Skinner's festival

96

'Sorry to bother you, sir, but we've got a mystery here.'

Maggie Rose had come through on Mackie's direct line, nc long after he had finished passing Skinner's message on ti Superintendent Haggerty. She explained to him that Sarah s Julia Shahor had vanished, find that there were clear signs t, their disappearance had been sudden and unplanned.

'So what have you done about it?': 'We've checked the doctors' call-out service. No emergency calls have been put through to Sarah tonight. Then we've checked the hospitals. She hasn't been?een at any of them. We've checked with Telecom. No calls to or ffom this number all evening. We've checked with UCI and the other cinemas that take credit-card bookings. None made by either Sarah or Julia. Oh yes, and we've even searched the garden, just in case they saw us and decided to play the fool. All in all, sir, s? far not a trace of them.'

Mackie took a few seconds to consider what he had been told.

'OK, Maggie. You've done everything right so far. I'll take things from here. You two stay there and wait for them getting back from the Chinese or yvhatever carry-out shop they've probably gone to. I'll have an East Lothian car check out Gullane.', 'You going to let the boss krtow?'

'No bloody way. He and Arfdy have enough on their minds, without nonsense like this!'