JACKS: ‘Moving on. Jean-Claude graduated in 2001 and went on to do an MA at the University of Bordeaux, in France. In the summer of 2003, he came to Bristol uni as a visiting scholar. His lecture series “The Psychology of Taste and Decision-Making”explored how sensory experiences, memory and social influence can shape choices. I guess you could call it a blend of his academic qualifications with his upbringing on the vineyards.
‘Anyway, his gig must have been a hit because according to my source at Bristol uni, he was invited to stay on. He finally left in June 2005, when he returned to Switzerland, where he spent the next few years teaching at the University of Lausanne and also helping his brother, Julien, with the family business.’
CRISTY: ‘How do you know all this already?’
JACKS: ‘I have my ways – except I’m a bit stumped on where he went after he left his university job in 2012, because he’s kind of dropped off the scene since then.’
CONNOR: ‘So you can’t tell us where he is now? Did he get married at all?’
JACKS: ‘No mention of a wife. Or a husband.’
CLOVE: ‘Maybe he’s working full-time at the vineyard with his brother?’
JACKS: ‘Doesn’t seem to be, but still a way to go on that, which will probably include talking to said brother or someone close to the family, and I decided not to go there yet …because…
‘One of the supersleuths pinged through a voice note late last night … Hang on, it’s here, so I can play it … Can’t make up my mind whether it’s male or female, but definitely English. See what you think.’
VOICE NOTE: ‘Greetings to whoever is listening to this message. I just took a look at your website …’
Jacks hit pause. ‘Sorry, forgot to mention that I posted the actual spelling of Jean-Claude’s name on the website as soon as we knew it, with a little red flag to make sure it stood out.’
VOICE NOTE: ‘… If we are talking about the same person – and I feel certain we are – then I can probably tell you where to find Jean-Claude, but only if you can persuade me that you mean him no harm. He is an exceptional man who will welcome you into his world, but I will not lead the way until we’ve spoken and I am convinced that your motives are without malice. Thank you for listening to this. I wait to hear from you.’
Cristy and Connor exchanged wide-eyed glances.
JACKS: ‘We’ve also received an email from an Elaine Wilson-Jacobs who says, I quote, “… I’ve been trying to lay my hands on his actual address, but his farm is somewhere in the middle of Wales. No point googling him because he’s totally off grid, but if I can find it, I’ll let you know. All the best, Elaine.”’
Cristy sat back in her chair as she digested all this. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘I find myself becoming more intrigued by this man by the minute.’
‘Don’t we all?’ Clove said. ‘Definitely sounding culty to me.’
‘OK, this is a reach,’ Honey put in, ‘but I’m thinking … Jean-Claude, J.C… .’ She looked embarrassed. ‘Am I going too far?’
‘You mean as in Jesus Christ?’ Connor asked.
Honey shrugged. ‘I said it was a reach.’
‘Can I bring us back to the Welsh grandmother?’ Jacks suggested. ‘She was Swiss, actually, but married a Welshman after her first husband died. I didn’t pay much attention to her at first, but when Elaine Wilson-Jacobs said he’s somewhere in Wales, I asked myself whether tracking Granny down might lead us to where he is now?’
‘And you’ve found her?’ Connor asked, clearly impressed.
‘Just got started, but it turns out her husband’s name is/was Gwyn Jones, and hers is/was Marie so that’s how easy it’s going to be to track her down.’
With a laugh, Connor said, ‘OK, well good luck with that. In the meantime, we need to respond to these other guys and try to get them on record. Cris, why don’t you take the voice note. I’ll reply to Elaine …’
‘There’s more coming in from the supersleuths,’ Clove announced. ‘Maybe we should take a look at the new report in case there’s something we need to know before speaking to anyone else?’
‘Given there’s stuff coming in all the time,’ Cristy said, ‘we shouldn’t let anything hold us up.’
‘But what’s the rush?’ Connor argued. ‘It’s not like Meier can disappear on us when we already don’t know where he is.’
Failing to hide her irritation, Cristy said, ‘I thought we wanted to get to the heart of this, so what’s the point of delaying contact with two people who’ve already told us theymight know where he is? Three if we include Willie Miller the “ex-disciple”.’
Connor stared at her hard. She could tell her tone had been too harsh, had irked and confused him, and now she was angry at herself for the unnecessary show of bad temper. Maybe if David would get in touch she might relax a little.
‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘let’s do it your way,’ and she reached for her phone. No one was calling or texting – she simply needed to break the moment and get herself under better control.
Leaving the office, she let herself into the meeting room across the hall and closed the door behind her. If someone needed to use the space, she’d vacate; meanwhile, it was somewhere private to make a call.
