Chapter 15

Miss J Blacker - Enquiry 4.45

Good afternoon, Heather

I have spoken to the host on the phone.

She said Miss Blacker arrived on Saturday the twenty-third of December and left very early on Saturday the sixth of January. But what is strange is she has just cancelled two other bookings I had for the house and said it is no longer available for rent. I asked why and she said it was being renovated.

Hope this information is useful.

Regards

Encarnita Alvarez

Alison and Heather looked at each other. "What does it mean?"Alison asked.

"I don't know, but it feels wrong. If you were planning on renovating a house, wouldn't you schedule a time to do it and not take bookings in the first place for that period?"

Alison grinned. "We're talking Spain here. It's very rare for them to plan in advance."

"You sound as if you're speaking from experience."Heather gave her a sharp look.

"I am. I lived in Granada for a few months when I was doing my degree. The Spanish people I knew mainly did business when they happened to bump into each other. And that's in a major city. I bet it's even more laid-back in the villages."

"You've not been to the villages, then?"

Alison shook her head. "Sadly, no. I'm ashamed to say I spent my days pretending to study and my nights hanging around in bars."

Heather looked slightly shocked.

"Tapas bars,"Alison explained. "The tapas are free in Granada. All the students live on them. You just order the cheapest, smallest drinks and get a free tapa with each. I don't know how much it costs now, but a couple of years ago you could dine like a king for three pounds. It wasn't worth cooking at home."

Heather nodded. "Of course. I read that about the tapas being free. I think I didn't quite believe it. I don't do much in Granada. Most people want to go to the costa."

She was thoughtful for a moment. "So you don't think it's odd that the house has been taken off the market?"

"Not in itself,"Alison mused. "But something feels wrong somewhere, don't you think? And if she just followed her original plan and left on the Saturday morning, what happened after that? Why didn't she come home? What explanation could there be?"

Heather sat back and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Well,"she said, "she could have met a man, had a whirlwind romance and decided to stay in Spain forever."

Alison gave her a withering look.

"Yes, yes, I know. It's unlikely, but let's consider every possibility. She could have been offered a great job and decided to stay on."

"There's something wrong with both those ideas,"said Alison. "If she decided to stay, for whatever reason, she would have contacted people to let them know. Hell, she'd have come back to put her affairs in order. She'd have worked her notice. And she has a niece, Patsy? She loves that child. She would never have left her high and dry like that, without even a message."

Heather's expression had darkened as Alison said this, then she nodded. "OK, so are we decided that it's not voluntary?"

Alison nodded.

"So that leaves us with ... what? She was taken ill, had an accident, was kidnapped or murdered. Have I covered all the possibilities?"

"Jesus!"Alison whispered.

The two young women stared at each other in mute horror.

Finally Alison said, "I think it's time we reported it to the police."

Heather shook her head. "No, wait till tomorrow. I've had an idea. I'm going to call my friend in Òrgiva."

~ * ~

Alison called in at the supermarket on the way home and bought dozens of little trays of luxury cat food, then hesitated and added half a dozen tins of tuna, half a dozen of salmon and half a dozen of chicken. "I must be mad,"she said to herself. She, who was usually so careful with her money, was spending more on cat food than she spent on herself in a month. But she smiled when she thought about how pleased Jessica would be.

She got home to find her mother had filled the cupboard with similar purchases.

"I got her some raw liver as well,"she said. "Pickles used to love raw liver."

Alison cracked out laughing. "And I see there are some additions to the play area,"she said, indicating Jessica's bed, which now contained various dangly things, jingling balls, toy mice and something long and thin in a cardboard box. "What's this?"she began, but before her mother could reply, Jessica had bounded into the room and leapt into Alison's arms, where she began furiously licking her face. "I think she's pleased to see me,"Alison said, delighted.

Her Mum watched in amazement. "I've never seen a cat do that before,"she said, sounding slightly disgruntled.

"Apparently she always greets Miss Blacker that way. Miss Wetherspoon says - Oh my God I promised to ring her." Alison thrust Jessica at her mother and picked up her phone.

~ * ~

At break the next morning she had a text from Heather. Call round. Car hire weird.

"What, what is it?"She demanded as soon as she opened the door. Heather once again had a customer sitting in front of her. She put a finger to her lips, pulled out a sheet of paper and passed it across. It was a print-out of an email.

Customer Order 592201AG

Esteemed Miss Jones

We are pleased to say that Miss June Blacker collected the car on Saturday 22nd, as scheduled. However, did not return on the agreed day. It found itself parked outside on Monday 8th of January. We are not knowing if Miss Blacker she returned herself to it.

A salute

Carmen Maldonado

Alison suppressed a smile at the abysmal translation into English, then frowned as she thought about what it actually meant.