Page 34 of The Burnt
“Yup.”
They both laughed.
“It’s humbling,” Declan said. “But you’ll get used to it and you’ll learn to appreciate her and her skills.”
“I hope it doesn’t take too long,” Charlie replied.
“You’ll be fine. Now, let’s talk about Simon Griffin. I read your report. What’s your gut feeling about the guy?”
“Well, on the surface he seems nice enough. He has tons of money, in assets if not cash—his house in Banff is worth millions. But something feels off.”
Declan leaned in. “What’s that?”
“The note—it said ‘I know what you did’. Simon said he had no idea what that meant, but I feel like he wasn’t telling the truth.”
“Okay. It’s important to trust your gut. What else?”
Charlie furrowed his brow. “The note Simon gave me was signed ‘Milo’. It’s not exactly a common name and it’s come up twice in the same week. Do you think it has anything to do with what Archie Whitcher said?”
“That’s what I’m hoping to find out.”
Charlie nodded. “So, you’re going to take Mr Griffin’s case?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“This thing with his kid—it’s a missing persons case.”
“So?” Charlie said.
“Well, most of the initial work will probably be computer searches, reviewing the existing interviews taken by the police, tracking down the mother and finding the name of Milo’s friend. I don’t think this is a case for me…but…I think it would be a perfect one foryouto take on. It’s time you tried something more substantial.”
“What?” Charlie shouted. “I’m not fully licensed yet. Griffin came looking for you, not me.You’rethe detective!”
Declan smiled. “You’re the one he opened up to. Everything you need to do, you’ve already done. You formed a bond with the man and you have a special knack for gathering information. I’ve seen you do it. Look at the Malcolm Tull case. You tracked down all of the people he’d been in contact with online, even though they were buried deep in false identities. This is what you were born to do.”
Charlie sat in silence.
“Look, if you’re worried, we can sit down and talk through anything you’re not sure of, but we should definitely take the case. We need the money now that we have an extra mouth to feed,” Declan said, nodding his head toward the outer office.
He moved around the desk and took the chair beside Charlie. “Archie Whitcher was trying to tell me something. I don’t know what it all means, but I can’t get it out of my head, and you knowhow discovering Freddy’s body fucked me around. I feel like I owe it to the kid to see if something was missed. That’s got to be my focus for the next few days.”
Declan glanced over to the photograph of Freddy. “And, by the way, if you find Milo, I’m going to have a few questions for him.”
Charlie stood. “All right. I’ll do it. But would you at least call Simon and explain why you’re sending your tech guy out to take over the search for his son?”
“You’re not just the tech guy. You’ve got your own office now—well, sort of. I’ll let him know that there’s no one better in this firm to do the job.”
Declan stood up and opened the door. “Mrs B, can you come in here for a sec?”
She entered, pad and pen at the ready.
Declan began. “The next little while will be baptism by fire for all of us. Mrs B, Charlie’ll be your go-to-guy when it comes to anything tech, including the security system, which lately has become essential.”
“Mysterious, but good to know,” she said, smiling at Charlie.
“Charlie’s also been thrown head-first into what could be a big money-making case for the firm. Mrs B, whatever support he needs, give it to him. Oh, and if a Tyler Chipping phones or comes around, direct him to me, no matter what. Chipping has a hate-on for Charlie and I don’t want the guy anywhere near him.”
