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“What do I owe the call for anyway? I have a client in a few minutes.” Always to the point as usual.
“Just wondered what you and Dan were up to tomorrow night? I was planning on bringing Millie around, and getting a takeaway? If that’s okay?”
“Absolutely, we’ll order pizza, bring pudding! What time will you be around?”
“Ace, about eight? What pudding do you want?”
“Chocolate…anything chocolate, maybe lemon?”
“I’ll buy a few then, something for everyone.” I laugh.
“Perfect, see you tomorrow.” And she hangs up. Yep there is definitely something up with her; I’ll figure it out eventually.
Just as I’m about to put my phone back in my pocket and climb into my car it rings again. Recognising the number, I answer immediately.
“Hello, Jack Lucas,” I say, holding my breath a bit.
“Mr Lucas, this is DCI Rivers…”
I’ve tried to call Millie a few times since speaking to the police earlier but she’s not answered. When I spoke to Owen, he said she had been in and out of her office all day, but she is now in a meeting with someone called Joshua Davenport. Apparently he’s a fancy lawyer from London. This has me worried;what would a big lawyer want with Millie?Maybe it’s to hold a function, but they wouldn’t come down and organise it themselves; they tend to have people for that.
So when I walk into the Manor reception at two-thirty, I want to speak to Millie, I want to see her. I want to make sure she is okay, but as I walk around the desk towards Millie’s office, Mary stops me in my tracks.
“Jack, you can’t just walk in, she’s in a meeting,” she says, standing in front of me so I can’t walk in.
“Mary, I own this business, I can just walk in…”
“No Jack, this meeting is personal. She asked for privacy and to not be disturbed. The guy turned up early and they have been in there ever since, well over an hour now.”
“But...”
She cuts me off. “No, go and grab a coffee and I’ll let her know you are here when I can.”
“Fine, but let her know the police will be here at three. They have some information they want to talk to us about together.”
“I’ll let her know, and Jack…is everything okay?”
“It will be.” I give her a small smile, then head to the ballroom to check on Dan. My phone beeps, it’s a message from Owen.
O:He checks out. A family lawyer from London, a firm called Davenport and Dooly. Specialise in handling large estates.
Me:Thanks O
My annoyance settles a little, knowing it could be related to her parents. I don’t know much about them; I know how they died, and I also know how hard it can be to lose both parents, but both at the same time must have been tough; it left her all alone.
When I reach Dan in the ballroom, he looks in a flap again, but has a smile on his face this time. I swear he lives off the drama. The place is starting to come together, tables are laid out and being set and ready to be decorated with flowers on Saturday morning, for the photographer and couples viewings in the afternoon. Our theme for this year is Masked Jungle vibes. We pick something related to music each year. Our employees are flying in from all over the world, randomly picked, so we havesomeone from all levels of employment. It works well, there will be almost five hundred people here on Saturday—some flying in early to make the most of the company-funded event.
“Well what do you think?” Dan says, walking over to where I stand by the door.
“It looks good, this is way more than we have ever done before. I think it’s set to be our most themed event yet.”
There is so much stuff going on; fake life-sized animals have been randomly placed around the room, they look amazing. The DJ Booth is a hut in the corner of the room; Max, one of our resident DJs from the club, has flown over early to set up and help out. Jeff and Audrey from the Manor are helping to set up the photo booth, and the gift bags for each guest. Millie had even hired living plants to be bought in. It’s going to look awesome when it’s done.
“Yeah, I know, Millie has really gone to town with this.”
“I think it’s been a good distraction for her. We have a meeting with the police in a bit. Let’s hope it’s good news, although he didn’t want to tell me over the phone, and I’ve not been able to get in touch with Millie to tell her about it.” Yes, I’m still annoyed,why didn’t she tell me?
“Oh, the lawyer dude, yeah, they have been in there for a while. I tried to get to see her to take her to lunch but Mary is a force to be reckoned with. I was not going to get on her bad side.”
