Aftershock

Seventeen

‘Any joy, Jack?’ asked Stallings, as she stepped back into the mobile police station, which was still parked outside the golf club. ‘Have you managed to contact Davis Colledge?’

‘No, boss,’ McGurk replied. ‘I’ve tried the mobile number you gave me, but the network says it’s switched off. There’s no voicemail available either. The best I’ve been able to do with it is send him a text, asking him to contact us about Sugar Dean.’

‘That could alarm him.’

‘Frankly, I don’t care. We need to talk to him; if I have to give him a shake to make him call us, so be it.’

‘Kid gloves, Jack; his dad’s important.’

‘I’ve spoken to his dad. He’s had no luck with the mobile either. He’s getting worried about him; he was talking about flying down there. I advised him not to, not yet at any rate, till we’ve exhausted all our channels. However, I did persuade him to give me the numbers for his son’s debit and credit cards, and the account details. The issuers told me that he used the credit card to buy eighteen quid’s worth of books in WHSmith at Stansted airport last Monday, and in a supermarket in Collioure on Thursday, to buy goods worth forty-seven euros. On Saturday, he withdrew three hundred euros from an ATM, again in Collioure.’

‘Have you told Mr Colledge about this?’

‘Not yet. The bank only just called me back.’

‘Okay. You can ring him when you have a minute.’

‘Will do.’ The DS frowned. ‘You know, it really would help if we had an address.’

‘We do,’ said Haddock, who had returned to his desk beside the wall, and was leaning over a lap-top computer. ‘After a fashion. Sugar’s mum told me that she booked the place on the Internet, through a letting agency called “franceabroad.com”. I’m just looking it up now.’ He waited. ‘Yes, here it is; and there’s a phone number.’

‘Get on it,’ Stallings ordered. ‘While you’re doing that I’m going to call Mr McIlhenney. I’m not waiting for young Dave to pick up your text, Jack. For all we know his battery’s dead and he’s left his charger at home. It’s time we asked the local gendarmes for help.’

She picked up her phone and dialled the superintendent’s number. It was engaged.