Page 80 of The Vanished

“Maybe, but I thought it was suspect and decided to find out more about her life.”

Quinn sighed, exasperated. “Drew, if Chrissy left the UK, then she’s clearly not a suspect, so what difference could her life in the Czech Republic possibly make?”

“It’s not as if I have any other leads,” Drew reminded her.

“What about the bloke she was living with? Might he know something?”

“I’m sure he might, but no one seems to remember his name. And without a name I have no hope of tracking him down. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll ring you tomorrow.”

“Drew, DI Malone is no longer working the case. He thinks Logan left of his own free will and will turn up if he feels like it.”

“And Max?”

“And Max is our responsibility. They don’t know who the woman is and have no way to identify her. The police won’t waste resources on searching for a needle in a London-sized haystack.”

“She could have left London by now,” Drew pointed out.

“Yes, I suppose she could have.”

“I’ll call you back,” he said when someone addressed him in Czech.

Quinn was about to slide her mobile into her pocket when it rang again. She hoped it was Gabe, but it was Colin. She wished she could tell him about Logan and share her concerns for his wellbeing, but her brother was no longer Colin’s problem, and, although kind and helpful, he couldn’t do anything to help.

“I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but there was a fatal stabbing in Westminster, and the victim is on his way to the lab. I need to make arrangements for the bog body. Rhys advised me to check with you.”

“What about, exactly?” Quinn asked. Her mind wasn’t really on Geneva’s remains at the moment.

“Do you wish to donate our girl to science, or do you intend to see her buried?”

“I really haven’t thought about it. Can I give you an answer on Monday? Surely you can find space for her until then.”

“You sound distracted,” Colin observed.

“It’s been an awful few days,” Quinn admitted, despite her better judgment.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“I doubt it. Logan is missing, Colin. And someone tried to take Max.” The words had come out unbidden, but it felt good to talk to Colin, who had loved Logan and, on some level, probably still did. “The woman was brazen enough to walk into his nursery school. She pretended to be me.”

“What?” Colin exclaimed. “Is Max safe?”

“He is, but the police have no idea who is behind the abduction attempt, and we can’t hide out forever.”

“Where are you?”

“I’d rather not say.”

“Of course. I quite understand. What will you do?”

“I have Drew Camden working on it. But he’s in Prague of all places, so, as you can see, we’re grasping at straws.”

“Maybe not,” Colin said. “Drew Camden is very good at what he does.”

“He’s my only hope of finding Logan and keeping Max safe.”

“Please, keep me posted. Logan is and always will be…” Colin’s voice cracked, and he couldn’t finish the sentence, but Quinn thought she knew what he had been about to say. The love of my life.

“I will.”