Page 2 of Murder in Portofino

‘That’s your sister who’s gone missing?’ She nodded and I continued. ‘How old is she?’

‘Twenty-three, almost twenty-four.’

‘And when you were in Lucca this morning, did you find out anything?’

‘A complete waste of time, I’m afraid. There was no answer at her flat and the school was all locked up. I speak no Italian so I haven’t even been able to ask around. Hopefully, that’s where you come in.’

‘You mentioned a school?’

‘The school of English where Heather was working. She did an “English as a foreign language” teaching course after finishing university and then she came straight over here. This is her first real job.’

‘So she was teaching English?’

‘Yes, mostly to adults. She’s been living in Lucca for two years now. She’s never been great at keeping in touch, but my parents haven’t heard from her for a month or more now and she’s not replying to her phone. Mum and Dad are very worried, so they asked me to come over and take a look.’

I was interested by her choice of vocabulary. ‘Your mum and dad are very worried, but maybe you aren’t so concerned?’

She looked up and caught my eye. ‘To be quite honest, Heather’s always been a bit of a tearaway. Although she’s four years younger than me, when I was still doing my A levels, she was already running around with boys. After I’d gone off to uni, she was quite out of control for a few years and that’s why we were all so pleased when she finally got her act together and got herself a degree and then this job.’

‘So you maybe think this might just be your sister being a bit thoughtless, doing her own thing?’

She nodded. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time. I’m here because Mum and Dad asked me to come. I’m worried, but I’m nothing like as worried as they are.’

‘I see. And the last time any of you heard from her was over a month ago?’

‘Mum’s been phoning her most weeks just to check that she’s doing all right, but since late May, Heather hasn’t been answering her phone. That’s almost six weeks now.’ She gave me a helpless look. ‘I feel pretty sure this is going to turn out to be a wild goose chase but I owed it to Mum and Dad to come over. The trouble is that I don’t speak Italian, and Mum and Dad don’t speak a word of it either. It’s been almost impossible to talk to anybody. Heather’s phone doesn’t even ring any more so it’s either broken or the battery’s run out. There’s nothing from her on social media, no emails, nothing.’ Her expression became a bit more concerned. ‘She did everything with her phone and she carried it everywhere with her so it’s weird that there’s no response – although she’s never been great at remembering to charge the battery.’

‘But surely the other staff at the school must speak English.’

‘It’s high summer. As far as I could see, the school’s closed and I haven’t been able to find a soul to talk to.’

‘Have you notified the Italian police?’

She shook her head. ‘That’s the next thing on my list – if she really has disappeared. I was rather hoping you might be able to come with me to do that. I imagine that you speak Italian.’

‘I do indeed. Tell me, what made you come to me?’

‘I looked up private investigators on the Internet and I chose the one with the English-sounding name.’

‘Fair enough.’ I paused for thought. I had a feeling that Diana was right and this probably was a wild goose chase but, for Lina’s sake, I felt I had to offer to help. ‘What are your plans tonight? Do you have a hotel room booked somewhere?’

‘Yes, in Lucca. It’s right in the centre of town, not far from the school. I’m planning on taking the train back there again after I finish speaking to you.’

I did a bit of calculation. Anna had said she wasn’t going to be home until a lot later this evening because she would be at a hen party for one of her colleagues in the Medieval and Renaissance History department where she worked. If I set off now, I should hopefully be in Lucca by half past four or just after. A couple of hours to check things out and, if necessary, notify the police and I could still be back home well before Anna returned. I had been doing my best to spend as much time as possible with her recently, to prove to her – and myself – that she was more important to me than my job. As a start, this week off had been just about my first real ‘holiday’ since setting up the agency the previous year.

‘If you like, I could drive to Lucca with you now and spend a couple of hours looking around. Hopefully, that way we can find out a bit more and, if necessary, go to the police.’

Diana looked massively relieved. ‘Thank you so much, but shouldn’t we sort out your remuneration first?’ She caught my eye and gave me a little smile. ‘I’m a lawyer so I like to keep everything above board.’

I gave her a copy of my terms and conditions and then added a practical suggestion. ‘Why don’t I come with you now so I can see what’s what, and then the two of us can sit down and talk about money later on? I’ve no idea at this stage what’s involved or how long it might take me to find your sister – if, indeed, she really has disappeared in suspicious circumstances.’

I saw her eyes run down the sheet of paper without any appreciable reaction. My rates aren’t cheap but they compare pretty favourably with many of the other Italian investigative agencies. Finally, she looked back up again and nodded. ‘This all seems fine and that sounds like a very sensible suggestion, Mr Armstrong. Thank you.’

‘I’ve got the van outside. Why don’t we head off straight away?’

2

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

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