Beautiful Lie the Dead. Barbara Fradkin

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      In the silence, as Green struggled with his own reluctance, Ashley pressed her case. “I’m not going to force her, Mike. Fred and I have done a lot of talking, and I know that doesn’t work. But she’ll listen to you. She’s just like you. Tell her I’ll promise not to fight with her.”

      A promise that will last precisely half an hour, Green thought.

      In a tight spot, fighting was still Hannah’s preferred mode of expression. It was all she’d known when she’d arrived in Green’s life. Fortunately, however, conflict resolution between mother and daughter was not his responsibility. He only had to get Hannah on the plane, and the rest was up to Ashley and Fred. Disguising a tightness in his chest, he agreed to try.

      No sooner had he hung up than there was a soft knock at his door, and the Missing Persons sergeant poked his head in.

      A twenty-four year veteran of Patrol, Li had been on modified duties for nearly a year while he awaited hip surgery. Most of the time, Missing Persons was a clerical job of filling in forms, making internet and phone inquiries, and liaising with other units and agencies. Every few months a genuine mystery came along that the missing persons team could sink its investigative teeth into. Li looked as if he was long overdue.

      Green beckoned him in and watched as Li eased himself into the plastic guest chair wedged in the narrow space between the desk and the door. He had packed an extra fifty pounds onto his mid-size frame since being parked behind a desk, and his bad hip obviously complained at each new move.

      “I’m guessing this is about the missing girl,” Li said before Green could even form his question.

      Green masked his surprise. “What’s the story?”

      “So far, it’s not clear. Her name’s Meredith Kennedy, thirty-two years old, good family, no known criminal ties. Fiancé called it in last night.”

      Green’s thoughts were already racing ahead, wondering about Jules’s connection to a thirty-two-year-old from a “good family”. Jules was a lifelong bachelor at least twenty-five years her senior. “Any leads yet?”

      “Dead ends. We did the usual checks—hospitals, ambulance, accident reports—with no results. By all accounts the young woman has fallen off the face of the earth. Family hasn’t heard from her for two days. She was set to get married soon, and her fiancé and friends say she was looking forward to the big day.”

      “Banking and cellphone enquiries in the works?”

      Li nodded. “We should have that info by tomorrow.”

      “What’s the last known contact?”

      Li flipped through the file. “That’s the really interesting part. Jessica Ward, a close friend, spoke to her at 5:45 Monday evening. Our girl sounded upset, said she really had to talk to her, and could they meet somewhere for coffee. Jessica couldn’t because she was working an evening shift, so they arranged to get together the next day after Meredith’s work.”

      “That would be Tuesday? Yesterday?”

      “Yes. She never showed up, never phoned to cancel, didn’t show up for work either.”

      “Any prior history of similar behaviour? Or mental health issues?”

      Li shook his head. “Everyone says she’s pretty solid.”

      “What’s Jessica’s theory on the disappearance?”

      “She’s scared. Thinks something has happened to her.”

      “What kind of work does the missing girl do?”

      “Contract work for the government. Citizenship and Immigration.” “Immigration?” Green let his imagination roam. “Could there be anything there? Sensitive file?”

      Li chuckled. “No. She was in Haiti last winter after the earthquake, helping to sort through immigration red tape, but back in Ottawa she mostly drafts policy positions for someone else’s signature. I talked to her boss, who said she does a good job but really wants to get back overseas. That’s their plan after the wedding. He was going to work for Doctors Without Borders in Ethiopia and she was going to teach school.”

      Green was still searching for a connection to Jules. “What’s the fiancé’s name?”

      “Dr. Brandon Longstreet.”

      Green’s interest spiked again. “Related to Elena Longstreet?”

      Li looked alarmed. “Who’s Elena Longstreet?”

      “Big name attorney in town. Years ago she used to do criminal cases, but now it’s mostly complex appeals. Charter challenges are her big thing. She also teaches criminal law at the University of Ottawa.” Green searched his memory for long-forgotten details. Only two stood out. Elena Longstreet was as much a master of courtroom drama as of the law. Her regal elegance and sleek black hair captured centre stage whenever she was in the room. As well, she’d been a ferocious critic of the police for lazy and incompetent case preparation. If the police had fouled up a single step of an investigation, Elena would find it and demolish the case. Even experienced officers had been known to quail under her cross-examination.

      Being her daughter-in-law would be no walk in the park. But surely not enough to drop out of sight.

      Green pondered the other revelations in the case. “So we have a bright, optimistic young woman on the brink of an exciting new adventure, who becomes upset about something she doesn’t tell her fiancé and then disappears in the middle of a Canadian winter.”

      Li grimaced. “Gives me a bad feeling.”

      Privately Green agreed with him. Teenagers went missing on a whim, but seemingly happy, well-adjusted women did not. He couldn’t ignore the darker side of love, which slipped so easily into the toxic swamp of obsession, betrayal and murder. Dr. Brandon Longstreet would have to be investigated.

      “Expedite those enquiries,” he said. “And take a close look at the fiancé. Anger issues, jealousy, previous girlfriends. Also previous men in her life. Have you asked Inspector Hopewell for extra manpower?” Green had learned the hard way not to step on other people’s turf. Luckily Li had not asked him the reason for his sudden interest in the case.

      Li nodded. “She asked if you could give us someone to search Meredith Kennedy’s living quarters. She’s living with her parents at the moment.”

      That in itself sets the girl apart, Green thought. He was mentally running through the list of general assignment detectives when a raucous laugh burst out. It sounded familiar, but it was a long time since he’d heard it. He rose and peered through the door into the Major Crimes room. Detectives were unhurried, coasting towards the holiday season when loneliness, alcohol and too much family togetherness would give them plenty of work.

      A familiar fuchsia jacket caught his eye. It was a long time since he’d seen that either. Sue Peters was sprawled in her chair like old times, legs outstretched and head tossed back. Bob Gibbs had evidently told a good joke, for she was still laughing. The affection between them was palpable.

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