書蟲1級《雪莉·霍姆斯和立陶宛青年案》1. 失蹤的女兒

1. A missing daughter

Somebody is ringing my office doorbell. It's ten past nine on a Monday morning. That's early for a client to call. But perhaps this is going to be a good week. Last week business was not very good. I need some new clients.

I look at my computer. I want to see the person before I open the door. The little camera over the door shows me a woman in a raincoat. About forty, maybe. Not rich. The raincoat is a cheap one, from the street market. She's carrying a newspaper, the Putney Gazette.

I hit the 'open door' button on the wall. The door opens, and the woman comes in.

Are you the private investigator? Shirley Homes?' she asks. She looks around the office, probably looking for someone older.

I am.' I use my older person voice. 'Please sit down, Mrs... er...'

Williams. Edith Williams,' she says. She sits down in my best chair, and looks around the office again, still looking for that older person.

How can I help you, Mrs Williams?' I say. 'What's your problem?'

She looks at me then, and the trouble in her face is clear.

Do you find people?' she says. 'Can you find my daughter? She left home five weeks ago. Just walked out. Took all her things, and walked out. And not a word from her. No phone calls. Not even a text. Nothing.'

The little camera over the door shows me a woman in a raincoat.

Edith Williams is nearly crying now.

Why?' I ask.

I'm careful. Family problems can be dangerous. You open a door, and all kinds of dark and horrible things come out. And when those dark and horrible things are out, you can never put them back in again.

Edith Williams is still trying not to cry.

Why, Mrs Williams?' I say again. 'Why did your daughter leave home? Was there an argument?'

Not with me, no. It's her father, he...' Now she really is crying. Five weeks of crying, all in two minutes in my office.

I get her a cup of coffee, and sit on a chair next to her.

Tell me all about it, Mrs Williams. Take your time.'

The daughter, Carrie, is fifteen, I learn. She likes boys, has lots of boyfriends, doesn't listen to her parents. So what's new? Many fifteen-year-old girls are like that.

But the new boyfriend, Edith Williams says, is older, and he's not English. He's a foreigner, from Lithuania.

I remember my Ukrainian grandmother, my Greek mother. Foreigners.

Is that a problem for you?' I ask. 'A foreigner?'

Tell me all about it, Mrs Williams. Take your time.'

Not for me, but it is for my husband,' Edith Williams says. 'He doesn't like foreigners. They come here, he says, they take our jobs, they take our houses, they take our money. And they can't speak English. He gets very angry about it. He says some horrible things to Carrie. “I don't want this foreigner in my house,” he says, and Carrie goes crazy. She calls her father some horrible names, and he gets really angry. He's shouting, and Carrie's crying. They don't stop for hours.'

Edith Williams stops for a second. She can still hear the shouting and the crying, I think.

And what happened next?' I ask quietly.

The next day,' Mrs Williams says, 'Carrie left. Early in the morning, before we all got up. She left a letter.'

Have you got the letter?' I ask.

Yes, I have.' She gives the letter to me, and I read it quickly. An angry letter, from an angry fifteen-year-old. Nothing useful. I give the letter back to her.

I asked all her friends,' Mrs Williams says. 'Everyone. They didn't know – or they didn't want to tell me. And she's stopped going to school.'

What about the police?' I ask.

I can't go to the police. My husband doesn't want to see her again. We can't even say her name at home.'

We? Who's we?'

Me and Darren. He's Carrie's little brother. He's ten. He's very unhappy about all this.'

Carrie calls her father some horrible names, and he gets really angry. He's shouting, and Carrie's crying.'

I must meet Darren. Ten-year-old boys can be very useful. They see and hear a lot.

Edith Williams looks at me with her red eyes. 'Can you find her for me? I just want to know she's all right. And this boyfriend, this Lithuanian... What's he like? How old is he? What does he do? Is he kind? Is he the right person for my little girl?'

I take the job. I ask for a photograph of Carrie, the names of friends, the school, mobile phone numbers.

Can I talk to Darren?' I ask.

Yes, we can meet him after school,' Edith Williams says. 'But please don't come to my house. Please. My husband...'

I understand,' I say. 'I can text you when I have some news.'

She doesn't know the name of the Lithuanian boyfriend. That's really helpful. There are thousands of Lithuanians in London. Finding one young man without a name in thousands of people? How easy is that!