The Missing Party-Girl: A Rags-to-Riches Cozy Mystery Romance by Nhys Glover (read after .txt) 📗

From the look of the place, Adie could quite imagine Georgie being impressed. It wouldn’t have mattered that Roland was overweight and years younger than she was. His position and wealth would have been enough for her. And clearly Roland had a thing for older women, because his name had been tied to a line of much older celebrities, at home and abroad, from the time he was eighteen until he married Lauren. After that, either he was a loyal husband or he was more discrete. Adie was tempted to say it was the latter, if his behavior since her death was anything to go by. Good grief, the man was older than Minerva and yet still partying like he was twenty years old!

He was still alive, at least. Which meant they could find out whether Georgie had come to him that Saturday or not. Of course, if he was the murderer, he might not tell them. But Adie was pretty sure she could see the truth on the man’s face, one way or the other.

When she heard Cage moving around in the morning, she let Jig out and took a shower she hoped would resuscitate her a little. It did, but coffee would do more.

When she got downstairs the coffee was already brewing and Cage was outside with the romping Jig. Tiredly, she leaned against the French window and watched the troubled man put her beloved dog through his paces.

Cage was loving but firm with the young animal, and Jig responded with adoration and loyalty that only dogs could display. When Cage put a dog bowl filled with meat in front of him, Jig simply watched his master for the word or gesture to eat. The long pause had Jig wriggling in place but not giving in to his desire to eat.

Finally, Cage gave the word, and Jig fell on the food like a starving beast. Had she not personally fed the dog the night before, she would have believed Jig hadn’t eaten in a week.

When the coffee was brewed, she poured herself a cup and called to Cage that it was ready. Cage and Jig came to the door immediately and, not for the first time, Adie was glad the kitchen was not carpeted. Jig’s paws were muddy, as were the boots Cage toed off.

“He’s doing really well, isn’t he?” she said by way of greeting as she handed him his coffee.

“Yep. Real good. I plan to leave food out for him today and see if it’s still there tonight. It’s something I should have done before we left for London.”

“He was fine while we were away. And there were no security breaches. Maybe Winsley has what he wants now, and he’ll leave us alone.”

“Maybe. He’s sure used the police file to fuck with us.”

“And failed. I’ve got another lead, by the way.”

Cage looked at her closely for the first time. “Didn’t you sleep?”

She shrugged. “I couldn’t. So I got stuck in. I now know Roland Hughes, Viscount of Lewes, is likely the man seeing Georgie all those years ago. And he’s still alive.”

“Huh, all that from an old mink coat. Who’d have guessed.”

“And the power of the internet. Don’t forget the mighty Google.”

“Yeah, but we would have had a way harder time trying to track down a Roland in Sussex than a Roland in Lewes. That ticket was a godsend.”

Adie grinned in triumph. “All because I felt sorry for the cute little mink critters.”

Cage laughed, before taking a sip of coffee. “I can give Hugo a call to see if he knows anything about this guy. If he’s involved in her disappearance, then having some leverage might be useful.”

Adie nodded. Hugo was an excellent resource, and as long as they didn’t use him too often, she was okay with making the most of his contacts and knowledge.

After breakfast, Cage placed the call and put it on speaker for Adie to hear.

“Cage and Adie? Good to hear from you. How goes it?” Hugo said in his Sean Connery voice.

“The files you got for us were also accessed by Winsley. He got to the main players still alive before we did. Luckily, though he bribed and threatened, he didn’t change the results. Which unfortunately led nowhere. The prime suspects were innocent.

Hugo let out a disappointed little grunt.

“Now this is where it gets interesting. Adie found out from Minerva’s journals about a fur coat Georgie owned. She left it in the flat when she disappeared, and somehow Minerva got it. Adie says Minerva wanted a coat like Georgie’s, so it made sense she kept it after her friend left. We found the coat yesterday, and in one of the pockets was a train ticket from March 1965. It was a return ticket to Lewes.

“What on earth has Lewes got to do with anything? It can’t have been for the day she went missing, so what other significance does it have?” Hugo asked in obvious bemusement.

“Minerva mentioned a rich boyfriend who lived in the country. She’d been to house-parties there. And the date on the ticket was the date of one such party,” Adie spoke up excitedly. “And the guy’s first name was Roland. So I Googled him last night and discovered a Roland Hughes, Viscount of Lewes, who has a stately home in the Lewes area.”

“Hmm,” Hugo said. “Don’t know the name, but I can do a little snooping, if that’s what you’re after.”

“Yes, please,” Adie said.

“But be careful who’s around when you do it. Unless Winsley has somehow got ahold of Minerva’s videos, which I highly doubt, he found out some other way that you were after the files on Georgie’s disappearance,” Cage said.

“Oh dear,” Hugo muttered. “I may have asked my contact at