Evan Blessed by Rhys Bowen Page B

rule out foul play. And since your Miss Jones is another pretty young girl who was stalked, I thought it might be wise to see if she could share any insights with us.”
    â€œBut I’m afraid I couldn’t be at all helpful,” Hillary Jones looked up at Evan. “It was really too dark to see him clearly.”
    â€œSurely a prowler, a Peeping Tom, is usually a harmless kind of chap, isn’t he?’ Shorecross asked.”The type whose own life is boring and who seems to find watching young women take their clothes off exciting.”
    â€œYou’re probably correct,” Evan said, “but we have to follow up any possible lead at the moment. Young girls don’t just vanish in broad daylight on busy mountain paths.”
    â€œI did offer my senior Scouts to help you,” Shorecross said in a slightly pained voice. “Maybe more people out searching on the mountain at an earlier stage might have been beneficial. My boys are well trained in rescue drills.”
    â€œI did pass along your kind offer. Unfortunately I’m not the one
handling the search and frankly I don’t think more manpower would have made any difference.”
    â€œWell, if you still need us, just let me know,” Shorecross said. “Be Prepared is the scouting motto, after all. I can mobilize my troops fairly rapidly.”
    â€œThanks. That’s good of you,” Evan said.
    â€œNow, if you’re finished with Miss Jones, I’d like her to get back to work. There was a line waiting at Mr. Llewelyn’s counter and we hate to keep our customers waiting, don’t we?”
    â€œVery good, Mr. Shorecross.” Hillary gave Evan a beaming smile with just a hint of flirtation to it and left the room.
    â€œA bad business then, Constable?” Shorecross asked. “I didn’t like to say what I was thinking in front of Miss Jones, but if your girl hasn’t been found by now, then the outcome is probably not going to be favorable.”
    â€œI’m afraid you’re right,” Evan said. “We’re doing everything we can. But it’s hard to know what to do next.”
    â€œI don’t envy you your job,” Shorecross said.
    Evan glanced at his watch. “And I should be getting back to it. I came here to ask your advice on a car loan, but I see my lunch hour is almost over, so it will have to be some other time.”
    â€œVery well then,” Shorecross said. “I’m always here. Bring your delightful fiancée with you. I did enjoy talking with her. Such a well-educated young woman.”
    â€œShe went to Cambridge.”
    â€œDid she really? Good God.”
    Evan read the thoughts—then why is she marrying a police constable and settling in a village? He occasionally had the same thoughts himself. It was still miraculous to him that anyone as bright and wonderful as Bronwen had chosen to share his life.
    As he hurried out of the bank, he noticed the surly Rhodri Llewelyn watching him with apprehension. I’m definitely going to check on that one, Evan thought. He considered going back to Neville Shorecross and asking a few discreet questions there, but realized
that this line of investigation should probably go through his chief first. He’d been in trouble before now for being the maverick and not working through the appropriate channels. He was, after all, a relatively new D.C., assigned to D.I. Watkins. It was not his investigation.
    As he walked back to the station he remembered that Hillary had reported the Peeping Tom incidents to the police. Surely Rhodri’s name must have come up in the process of that investigation?
    It appeared that D.I. Watkins had stepped out when Evan returned to the station so he used the time to hunt through records. He found Hillary’s complaint from last February. Rhodri Llewelyn’s name was among those mentioned in the report, along with Hillary’s other co-workers. But he had