Pauline Rowson - Footsteps on the Shore

If it wasn’t Luke Felton, then who was it and how had he died? Were they looking at a suspicious death, suicide or an accident? Was there a family somewhere who would need to be given the bad news?

Cantelli climbed in the car. ‘Hackett didn’t have anything to add to what we already know from Seaton, and Walters says no one’s reported a missing person in the last seventy-five hours, or in fact over the last four days. He also says that neither Luke Felton nor anyone fitting his description has been taken to the local hospitals. I’ve got the addresses of Luke’s brother, Ashley Felton, and his sister, Olivia Danbury. Do you want to call on them now? Ashley Felton lives not far away in Old Portsmouth, the sister on the slopes of Portsdown Hill.’

That was to the north of the city, where Kempton Marine was based: Luke Felton’s employer, and Catherine’s. Would she be there now, Horton wondered with a quickening heartbeat? Would he get the chance to talk to her? Perhaps even persuade her to let him see Emma, this weekend or next?

‘Let’s check what time Luke Felton left work first,’ he said, stretching the seatbelt across him. ‘Someone at Kempton’s might be able to tell us more about Felton’s movements.’ He caught Cantelli’s wary glance. ‘It’s OK,’ he added. ‘I promise to be on my best behaviour.’

Clearly Cantelli didn’t believe that, and as they headed out of the city towards Kempton Marine, Horton wondered if it was a promise he’d be able to keep himself.

Neither Catherine’s car nor that of her fat lover, Edward Shawford, were in the car park. Horton wasn’t sure whether to feel disappointed or relieved. His father-in-law’s Mercedes was in its customary managing director’s space, but Horton decided not to announce himself to Toby Kempton; he didn’t think he’d be greeted as the all-conquering hero, more like someone who had escaped from a leper colony.

It had been a year since he’d been inside the building and then it had been under very different circumstances. He’d stormed in here angry and hurt that Catherine had thrown him out after she’d chosen to believe an accusation of rape by a girl he’d been detailed to get close to while working undercover on a special investigation. He’d started drinking heavily and in April, Catherine had refused to let him see his daughter. In July the case against him had been dropped, and slowly, with Cantelli’s help, he’d started to put his life back together again. In August, when he’d returned to work after his suspension, he’d cleared his name, but by then the damage had been done both to his promotion chances and his marriage. His life, and Catherine’s, had been changed, but here nothing had, except the receptionist — Cantelli threw him a concerned glance, sensing his tension, as he asked for the personnel officer, Kelly Masters.

Four minutes later they stepped into her small, modern office and Horton was once again facing the large dark-haired woman in her late twenties who he’d tried many times to avoid kissing at the office Christmas parties.

‘Andy, how lovely to see you,’ she said with a smile, leaning forward to embrace him.

‘We’re here about Luke Felton,’ he said abruptly, stalling her. He didn’t want her false sympathy, which he knew of old would be tinged with a kind of malicious glee at another person’s misfortune. And neither did he wish to encourage her sexual advances. On the way here he’d warned Cantelli about Kelly Masters’ reputation as a man-eater. Not that he had any concerns about Cantelli falling into her clutches. He was strictly a one-woman man, and who wouldn’t be, thought Horton, considering Charlotte Cantelli.

Kelly’s dark brown eyes flickered with anger at the rebuff and her mouth tightened, but she forced a smile from her lips and managed a concerned frown before switching her charms on Cantelli, who gave her his bewildered idiot look.

Getting the message, with an irritable scowl she waved them into seats across a low table, letting her short skirt ride up her pale tree-trunk legs. Horton wondered what Luke Felton had made of her, or rather what Kelly had made of him. Luke wouldn’t have been much of a challenge though. Deprived of sex for ten years, he would have shagged any female in sight, though Horton didn’t know the latter was Felton’s sexual preference. But he did know Kelly Masters, and as long as it was male and breathing it could have been any colour of the rainbow, size, shape or age, married or not. She didn’t discriminate.

Curtly, he said, ‘What kind of work did Luke Felton do here?’

‘Why do you want to know that?’ she snapped, abandoning the charm offensive. ‘It’s got nothing to do with him disappearing.’

Horton eyed her steadily and said nothing.

She flushed under the harshness of his gaze and said tautly, ‘He just came to work and then went home.’

‘Doing what?’ asked Cantelli in a friendlier tone.

She switched her gaze to the sergeant, and relaxed slightly. ‘Designing our new web site and providing computer support for the factory. We should have had someone years ago, but you know how it is with budgets and getting the right person.’

‘So Luke Felton came cheap,’ Horton taunted, knowing he should ease off but not seeming able to, or caring. Being so close to Catherine and the fact that he might see her was making him edgy. That, and thoughts of what Kelly and others here must know about his marital break-up, and what Catherine might have said about him, were eating away at him like rats at rotting flesh.

Her dark eyes flashed daggers at him. ‘Luke is engaged on a project basis. I offered him a fee for three months’ work, payable at the end of each month, and with an option to renew, or the offer of a permanent job, depending how he got on.’

‘And how did he get on?’ asked Cantelli lightly, yet Horton could hear his colleague silently urging him to back down.

‘Very well. I can’t understand why he hasn’t shown up for work.’

‘I can. Drugs.’

She switched her hostile gaze to Horton. ‘I don’t believe that.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because he said he was clean. Oh, you can scoff, but I believe him. He works hard and keeps himself to himself, which is more than I can say for some of the staff, including the sales and marketing team.’

That was nasty, but then he had provoked it.

Hastily, Cantelli jumped in. ‘How do the staff feel about him working here?’

‘They don’t know his background. He isn’t going to broadcast it and neither am I.’

Horton reckoned she underestimated the jungle grapevine. Everybody probably knew.

Cantelli continued. ‘How did he get the job? Did you advertise it?’

Horton thought she looked uneasy as she answered. ‘Yes, but the applicants weren’t suitable. They were either too highly qualified or not qualified enough. Then I happened to mention it to Matt and he said-’

‘Matt Boynton? You know him?’ Horton sharply interrupted.

‘Is that any of your business?’ she said coolly.

‘It is when a man convicted for murder is missing.’

She eyed him malevolently. ‘If you really must know, Matt and I were at university together.’ Then, directing her remarks to Cantelli, she continued. ‘I saw Matt when I was out one night and we happened to get talking about work. Matt said he knew someone who would be ideal for the project. I was interviewing at the time and I said send him along, not really thinking he’d be any good. But he was perfect.’

‘Weren’t you worried about employing someone with a violent record?’

‘Matt assured me that Luke was reformed and Luke didn’t seem capable of violence, let alone committing murder.’