No Show by Simon Wood Page A

for me to bring her home.”
    “Sit around?” Terry said. “You’ve got to be joking. Last night you showed me a murdered woman you thought was Sarah. Is that the kind of door-to-door service you’re offering?” Terry didn’t give Holman a chance to defend himself and plowed on. “If it is, there’s no way I’m going to sit around waiting for you or anyone else to do their job.”
    “I made a mistake. I’m sorry. I understand how distressing it must have been.”
    “You have no idea,” Terry said sharply.
    Terry and Holman locked stares, each trying to make the other understand the gravity of their position. Terry waited for someone to shout, “End of round one. Fighters back to their corners.”
    Holman was granite. Terry found it difficult to tell if the sheriff was seething and keeping it bottled up or if he’d simply gone offline. The coffeemaker gurgled.
    “Truce,” Holman said after a long moment.
    Terry nodded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get out of my pram.”
    “Huh?”
    “I didn’t mean to lose my temper,” Terry said, correcting his obscure English euphemism.
    “I’m sorry too.” Holman started to say something else but changed his mind and smiled.
    “Can I get you that cup of coffee?”
    “Sure.”
    Holman drew back a chair and sat at the dining table. Terry pulled out two mugs and poured the coffee.
    “Milk? Sugar?” Terry asked.
    The sheriff shook his head. “No on both counts.”
    Terry added creamer to his coffee and brought the steaming mugs over to where Holman was sitting.
    “There you go,” Terry said, setting down the mug in front of Holman.
    “Thanks.” Picking up his mug, he blew at the vapor trailing off the surface and sipped it. “You make good coffee.”
    “With no wife, I get a lot of practice.”
    The sheriff cracked a smile. “Well, let’s see what I can do to change that.”
    “Have you found out anything new?”
    Holman shook his head. “No. Since the discovery of Alicia Hyams, your wife’s case has lost some of its urgency.”
    “Lost some of its urgency? You mean it’s relegated to second-division status.”
    But Holman already had his hands up in surrender. “Yes, the cold, honest truth of the matter is that your wife’s case isn’t as important as it was yesterday. I have a missing person, but I also have a murdered woman. Now, honestly, which do you think is going to be at the top of my list of priorities?”
    Terry didn’t respond.
    “But it doesn’t mean that I’m not going to do anything about your wife.”
    “So you’re sure it’s Alicia Hyams?”
    “Yes. Mr. Hyams, her husband, made a formal identification early this morning.”
    Poor bastard
, Terry thought. He knew exactly how the man was feeling. Of course, he’d been taken to the brink, but Alicia Hyams’s husband had been pushed over it.
    “What happens with Sarah?”
    “This afternoon I will be holding a press conference with Mr. Hyams and we’ll make an appeal for witnesses to come forward. I spoke to the media about doing a similar appeal for your wife, but I need your approval.”
    “There’s nothing to approve,” Terry said. “When?”
    “Monday at eleven. I want to put the weekend between your wife’s case and Alicia Hyams’s. I don’t want anyone getting confused.”
    “Do you think it will help?”
    “I’m hoping so. We need something to kick-start the investigation. This could be the tonic we’ve been looking for.” Holman checked his watch. “I’d better be going.”
    “Yes. Of course.”
    Holman gulped the remainder of his coffee. Terry didn’t know how the man did it. The brew was far too hot for him to sip, let alone gulp.
    Holman got up to leave. Terry followed him to the door. Although twenty years Terry’s senior, Holman carried himself with the confidence of a man who could handle all situations. Terry couldn’t help admiring him. He darted around Holman to open the door for him.
    “I want to say thanks, Sheriff,” Terry said,