when they use drugs. Doc, we need to have a closer look at that survey.”

“Okay, seriously. What is going on?” The wariness around her eyes was replaced by alarm. “If you want my help, you’re going to have to tell me.”

“Bring us the files and we’ll fill you in on everything.”

“No. I want to know now.”

As before, Maxie lifted her head to glare at Manny. I patted her head and she lowered it onto my lap, her eyes not leaving Manny.

A ringtone singing about reasons for being happy came from my handbag. Colin had changed that ringtone a while ago for Nikki’s profile and it suited her. I apologised and lifted my handbag from next to my chair.

I looked at my hands and saw the shiny layer of oily dirt covering the surface of my palms. I didn’t want to touch the inside of my handbag or my phone with these hands, but there wasn’t time to rush to the SUV and clean my hands. Nikki had proven herself to be mature on so many levels, including her phone calls. She never phoned me unless there was a legitimate reason. Taking into account the case we were working at the
moment and the fact that Colin still had not found Michael, I took a deep breath and put my hand into my bag to find my phone.

“Is there a problem, Nikki?” I tried to prevent my hand from touching my face or hair, but I was going to need that hot shower soon.

“Doc G, I think Steve has also been taken.”

I couldn’t immediately recall who Steve was, but there was a more pressing concern. “Why are you whispering?”

“I don’t want Francine to hear me. Her crazy stories have been getting crazier by the minute. If she hears this, she’ll—”

“Where are you?” I interrupted.

“In your viewing room.”

“Is the door closed and sealed?”

“Yes.”

“That makes the viewing room soundproof. Francine won’t hear you.”

“Oh. Yes. Of course.” Her groan was familiar. She called it her ‘blonde moments’ when she did something that embarrassed her. I didn’t know why she would think blonde people were more inclined to doing something imprudent.

“Why do you think Steve has been kidnapped?”

“What the hell?” Manny sat up in his chair. “Doc, put that thing on speakerphone.”

I blinked at him a few times, wondering if Nikki would consider it a breach of trust.

“Now, missy!” The unmistakeable command in his voice had Maxie lifting her lip at him and shifting even closer to me. I turned on the speakerphone and held the phone towards Manny.

“Nikki, who’s this Steve kid?”

“Oh, hi.” She cleared her throat as if to speak to an audience. “Rebecca studies with Steve Robinson for her literature credits. He’s like super smart, but also super quiet. They were supposed to meet today for their usual weekly study session, but he didn’t show.”

“Maybe he has a hangover,” Manny suggested.

“He doesn’t drink. Steve is like a total vegan teetotaller.” The tension in her voice was increasing with every word. “It’s just that he’s, like, you know, the profile of the others. Should we go look for him?”

“No!” Colin, Manny and I answered her as one in varied levels of loudness.

“Where’s the criminal?” Manny asked.

“Vin’s in the team room. He’s been phoning contacts, asking if anyone knew about auctioning people. I can’t believe people can be this horrid.”

“Get him on the phone.” Manny leaned closer to the device in my hand. “Now, Nikki.”

She mumbled something that sounded like ‘Yes, Colonel,’ but said, “On my way.”

Manny looked at Judith, who had been watching us with alertness. “Whether you wanted to or not, you’re now in this. You better not screw us over. These kids need your help.”

“Whaddap, old man?” Vinnie’s voice boomed over the phone and I almost dropped it.

“Didn’t Nikki tell you?”

“Nope. She just hopped in here saying you wanted to speak to me.” There was a slight pause. “What were you supposed to tell me, punk?”

Another short pause ended with an audible sigh. “I think Steve has been kidnapped.”

“And you phoned the old man?”

“I didn’t.” Her voice rose in indignation. “I phoned Doc G. Manny made her put me on speakerphone.”

I sighed. Working with people was extremely taxing. I didn’t want this to become a full-blown argument, ending in a lot of screaming and slammed doors. I brought the phone closer to my mouth. “Nikki, you are an astute young woman. Are you sure your concern for Steve is not borne from the unfolding events, that you might be drawing incorrect conclusions?”

“I thought about this like really hard before I phoned you. Steve has never been late for a single study session with Rebecca. It’s sometimes his only social contact in a week. He’s like a really nice guy, Doc G.” Her voice gained a thickness associated with tears. She cleared her throat. “Rebecca went to his apartment when he didn’t show at the library, and he wasn’t there. He never goes anywhere. He does all his shopping online and gets it delivered to his apartment. His only outings are to the library to study with Rebecca.”

“He sounds agoraphobic.”

“No, no. He isn’t scared of spiders.” A slapping sound made me wonder if she had slapped her forehead again. “Sorry, you weren’t talking about arachnophobia.”

A sudden concern made me pull the phone even closer. “Where is Rebecca?”

