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She frowned. ‘Why would you ask that?’
‘You don’t look happy.’
She shrugged. ‘Neither do you.’
‘I was stuck outside in the wind for two hours, waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive. What’s your excuse?’
So much for not sounding grumpy.
He braced himself for the flurry of abuse he felt sure was coming his way, but instead of retaliating, her shoulders sagged. ‘I’m sorry for leaving you to do that alone. It was unfair of me, but I really needed to speak to my sister, it couldn’t wait.’
Her apology took some of the sting out of his annoyance. ‘Is there a problem?’
Her hesitation indicated there was. Her eyes flitted about the room, as though she was searching for a way out. In the end, she sighed and shook her head. ‘Everything’s fine.’ Her tone indicated that it wasn’t, but she didn’t want to add anything.
If she didn’t want to talk, so be it. ‘You know where I am if you change your mind.’
Someone tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned to see a concerned-looking Will. ‘Have you seen Poppy?’
‘She’s in the barn, dancing with Lily.’
‘Not any more. She went to the loo, but never came back. We can’t find her. You know this place better than us – any idea where she might be?’
‘She can’t have gone far, we’re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a remote moor.’ He realised a beat too late that his attempts to reassure Will only made the man even more alarmed. ‘What I mean is, she’s a sensible girl, she wouldn’t have wandered off.’
‘I hope not,’ Will said, looking dejected. ‘But where is she?’
‘I’ll search the hotel. Stay here in case she comes back. Call me if she shows up.’
‘I’ll come with you.’ Beth followed him into the lobby. ‘Should we split up?’
‘Good idea. You check upstairs, and I’ll start down here.’
Matt knew logically that Poppy was okay and that they’d find her. Searching for a missing person was a common enough occurrence for his colleagues in the police, and the person was usually found safe and well. Panicking from the offset wouldn’t help anyone. The trick was to keep calm and methodically search the hotel, hoping to discover her hidden away somewhere, oblivious to everyone’s worry.
Poppy wasn’t in the lobby, the restaurant or the bar. The gift shop and farm shop were closed, which just left the open-plan section of the museum.
With only a faint light shining in from the ornate lamps outside the venue, it was dark inside. He called her name, but got no response. He was about to leave, when he heard a faint noise. The space appeared empty at first glance, but then he heard a giggle. Further investigation revealed two people sitting on upturned gunpowder barrels behind the olde-worlde bar. And then the smell hit his senses.
Matt rubbed his forehead. Seriously? Someone was smoking weed at a family wedding?
He moved closer to investigate and realised there was one male and one female. The man he recognised as Beth’s brother, Alex. The identity of the female made time slow. ‘What the hell?’
His voice made them both jump.
Alex waved a hand. ‘Hey, man.’
‘Give me that.’ Matt snatched the joint from Poppy’s hand and dropped it to the floor, squashing it under his foot. ‘Are you kidding me?’
‘Hey, man! That’s decent shit.’ Alex tried to get up, but Matt pushed him back down.
‘Stay there! And I don’t care what it is, you shouldn’t be smoking, and certainly not with a child. Have you lost your sanity?’
Alex frowned. ‘Child? What child? There’s no child here, just…’ He waved a hand at Poppy. ‘What was your name again?’
‘Her name is Poppy,’ Matt snapped. ‘And she’s thirteen years old.’
