Page 55 of Finding Jacob
“When you saylistened to, what do you mean?”
She sighed and finally removed her coat. “I might have just watched too many movies, but we still use the home telephone a lot and every call there is a click at the start and end of conversations. There wasn’t before. When this girl rang, she said some things only someone who had been in the house would know. She asked if Jules still had the pink elephant sitting on her pillow.”
I remembered the pink elephant. It had been a gift to her on her birth from grandparents. She wasn’t overly sentimental but had kept it. Probably more for her parents. It also wasn’t a topic of conversation; it was just a teddy that sat on her bed at her parents’ house.
“Did she say why she wanted to know?”
“No, it was just as if it was general chit-chat. Like I said, it was odd, especially since I had no idea who the caller was.”
“Did she give you a name?”
“She did, but she spoke so fast I didn’t get it. I thought it too rude to ask again. She just said she was an old friend, which is why I thought you or Aimee might know who she was.”
“Did you ask Aimee?”
“Yes, she had no clue. To be honest, she seemed to act as if I’d inconvenienced her by calling.”
I nodded, sounded like my sister, for sure. “I’m sorry about that. Let me speak to Nathan and then come back to you. I think it would be wise to chat to him sooner rather than later. We could meet here.”
Hannah nodded and then stood. Our drinks hadn’t arrived and although the café was busy, it shouldn’t have taken that long for two sodas to be brought to us. As Hannah left, I approached the counter and cancelled our order. I received a huge apology, it had been forgotten, and a voucher for a free drink next time.
I slowly walked back to the office waiting for Nathan to call me. We hadn’t received any odd calls at work, not that I was aware of, of course. It was well known that Jules was signed to my agency, it was our PR teams that had always fielded the press constantly wanting updates on her relationships or ongoing issues.
There was a sadness in the office, and I wanted us to remember Jules in a positive way. I was concerned the fact she had taken her own life would have some, the more judgemental of the team, inflict that sourness into us all. I decided to call down to the local florist and ask for some arrangements to be brought in. Sunflowers had been Jules’s favourite flower so I thought flooding the office with them might cheer us up a little.
It was late afternoon when Nathan returned. I’d left him a couple of messages but didn’t want to call and interrupt whatever investigation he and Jacob were up to.
“Hey, sorry not to reply,” he said, as he walked into my office.
“That’s okay. Did you accomplish anything today?” I asked, my way of prying.
“Yes, a lot. What did you have to tell me?”
I recounted the conversation I’d had with Hannah while he took a seat facing me. Nathan never took notes. Ever. Whatever he was told, he could remember for years. He nodded a couple of times and when I came to the end of my conversation, he picked up his phone.
Annoyingly, he left the office while he made his call, only to return after he’d finished.
“What?” he asked, looking at me staring at him.
“Who did you call?”
“Jacob. Why?”
“Was it about what I’d just told you?”
“Yes.”
“So why can’t I hear the conversation? I am involved, you know.” My voice took on a petulant tone.
“’Cos you’re a girl.” He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me. I opened my mouth to speak. “Because, how do you know someone isn’t listening to us right now?”
I closed my mouth.
“How about dinner this evening?” he asked. “All of us?”
“That would be lovely.” I couldn’t help but have a staccato voice as I looked around for cameras or microphones.
Nathan picked up my mobile from the desk. “I’ll be back with this,” he said, then left the office. I sat and waited. Just a couple of minutes later, he returned.
