Page 41 of Capture
He hesitated and shuffled nervously on his feet. “Listen, I’ve been wanting to talk to you and Mikeal about-”
“Do me a favor,” I interrupted. “Call Betty to find out where she is. Just make something up that the staff were looking for her.”
“Sure,” he replied, as jazz music played softly in the background and I scanned the bar and diners to ensure that nothing was out of place.
“Betty,” Freddie spoke into the phone. “Are you in the club somewhere, as the kitchen staff are looking for you?” Then he swiped off. “I left a message. And ah about Betty…”
I started walking away from him toward the stairs to inform Mikky that we might have a problem with Betty’s whereabouts. “Yeah, don’t worry about her. We’ll get it sorted.”
“I’ve been concerned about her for a while, Ronan,” he said, walking quickly beside me. “And wasn’t sure how to tell you since you’re so close with her.”
“Really?” I stalled and turned to face him so I could read his expression, just as a waitress moved past us, and I realized we were in a bad place to have a quiet conversation. “Come up to Mikky’s office.”
“Sure,” he hesitated, because he shouldn’t leave the floor.
“We’ll be quick,” I promised him, and we spoke in the viewing lounge so that you could oversee the floor.
“Alright,” he answered, but he seemed nervous.
“Let me ask you something,” I began, eager to ask him a question that’s been bothering me. “Dalgety?”
“Yeah,” he answered, saying little.
“You know we don’t like people visiting Mikael without clearance unless Mikael organized it himself, so why did you arrange for Dalgety to see him?” I rationalized as we dashed up the stairs, but I then stopped halfway to scan the floor searching for Betty, while waiting for Freddie to answer.
“You think she’s gone, don’t you. Done a runner?” he questioned as we turned to climb the rest of the stairs.
“It doesn’t look good,” I stated as I opened the door and turned down the hallway toward Mikky’s office.
“Dalgety,” I prompted him to answer the question that he seemed to be avoiding.
“He came in the front entrance and told the receptionist that he insisted on seeing Mikael Kaiser. As you know, we train the girls to take their details, and we may or may not pass the message on. When he showed his badge stating that he was from the Gothenburg PD, she came and got Betty, but she wasn’t at her desk.
“However, I was at mine, so she asked me what to do. It was pure luck, because if Betty were there instead of me, then I don’tknow what would’ve happened, although he was persistent so that he wouldn’t have gone away that easily.”
“Anyway,” he continued as I knocked on Mikky’s door and heard his voice calling me from the viewing lounge. “He said he wanted to speak to Mr. Kaiser about the whereabouts of Gunner Kaiser and Riley Laws, so I freaked out. I wasn’t sure who Riley Laws was, but I assumed she was a girlfriend, and maybe they had run away together or worse…Is Gunner missing?”
“Yes,” I replied, “but we have it all under control.” We walked into the smoke-filled viewing lounge, where Mikael looked distant and glum, cringing when he saw Freddie there.
“What’s happened?” he knew. He just knew something wasn’t right.
“We can’t get hold of Betty and can’t find her on the floor,” I told him. “And Freddie is here to talk to us about a few things that have been concerning him.”
“About Betty?” Mikky pressed.
“Yeah,” encouraging me to take a seat in the leather armchair, while I stood guard at the door, staring out the window across the casino and bar, still searching for that black ponytail, even though my mind was with Annika as it always was these days. I left the television half unpacked in her room, which was a great excuse to return and see her.
“Is Gunner okay?” Freddie asked, panicked.
“We think so,” I answered, although I honestly didn’t know what his physical state was like.
“It’ll be over very soon anyway,” Mikael added confidently and flicked me a look as if he had decided on how we’re going to get him back. He’d tell me later.
“Anyway,” I encouraged Freddie, “Dalgety first.”
“I made the appointment for him to see you, but decided to use a fake name, so Betty wouldn’t know he was a cop because I didn’t trust her, and she’s had a slight grudge for you guys fora while,” he explained evenly. “So, we changed his name, and I arranged the appointment. I was worried whether I did the right thing or not.” He hesitated, then added, “Did I do the right thing?”
“Yes,” I affirmed hastily. “Now, tell us about Betty having a grudge for us.”
