Cold Coffin Read Free Page B

Miller. Dr. Cheryl Miller.”
    “A woman?”
    “And how! I’d met her once before, actually, at somebody’s wedding. She’s the sort of woman that once seen a man doesn’t forget. Not young, fortyish, and a real looker. Very sexy.”
    Kate felt slightly miffed. “Are you talking generally, or personally?”
    “Sexy is sexy. Cheryl Miller is very passionate on the subject of feminism, and very articulate with it. She had some hard words to say about Kimberley’s attitude to women and their capabilities.”
    “Could be that she has a point,” Kate put in dryly. “Did she tell you anything else about him?”
    “She had no theory to explain his disappearance—nor did she seem to care a lot. A bit of a hard bitch is putting it mildly. From her I learned that there’s a nephew of Kimberley’s in the picture. It seems that Croptech was started by Sir Noah’s father, who left it to his two sons on a fifty-fifty basis, and the nephew inherited his father’s share. Name of Aidan Kimberley. But he’s making a killing in London as a financial consultant and he’s not interested in Croptech except for the profits. He has a weekend home near here, at Inchmere St. Mary, but he’s been abroad for the past month. Due back tomorrow from Hong Kong, I gather. His wife has been around, though, but Lady K. couldn’t get her on the phone until last evening. She failed to rush round offering solace and support as Lady K. obviously expected, but muttered something vague about having to get back to London first thing in the morning.”
    “Charming!”
    “Actually, I tried to contact her myself a couple of times this afternoon at her London number, thinking that maybe she could tell me more about Sir Noah than she was willing to tell Lady Kimberley. But there was no answer.”
    “Anyone else you talked to?”
    “One or two. Having started probing into the mystery, I thought I might as well stick at it. But as I told you, no one came up with any viable suggestions as to why Kimberley should have gone missing.”
    Kate could feel her own interest rising and firmly put a damper on it.
    “It’s all very peculiar, Richard, but like I said, there’s nothing to justify police attention.” She picked up her menu again, and frowned. “I’ve gone off the idea of having a steak. I’ll try something lighter. Poached salmon, perhaps.”
    “You are concerned about Kimberley, aren’t you, Kate?”
    “Of course I’m concerned. I’d be damned unfeeling not to be. That poor woman must be going through hell at the moment. Unless ...”
    “Unless what?”
    For God’s sake, Kate Maddox, must you always dig for dirt? But like it or not, her thoughts raced on remorselessly.
    “I’ve met Vanessa Kimberley a couple of times now,” she said slowly. “Once at a cocktail party a few weeks ago, and then at polo yesterday. Both times she gave me the impression of putting on a big performance. I suppose it’s in the blood, after all those years on the operatic stage. Every word and every gesture she makes is a lot larger than life. It’s probably that she just can’t help herself.”
    “Or?”
    “Or ... your guess is as good as mine. I just got the feeling that things aren’t quite as she’d have us believe. But I’m not going to let this business spoil my sleep. There’s no case for me here, Richard, and no story for you.”
    He eyed her shrewdly. “Is there going to be, d’you think?”
    “How the hell should I know? I’m not clairvoyant. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
    They didn’t, as it turned out, have all that long to wait.
     

Chapter Two
     
    Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday chanced to be quiet days for Kate, while the spell of hot weather continued. Needing to escape from deskwork in her stuffy office at DHQ, she dredged up reasons to visit some of the division’s outlying police stations. At least it gave her the chance to get better acquainted with her CID personnel, some of whom she’d hardly more than met