“Um… I asked her to come here. I hope that’s okay. I didn’t want her to disappear as well. I promise we’ll be, like, totally quiet.”

“Good thinking, punk,” Vinnie said. “You’ll both be safe here.”

I could no longer bear sitting in this beautiful garden with Maxie resting her head on my lap, watching me unblinkingly. “Nikki, I’m leaving now. I’ll be in the office soon and we’ll find Michael and Steve.”

“Oh, my God! Michael! We need to find him too, Doc G.”

Regret was like a belt tightening around my chest. I had just added to Nikki’s distress with my thoughtless comment. I stared at the phone, not knowing how to remedy what I’d done. Colin got up and took the phone from my hand. He winked at me, tapped the screen and walked towards his SUV, talking to Nikki in a calming tone. He would know what to say to her.

“I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon with the files.” The wariness on Judith’s face had been replaced by determination. Nikki’s anxiety must have also affected her. “When I get back you can catch me up on the case. But then I expect to be given the full picture.”

Maxie nudged my hand for more attention. It was all becoming too much for me to process. I needed to be in my office. I needed to be clean. I needed to observe Nikki and assure myself that she was handling this emotional situation adequately. With the tip of my index finger, I pushed Maxie’s head off my lap and looked at Judith. “Can you show me to your washroom, please?”

Five minutes later, it took an almost insurmountable amount of willpower to leave the neat, white washroom to join Colin at the SUV. I’d washed my hands under scorching hot water, then my forearms, and had to write another three bars of Mozart’s Symphony No.40 in G minor to stop there. The desperation to be clean of Maxie’s hair and germs was fast overwhelming me. At the SUV, everyone had already said their farewells and soon we were on the way back to the office.

“I need to shower. Take me home first.” I pulled my linen pants away from my legs, the thought of dust and other dirt from Maxie’s pelt reaching my skin inducing panic. “I won’t be long. I can’t work if I’m contaminated.”

Pink snorted and Colin took his eyes off the road to stare at me in surprise. “You’re not contaminated, Jenny. It’s just a bit of doggie-love.”

“There is no such thing. And if there were, I wouldn’t want it all over me. Take me home.”

“If being clean is going to help you find those kids, Doc, then we’d better go to your apartment first.” Manny leaned to the side to catch Colin’s eye in the rear-view mirror. “Get supermodel on the horn for us, will you?”

The rest of the twenty-minute journey to my apartment was in conversation with Francine and Vinnie. New keywords for searches were decided on and different approaches to the case discussed. When Francine started sharing her absurdly improbable theories, I closed my eyes and allowed Mozart to calm my mind. With all the data that was coming in, there was a lingering connection that stayed out of reach. Much to my frustration.

When I walked into Rousseau & Rousseau an hour later, I felt refreshed in body and mind. My linen pants and blouse were sealed in two plastic bags and in the rubbish bin in the kitchen. My skin was still tingling from the hot shower, and I was comfortable in my jeans, t shirt and sandals. Colin was still in disguise and was walking beside me. Pink was in the conference room.

As soon as we entered the team room, Nikki jumped up from where she was sitting on the floor and ran to me. I braced myself, knowing what was coming and how important it was to her.

She threw her arms around me and tucked her face into my neck. Her breathing was erratic, her muscle tension worrisome. I switched on the Mozart Symphony I’d been mentally writing and put my arms around her. She responded by holding me even tighter, a shudder shaking her slim body. We stood like that for more than a minute until she slowly relaxed in my arms. Dealing with this young woman’s need for me and the distressing physical closeness was stretching my control to its limits. Therefore, I chose to ignore the silence in the room as everyone watched us.

Nikki’s arms relaxed around me and she lifted her head to look at me. “Thank you.” She stepped away from me and straightened her shoulders. “You remember Rebecca, right?”

I looked at the young woman sitting at the table. In front of her were a small tub of ice cream, hamburger wrappers and an empty orange juice bottle. She got up and smiled. It was a social smile. She played with her watch, caught herself and gripped one hand with the other. “Hi, Doc G.”

“Hello, Rebecca.” I glanced at Vinnie. “Is he making you nervous?”

“What? Him? No!”

Nikki bumped me with her shoulder. “You are.”

“Oh.” I understood that. I made many people nervous. I shrugged. “You don’t have to be nervous here, Rebecca. You’re safe.”

“I know,” she said softly.

“Do your parents know you’re with us?”

“My parents?” She looked at Nikki, a frown pulling her eyebrows together.

“Rebecca’s parents live in Toulouse, Doc G.” Nikki left my side to stand next to Rebecca. “She’s at the university on scholarship and doing so much better than me. Her parents have a small farm outside the city where they grow strawberries. Rebecca is the first in their family to go to university.”