Val McDermid - The Vanishing Point

‘That must have been uncomfortable.’

‘It was more than uncomfortable. It was fucking spooky. It was like she was glued on. I couldn’t shake her off. And because she was acting like we was best mates, I couldn’t just tell her to fuck off, not in front of everybody. Because that’s the kind of thing that goes straight into the morning papers and on to the Internet. “Foul-mouthed Scarlett devastates charity supporter.” You know what they’re like.’

‘How did you handle it then?’

Leanne suddenly looked shifty. She stubbed out her forbidden cigarette on the underside of the table, a move that Scarlett would have raged at her for. ‘I’d had enough. I couldn’t get a minute’s peace. She kept going on about how she wanted me to come back to her place for a party. Wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I went off to the VIP loo, knowing she’d follow me. Only, I didn’t go into the loo. I went out on the fire escape. And she came after me. I pretended I’d gone out for a fag, and once I’d lit up, I stubbed it out on her neck. Then I kicked her down the fire escape.’

I was shocked and I must have shown it.

‘Well, what else was I going to do?’ Leanne demanded. ‘She wasn’t going to back off. She was doing my head in. And I got rid of her in a way that won’t blow up in Scarlett’s face. She should be grateful. That’s one less mad stalker bitch on her tail.’

Of course I’d known that Scarlett and Leanne had come up as street fighters. But this was the first time I’d seen such stark evidence of how unpleasant things could get if you pushed one of the Higgins girls too far. I knew how scary obsessed fans could get, no denying that.

But I really didn’t warm to Leanne’s way of dealing with it.

27

‘And did your plan work?’ Vivian asked, tapping the keys of her computer to bring up an urgent message from the Chicago office. ‘Did you manage to escape from Pete Matthews?’

‘Amazingly, it did. He turned up at Scarlett’s place a couple of times, but we didn’t answer the intercom and he never caught sight of me, as far as I know. Various friends called to say he’d been looking for me, but nobody grassed me up. I stayed with Scarlett for about six months altogether, while my house was being sold and I was figuring out where to move to. Eventually I—’

Vivian held up one finger. ‘Could you bear with me a moment? I need to deal with this message.’

The email was from her boss.

Vivian:

I’ve had a message from our colleagues at State. The Embassy in London has been inundated with media inquiries about your Amber Alert kid. They’ve been told he’s the child of a reality TV star who died last year and they need an update. I’ve told them the circumstances, but I need a here-and-now from you.I understand from your brief that Jimmy Higgins’ guardian is a writer? Is there any possibility that this could be a publicity stunt? Abbott says she inherited the kid but no money. Could there be a book in the works that she’s trying to build up a profile for?I shouldn’t have to remind you that I need you to stay on top of this. The timing couldn’t be worse from an agency point of view. I can’t spare someone to come out there and hold your hand. Let’s get a good result on this one.

Succinct and to the point. Demanding the sort of response she really didn’t have. And throwing a spanner into the works of her witness interview. First things first. How could she dress up this scenario to make it look as if she had some kind of a clue what had happened to Jimmy Higgins? She bit her lip and considered how best to say nothing at all.

We’re pursuing all avenues to trace the movements of Jimmy Higgins and his abductor, who was dressed in a replica TSA uniform and is believed to have left the precincts of the airport. We are also working with Scotland Yard detectives to develop leads on both sides of the Atlantic. Jimmy’s guardian, Stephanie Harker, is giving her full cooperation as we all work to bring Jimmy safely home. Anyone with any information should contact blah blah blah.That’s really all we have at present. This is not a straightforward Kidnap for Ransom. As yet, we are not clear what the motive might be, but it does seem likely that the child was taken by someone who has a personal connection. I’ll let you know as and when I have anything substantive to report.

It looked woefully thin and it wasn’t going to win her any friends in high places, but better that than to promise what she couldn’t deliver. She read it through again and removed the word ‘replica’ because it was pointlessly speculative.

The second paragraph posed a more thorny question and one she couldn’t really answer except to say her gut instinct was that Stephanie Harker was not a con artist, nor the agent of this crisis. When men claimed gut instinct, it was taken seriously. But still women were condemned to ‘feminine intuition’, as if that were somehow inferior. In Vivian’s experience, the women were on the money more than men, if only because girls were conditioned to listen and pay attention much more than boys were.

Harker’s concern and fear for the boy seems genuine. Her reaction when he was taken was extreme; nobody volunteers for a second blast of the taser. Also, Harker is not the kind of writer who has ever courted publicity. The nature of her work as a ghost writer is the opposite of seeking publicity. If she was trying to make a big splash to win publicity for a book about inheriting the boy, surely she would be better off making herself look like the good mother? The one who foils the kidnap rather than lets it happen? Furthermore, she has volunteered extensive information including direct contact with a Scotland Yard detective who has personal knowledge of both her and the boy. For all those reasons, I don’t think this is a stunt, nor that she has any part in the abduction.

Then she sent it, hoping it would pacify her boss. Really, he should be too busy with threats against the President to be unduly concerned with her investigation. Or to question her instincts about Stephanie Harker.

Vivian retuned her attention to Stephanie, who was visibly tiring now. ‘Your media has got their claws into the story, I’m afraid.’

Stephanie groaned. ‘Can I have my phone back? There are probably a hundred texts and voicemails on it already. Not just from the press, but from my friends and family. They’ll be scared and worried. I need to talk to people.’

‘I appreciate that. And it’s not my intention to keep you from talking to anyone. But first and foremost, for Jimmy’s sake, I need you to keep talking to me. I need to make sure we’ve gone down every possible road that might lead us to the person who took Jimmy this afternoon. Besides, it’s getting late back in the UK. I’m sure people won’t expect you to call tonight. They’ll understand what’s going on.’

Stephanie looked doubtful. ‘You’ve clearly never met my agent. Not to mention my mother. Please, what harm can it do to let me make a couple of calls? I only want to reassure my mother and my literary agent. Who’s also my best friend. The rest can wait. You can listen in if you want. I’ve no secrets.’

Vivian pondered. It wasn’t exactly protocol, but nothing about this case fit the usual parameters – no violence, no ransom demands, no obvious motives. And Stephanie was a witness, not a suspect. It was hard to justify keeping her in purdah. And even if she was somehow tangentially involved in the abduction, it didn’t seem likely that her mother or her agent would be involved. Besides, she felt sure Stephanie had more of relevance to tell her. Vivian needed to keep her on side. A couple of phone calls couldn’t hurt. And it was possible the conversations might remind Stephanie of something she’d forgotten. The final argument for allowing the calls was that it would answer her boss’s fears about collusion. If this was a setup to sell books, surely a conversation with her agent would provide a clue? These were not professional criminals, after all.