Page 43 of The Burnt
“Okay,” Declan said. “Let me fill you in on what’s happened since you left yesterday morning. Simon signed the contract, so you can start working on the case. And in other news, I found out about a strange car that was spotted on the street near Archie’s place on the day of the murder.”
“Oh?”
“And Katherine took a picture of it, along with the licence plate. I’m in the process of tracking the registration.”
“Holy crap,” Charlie said. “That’s amazing.”
Declan continued. “It may be a dead end but…maybe not. The other thing I found out was the guy who Katherine saw on the street on the day of the murder, she spotted him again on the street yesterday. Katherine said that he was in an expensive long, light-brown coat and looked like a stylish gangster. I think I should let the police know to keep an eye on her. So,why don’t you start digging into Milo? Work your social media magic. Dig up anything you can on Simon, and Milo’s mother, too. I read in your report that her name was Michelle Coleman. She’s mentioned in one of the new magazines Mrs B brought in. Maybe Milo’s been in touch with his mom.”
“I’m on it,” Charlie said. “And what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to give Gary a heads-up on Katherine’s visitor, then call a friend of mine at the Alberta Motor Association and see who that licence plate belongs to.”
Chapter Eighteen
It was just after one when Charlie picked up the phone and called Simon.
“Good afternoon—Griffin residence.”
“Good afternoon. My name is Charlie Watts. I’m calling from Declan Hunt Investigations. May I speak with Mr Griffin, please?”
“One moment please,” the voice said.
After a short pause Simon came on the line. “Charlie. Good to hear from you again. Don’t tell me you’re calling with good news so soon?”
“No, I’m afraid not, Mr Griffin. I’m just calling with a few requests. Would you be able to email me the most recent picture of Milo that you have?”
“I can send you a scan of an old photo if you’d like. I’ll get that to you as soon as I get off the phone. It’s a nice picture. I’m sure you’ll like it.”
“Great. You can just send it to the email address on the contract. Our office manager will keep her eye open for it and get it to me as soon as it comes in.”
Charlie glanced over toward Mrs B who sat at her desk with an unreadable look on her face.
“Sorry,” he whispered in her direction.
“One other thing, Mr Griffin. When you were in to see me the other day, we had spoken about getting the contact information for your ex-wife. Would you have that handy by any chance?”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
“Yes,” Simon said, “I have it here, somewhere. Just a minute.”
There was a clunk as Simon put the phone down. Charlie played a game of ‘name that noise’. He definitely heard the sound of a metal filing drawer being opened.
As Charlie stood and stretched, Mrs B called out, “Can I make you a coffee? I’m getting one for myself.”
“Latte, please,” he whispered.
Mrs B got up and headed toward the stairs. “Sounds like a job for Gwen.”
“I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”
“Not a problem. I need the exercise,” she said, heading out.
“Found it!” a voice bellowed into his ear. “I’d filed it under ‘D’ for Divorce. We haven’t been in touch for a long time, Charlie. I’m not sure if she’s still there.” He quickly rattled off an address in Laguna Beach, California.
“Thanks, Mr Griffin. I’ll keep you informed on how things are going. Just one last thing. I’ve been thinking a lot about that note, and the part that said ‘I know what you did’—you’re sure you have no idea what that might be referring to?”
There was a pause on the line, then Simon replied, “No. But I’ll give it some thought, Charlie, and let you know if I think of anything.”
