Chief Blake drank his coffee and talked while Fin finished typing up the report.
He got up when he heard noises outside his door. Mrs. Linbar was there at the reception desk, looking pale and desperate when he arrived
“Is it him?” she said. “You have to tell me if it’s him, my son. You have to know by now, Findlay.”
Letitia Linbar and her husband owned a large house on two sites in the residential part of town. They had money, and while nothing like Mrs. Howard and her belief she was better than just about anyone, they were fairly vocal on their own importance. Until the day their youngest son had disappeared, the town had tolerated them, and maybe whispered a few things behind hands about them. After that, they were left alone to live the hell they’d been plunged into.
“Now, Mrs. Linbar, we can’t know that yet,” Fin said.
He wasn’t sure how she knew he’d brought a body down the mountain, but when he found out who had given her that information, there would be hell to pay. She had run out of the house in her slippers, white and fluffy, and black trousers and a white shirt. No, sweater or hat, no gloves.
Shrugging out of his jacket, he wrapped it around her shivering shoulders.
“There’s a process to finding out who Fin brought down, Letitia,” Chief Blake said. “If it’s Simon, we’ll let you know immediately when the identity is given to us.”
Her face seemed to collapse. Fin grabbed her hands as she stumbled back. He lowered her to a waiting room chair.
“I just want to know where he is,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry.” He crouched before her. “And I know those words don’t help, but I truly am for how you’ve suffered… are still suffering.”
Behind him, he heard the low rumble of Chief Blake talking on the phone.
“H-he just disappeared. One day he was there, and the next not,” she whispered. “It’s been torture not knowing what happened.” Her eyes told him how she’d suffered. “I need to know where he is, Fin. I need to find some peace for all of us.”
He knew what the death of someone before their time could do to a family. Knew the far-reaching effects that blew people’s lives apart.
“Mrs. Linbar…” Fin didn’t finish his sentence, because Maggie was walking into the station. He’d never been happier to see anyone.
“What’s wrong?” She lowered the big box she carried to the floor and dropped down beside him.
“We brought a body down from the mountains today, Maggie,” Fin said. “Mrs. Linbar heard and came to see if it was Simon.”
Her eyes went from him to the woman who was sobbing softly. She moved to take the seat beside her.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Linbar.” She waved him away. “Coffee, Fin, now.”
Fin didn’t exactly leap to his feet, but it was a near thing. He then hurried to his office.
“I called her son; he’ll come and get her. Her husband is away on business,” Chief Blake said. “The body transportation is arriving, so I’ll go and see to that.”
“Maggie is here and with her,” Fin said, heading for the coffee. He poured two mugs and added sugar and cream. “I’ll drop by the station later and discuss a few things with you.”
“I’ll need your help on this, Fin. That mountain is your territory.”
“You have it.”
Maggs had her arm around Mrs. Linbar when he arrived. She took one of the mugs from him and pressed it into the woman’s hands. “Now you drink some of this, Mrs. Linbar.”
She took a few sips at Maggie’s gentle urging. Fin knew she was a good person. You didn’t have the friends she had not being that. But it made his chest warm to watch her look after Mrs. Linbar. It came naturally to her.
“Mother.” Noel Linbar walked in dressed like he’d stepped out of a men’s fashion magazine. “Why are you here in your slippers?” He looked horrified.
“Your mother has had a shock, Noel.” Maggie got to her feet and stood before him, hands on hips. He wished he could see her expression. “She’d needs your support at the moment, and what she has on her feet has no bearing on that.”
Fin had nothing to smile about—his morning at best could be termed hell—but seeing Maggs face off with Noel Linbar had him wanting to.
“Now, you need to take her home and sit with her. You know by now what has happened, and that your mother is suffering. Look after her.” The last was said with a definite snap. “I’ll call round later to check on her.”
