I took her hand in mine. “We’re making a leap there, but the evidence seems pretty damning. TheEdenwas blown up and sunk in Leith Harbour, and when it was resurrected, they found bodies in a cargo container. Four women, all dead.”
Everly’s eyes lined with tears. “That’s horrendous.”
Mila swallowed and squeezed my fingers. “I have so many questions. Someone in my family or in my family’s employ put those women on that ship. Now we know about Salter and Jacobs, it doesn’t feel like a one-off, does it? It’s hard to believe my grandfather didn’t know, as much as I don’t want to accept that. But also, someone tried to hide the evidence with the explosion. They failed. They are also still out there.”
She’d put down the piece of paper with Esther’s name on it, and Genevieve leaned forward to tap a finger on the name. “Esther could have been killed because she knew enough about the trafficking to cause trouble for someone hiding their tracks. I don’t know if the same could apply to Dixie. She’s part of this picture, though we never would’ve guessed it.”
My gaze travelled to a third piece of paper, the suspects list. The collection of names we’d generated for committing the murder. “Why is Becky’s name underlined?”
Cassie settled back against the couch and waggled a marker pen. “I just did that before ye got here. Riordan finally got into that pawnbroker’s to access their CCTV. Esther picked Becky up after their auction night; her buyer wasn’t lying. Which means Becky was one of the last people to see Esther alive because we know Esther’s body was dumped in the harbour only a short time later.”
Everly twisted her brunette hair in her fingers. “Her already dead body, from what you said. Strangled, not drowned. Doesn’t that feel unlikely, though? When you met Becky, didn’t she say she had a young child? To carry out a violent crime like that is so extreme. I’m not sure it adds up.”
By her feet, Genevieve drummed her fingers on the floor. “True, and we don’t have any connection between Becky and the trafficking ring or with Dixie.”
Cassie nodded. “That’s something we don’t have yet. A suspect list that reflects anyone who might hurt Dixie. If the person who attacked her meant to kill her, they would’ve had a second go. But when she came out of the hospital, she spent most of her time here. Now, she’s unprotected, which makes this all the more urgent. It’s another angle to consider.”
Everly looked to Genevieve. “We can take that up. Her client list is a good place to start.”
Cassie sat up taller. “I’ll help. I don’t know why we haven’t done it before. I’ll fetch the rota and client bookings.”
She flew from the room. Everly and Genevieve grabbed paper and pens and put their heads together.
Mila regarded me. “Someone in my family knew who Darcy was. They might know that she became Dixie. That makes them suspects, doesn’t it?”
I worked the thought through. “She fled the family. It would be safe to assume she would vote the company down. All of the relatives you’ve seen are reliant on it, so that could equal a motive.”
Mila’s eyes shone. “God, it does. Will you help me look into that connection? The family vault, the trusted companies. I can’t help but think if we crack those, we’ll have another chance of finding her.”
I took a breath, energy filling me. “That’s our main focus, getting her back. Between us all, I know we can do it.”
From the depths of my bag, my phone buzzed. I fished it out to find a text with a reply about the paternity question. I read the screen, then my shoulders sank. “Damn. I thought finding Dixie’s mother would be a good bet, so I checked if a paternity case had been held and payments made, but my contact found nothing.”
Mila twisted her lips. “I’m pretty certain that would’ve been handled within the family. I know my mother never had any problems with getting maintenance payments for me, and I don’t think there was any government agency involved, though I’d bet anything that a DNA check was done first. The solicitors will know, but they’ll never say. I’m not sure if Kane had the same experience, and I doubt he’d tell me if I asked.”
“Maybe someone else in the family knows?”
Cassie returned with a tablet, and Mila addressed her.
“Could you please grab my folders from your safe?”
Cassie obliged and handed over the box of files Mila’s grandfather had called the family vault. She and I had already sorted through and puzzled over it. Each folder represented a branch of the family who’d accepted a payment from Marchant Haulage. They were colour-coded. That coding system had lost me sleep.
Mila arranged them in three piles. The first, the smallest, she tapped. “The yellow files. One for each of the children of Able. Me, Kane, and Dixie. Except hers was empty. When we went to the office and took these, someone else was there. All I can think now was that Dixie had already claimed her file and was disturbed by us.”
I blinked. “She was there when you were?”
“Possibly? I caught a glimpse, and if I try to remember it now, I can make the person’s shape into a woman. I was scared, but they didn’t try to attack us.” Her gaze darted down to the right. “Wait. It doesn’t quite add up. The filing cabinet was locked and stuck. I couldn’t open it. Convict had to wrench it.”
“Maybe she went there to get the file that someone had already taken.”
“Such as the person who attacked her?” Her eyes widened. “That works with your theory that taking her out of the picture would influence the voting. I’ve always been well protected. Kane is, well, massive. No one’s going to hurt him.”
“The timing is slightly off. Dixie was attacked before your grandfather passed. The voting wasn’t in play.”
“True, but someone close to him might have guessed he was ill.”
I picked up the nearest folder. “The files have address details. What if they got Dixie’s from there? She was taken from her home.” My mind sprinted off, creating pathways. “You know the one person who would know is your grandmother.”
