with crates of empty wine bottles. He glanced around for a light but couldn’t see one. ‘Hold it open while I take a look.’
Jess leaned against the door while Harry ventured into the yard. There was a high gate, topped with razor wire. He tried the handle, found the gate was unlocked, opened it and saw that it led into a short alley that ran around the side of the building and back on to the high street. It was too dark to see anything clearly, and impossible to tell if Sylvie had been there.
‘What’s that?’ Jess asked, pointing towards a piece of tarpaulin that was stretched over something in the corner.
Harry peered at it before approaching. Despite his conviction that Sylvie was perfectly safe, he still held in his head the memories of all the cold corpses he had found in the past. He found himself holding his breath as he crossed the yard, leaned down and tentatively lifted a corner.
‘What is it?’ Jess hissed.
Harry stared at the lumpen shape, unsure for a moment as to what he was looking at: a soft twisted mass, the gleam of something metallic …
The voice that came from behind Jess was cold and clear and edged with irritation. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
‘Oh,’ Jess said, turning towards Guy Wilder. ‘Sorry, we thought Sylvie might have come out this way.’
‘And hidden herself under a tarpaulin?’ Wilder strode out into the yard, glared at Harry and whipped back the sheet to reveal a heap of paint pots, old rags, brushes and empty bottles of turpentine. ‘As you can see – nothing very interesting. Would you care to tell me what’s really going on?’
‘A girl is missing,’ Harry said.
Wilder glanced down. ‘And you think she might be lying under here?’
‘No one said that.’
‘So you’re just snooping around because?’
‘No one’s snooping,’ Jess said. ‘We were just … just checking she wasn’t here.’
Wilder dropped the tarpaulin, gave a snort and said, ‘Well, I think we’ve established that, so unless there’s anything else I can do for you?’
‘No,’ Harry said.
‘Yes,’ Jess said. ‘Did you ask the staff if they’d seen her?’
Wilder gave a sigh. ‘Yes, they saw her earlier, talking to some guy at the bar.’
‘But no one saw her leave?’
‘We’re very busy. People are coming and going all the time.’
‘What about the man she was talking to? Joshua Keynes. Did anyone see him go?’
‘I have no idea who Joshua Keynes is. This is a private reception; I’ve never seen most of these people before.’
But Jess was persistent. ‘So could you tell me who the organiser is? Perhaps I could have a word with them and—’
‘No,’ Wilder said firmly. ‘You’re not having a word with anyone, not tonight. I want you both to leave. You’ve established that your friend isn’t here so I suggest you go somewhere else to look for her.’
Harry took Jess by the arm and propelled her back into the passageway. ‘Come on, that’s enough. Let’s go.’
Guy Wilder closed the fire exit behind them and escorted them through the crowd to the door of the bar. ‘Goodnight,’ he said when they were safely out on the pavement.
Harry gave a nod to Wilder. ‘Thanks for letting us look round.’ He knew they’d overstepped the mark and been caught in the act, and didn’t want to make an enemy of the man. If anything had happened to Sylvie – although he still doubted it – they might need his cooperation in the future.
Jess shot an angry glance at Harry as they walked away. ‘“Thanks for letting us look round”,’ she mimicked. ‘What’s wrong with you? Sylvie’s missing, for God’s sake. We’ve got every right to check out his yard.’
‘I think you’ll find that it’s private property.’
‘So what? If he’s got nothing to hide, why should it bother him?’
‘For the same reason it would bother you if someone started rooting around your back garden without asking permission.’
‘I haven’t got a
Jess leaned against the door while Harry ventured into the yard. There was a high gate, topped with razor wire. He tried the handle, found the gate was unlocked, opened it and saw that it led into a short alley that ran around the side of the building and back on to the high street. It was too dark to see anything clearly, and impossible to tell if Sylvie had been there.
‘What’s that?’ Jess asked, pointing towards a piece of tarpaulin that was stretched over something in the corner.
Harry peered at it before approaching. Despite his conviction that Sylvie was perfectly safe, he still held in his head the memories of all the cold corpses he had found in the past. He found himself holding his breath as he crossed the yard, leaned down and tentatively lifted a corner.
‘What is it?’ Jess hissed.
Harry stared at the lumpen shape, unsure for a moment as to what he was looking at: a soft twisted mass, the gleam of something metallic …
The voice that came from behind Jess was cold and clear and edged with irritation. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
‘Oh,’ Jess said, turning towards Guy Wilder. ‘Sorry, we thought Sylvie might have come out this way.’
‘And hidden herself under a tarpaulin?’ Wilder strode out into the yard, glared at Harry and whipped back the sheet to reveal a heap of paint pots, old rags, brushes and empty bottles of turpentine. ‘As you can see – nothing very interesting. Would you care to tell me what’s really going on?’
‘A girl is missing,’ Harry said.
Wilder glanced down. ‘And you think she might be lying under here?’
‘No one said that.’
‘So you’re just snooping around because?’
‘No one’s snooping,’ Jess said. ‘We were just … just checking she wasn’t here.’
Wilder dropped the tarpaulin, gave a snort and said, ‘Well, I think we’ve established that, so unless there’s anything else I can do for you?’
‘No,’ Harry said.
‘Yes,’ Jess said. ‘Did you ask the staff if they’d seen her?’
Wilder gave a sigh. ‘Yes, they saw her earlier, talking to some guy at the bar.’
‘But no one saw her leave?’
‘We’re very busy. People are coming and going all the time.’
‘What about the man she was talking to? Joshua Keynes. Did anyone see him go?’
‘I have no idea who Joshua Keynes is. This is a private reception; I’ve never seen most of these people before.’
But Jess was persistent. ‘So could you tell me who the organiser is? Perhaps I could have a word with them and—’
‘No,’ Wilder said firmly. ‘You’re not having a word with anyone, not tonight. I want you both to leave. You’ve established that your friend isn’t here so I suggest you go somewhere else to look for her.’
Harry took Jess by the arm and propelled her back into the passageway. ‘Come on, that’s enough. Let’s go.’
Guy Wilder closed the fire exit behind them and escorted them through the crowd to the door of the bar. ‘Goodnight,’ he said when they were safely out on the pavement.
Harry gave a nod to Wilder. ‘Thanks for letting us look round.’ He knew they’d overstepped the mark and been caught in the act, and didn’t want to make an enemy of the man. If anything had happened to Sylvie – although he still doubted it – they might need his cooperation in the future.
Jess shot an angry glance at Harry as they walked away. ‘“Thanks for letting us look round”,’ she mimicked. ‘What’s wrong with you? Sylvie’s missing, for God’s sake. We’ve got every right to check out his yard.’
‘I think you’ll find that it’s private property.’
‘So what? If he’s got nothing to hide, why should it bother him?’
‘For the same reason it would bother you if someone started rooting around your back garden without asking permission.’
‘I haven’t got a
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