Ellie followed her, closing the door. “I’m sorry to drop by unannounced. Finding Dad is all I can think about and I wanted to see how you were holding up.”
“Let’s get coffee.” Meredith headed for the kitchen. “How sweet of you. Shall we sit in the garden? I’ll tell Brenda to bring us out a tray if you’d like to find a spot.”
The sprawling grounds were a mixture of entertaining areas as well as leafy retreats. Ellie found a place in the shade near the pool, not on the lounges, but where old tree stumps were carved into seats. The guest house was only a few metres away.
“There you are!” Meredith dropped onto a seat and pulled sunglasses down from her head. Her skirt was short, revealing tanned, slender legs that she crossed. “Coffee won’t be long.”
“Thanks. I’d love to have a talk, Meredith.”
“How was London?”
It felt like a year had passed since she’d boarded in Heathrow, not just a few days. Her notes were on the laptop, weeks of work turned into a brief she’d finished on the plane, ready to go over with Dad. Her chest tightened.
“It doesn’t seem to matter anymore.” Ellie stared at the pool. Two of the sun lounges were close together, coffee cups on either side. What else would go wrong?
“But it does, darling. Jack certainly thought it important enough to send you there for such a long visit, not that I really understand why.”
“Setting up a new office takes time. I had meetings with a range of companies and individuals, people we might contract to handle the European side of the Foundation.”
Brenda arrived with a tray, which she placed on another tree trunk covered with a glass top. Ellie thanked her, but Meredith barely looked up from her phone when it buzzed.
“The cakes are gluten free and vegan,” she said. “And despite that, they are actually delicious. Help yourself.”
“I will. Coffee smells good.”
“The blend is from some green ethical rainforest something, ra, ra, ra. Better taste good as it costs the earth. Not that Jack cares, he is just as happy with instant.” Meredith screwed up her nose at the idea.
“So…when did you last see Dad?”
Meredith picked up an exquisite cupcake. “The night before he disappeared.”
“Not at breakfast that day?”
“Don’t be silly. We never saw each other before lunchtime. You know what Jack’s like. Early to bed, early to rise etcetera etcetera.”
Yes. He works hard for what you enjoy.
“You’re more of a night owl?” Ellie suggested.
“I do like a nice night out. We used to do those all the time.” Meredith nibbled the edge of the cupcake. “Been quite a while though.”
“So, how was he the night before he disappeared?”
“Actually, Ellie, this is going to sound like I contradict myself, but he was out late. We had dinner, then I had a friend to meet for a drink and he said he had work to do. You must try one of these.”
Ellie took a cupcake, admiring an intricate pattern of minute iced flowers on top. If this was Brenda’s work, she needed more recognition. “Did he work in the library?”
“Oh no. We left at the same time and he dropped me off at Crown Casino. He was going to go to the office to finish something with this windmill project thing.”
“Wind farm?”
“Whatever.”
“Was he back when you got home?”
Meredith removed her sunglasses. “Sweetie, I have no idea. I got in after one. And he sleeps in another room so how would I know if he even came back or stayed somewhere… else?”
Too much information.
Yet, it made sense if Dennis was in any way involved with Meredith other than being her step-son-law. Ellie bit into the cupcake rather than comment. It was light and fluffy and way too good for Meredith.
“What are you doing to find him? Is that detective of yours…on the case?”
Innuendo dripped from her lips and if Ellie wasn’t enjoying the cupcake so much, she might have thrown it at her head.
“If you mean Detective Rossi, then you’d be best to speak with him. Dad isn’t of great interest to them yet.”
“Yet?”
“He hasn’t been missing for long, plus he’s an adult with full faculties, and there is no evidence of foul play.”
“You’re not doing a thing.” Meredith pouted and sat back.
“He’s your husband. What have you done to find him?” Ellie forced a smile. “Phoned? Texted? Hired a private detective?”
“Well, I’d ask Paul to look but he hates Dennis so it would be counter-productive. I’ve called. His phone is off, although I did leave a couple of messages.”
“Why does it matter that Paul and Dennis can’t get along? Dad is the one missing and they can work together if they have to.”
“Right.”
Ellie checked her watch. “Thanks for the coffee and these fabulous cupcakes. I’m going to pop into the library to collect some papers I need for the office.”
“But it is so nice here in the sun.”
“I’ll find my way.” On her feet, Ellie leant down to kiss Meredith’s cheek. “You enjoy your cupcake.”
While you still can.
When Dad got back, he’d be appalled by Meredith’s lack of interest in finding him let alone the new living arrangements for Dennis. And Ellie would make sure he knew about it.
13
Dad’s Days
Ellie locked herself into the library. There were no papers to collect but Meredith wouldn’t know the difference. Of all the shallow, selfish people she’d met, Dad’s second wife was the worst. No apparent distress at her husband’s disappearance, instead, she was content to eat cupcakes in the sun.
Before she could wind herself up any further, Ellie searched through the drawers in her desk again. The place that the rum bottle normally occupied was still empty.
Dad’s desk was just as useless. He kept even less here than at the office, apart from a small pile of novels on the corner of the desk. She sat there, eyes roaming along the bookcases to the far wall. Clichéd as it might be, his safe was behind a painting.
She rarely opened this and hesitated before touching the artwork, a simple watercolour of a garden. Was it slightly angled? Meredith may have been in there, although Jack had told Ellie the main safe in the bedroom was the only one his wife cared about.
When Ellie pulled out the passport, she closed her eyes for a moment in relief. Logic told her some record would have come to light had he left Australia, but still, she’d wondered. If he was anywhere in this country, she’d find him.
From under the bundle of money he stashed in every safe, she pulled out the photo album and slid it into her handbag. If it meant enough to Dad to keep it in there, then she wanted to know why.
After locking the safe and straightening the painting, Ellie wandered around the bookshelves. She flicked through the books they’d used in the past for messages but no notes fluttered out, no folded pages provided a clue.
Her phone vibrated and she grabbed it from her bag, heart dropping when it was Paul’s name, not Dad’s. Would you like a drink tonight to swap updates? No, she wouldn’t. She ignored it. What she did want was to open the library door and find Dad on the other side, but he wasn’t there. Ellie found herself in the huge, country style kitchen. Two women, in the black dresses and white aprons Meredith insisted on, worked in silence at a long counter.