‘He’s not dead yet,’ Fern said sharply. ‘He’s just hiding behind people like Alistair Montgomery.’
Smith narrowed his eyes.
‘I’ve also received an above-market offer for the shop from an anonymous buyer who wants the building and everything in it. We think it’s Montgomery, and that he plans to get rid of evidence before Loring dies so he will inherit his fortune.’
Smith paused in his note-taking. ‘Have you still got this manuscript? Can I see it?’
After the detective took a photo of the manuscript, he scribbled a few more notes then closed his notebook. ‘I’ll open a case as you’ve given me enough to work with. But I won’t lie, without hard evidence, and with how delicate Nathaniel Loring’s condition is, this could hit a wall.’
Fern nodded. ‘We understand.’
The shop was quiet again after the detective left. Daniel put the kettle on while Fern sat quietly at the desk, thinking hard.
‘That went… okay,’ he said, offering her a biscuit. ‘Didn’t think I’d be accusing a national treasure of theft over my morning tea, but here we are.’
She managed a smile. ‘He’s not a national treasure if the music wasn’t his.’
Daniel sat beside her. ‘We’ll find a way to prove it, but we also have to consider that it may have been a gift.’
‘I don’t think it was, because if so, then why steal the music box? Someone is looking for something. It’s not a coincidence.’
‘Thank God we still have the manuscript then. Seriously, Fern– you coming here, this place, all this, I want to help you finish what she started.’
Fern rested her head against his shoulder. ‘It’s about finding the truth. If Matilda did write that composition, which I think she did, it would explain why Nathaniel wrote that he “owed” her in the inscription.’
‘Maybe she knew he was using her music, and it was a goodwill gesture?’
‘I doubt it. There’s something deeper happening… and whoever sent us the wedding dress with the cryptic note wants us to find out what it is.’
They sat like that for a moment.
‘I’m determined to uncover the truth,’ said Fern.
Daniel looked at her. ‘Weare determined to uncover the truth.’
‘Teamwork,’ she said, grabbing her laptop and flinging it open. ‘I need to look into something.’ Her fingers were already tapping. ‘If Nathaniel gave interviews, maybe he mentioned when and where he composed “Echoes of the Past”.Maybe he slipped up and there’s a quote or something.’
‘Look at you with your journalist’s instinct. I bet that’s the reason Matilda gave the shop to you; you’re like a dog with a bone.’ Daniel peered over her shoulder as she pulled up a string of archived interviews.
‘Here,’ she exclaimed, scrolling through a newspaper scan and then reading aloud, ‘The melody came to me in a dream when I was on holiday a year after I left college. One of those flashes of inspiration.’
Daniel snorted. ‘Right.’
Fern narrowed her eyes. ‘Matilda wrote it when she was at college.’ She was still tapping away. ‘He and Matilda were born in the same year, which would mean they would be in the same year at college. I think he took it and erased her from the song’s story.’
Fern opened up another tab, and began reading another article, this time from a televised interview years later. Nathaniel sat at a grand piano, the host gushing,‘Tell us about the inspiration behind “Echoes of the Past”, your first big hit.’
‘Oh, it’s a funny story. It came to me in a dream and when I woke up I couldn’t get the melody out of my head.
‘We have until Friday to figure this out. Let’s see what happens when we visit Alistair on Thursday.’
Daniel sat opposite Fern as she printed out the Loring quotes. ‘What if we talked to someone who knew her back then?’ he said. ‘A professor, or an old classmate? Someone who might’ve heard her play the song before Nathaniel made it big.’
Fern’s eyes lit up. ‘That’s brilliant. Maybe the music department has records. Or… or recordings of the recitals!’ she said, printing out the last of the interviews and taking out a plastic wallet from the desk. She stuck a label on the front and marked itOperation Truth.
‘I can’t wait to come face to face with Alistair. He can’t deny he asked about a music box.’
‘You think he’ll tell us why?’
