Chapter 13 #3
“Good idea.” Ashley stood up when she heard the arrival of the train from Cambridge/Ely.
She craned her neck to look over the heads of the dozens upon dozens of travelers.
Seeing her twin from a distance was eerie.
It was as if she was walking toward herself.
Jessica looked in the direction that Ashley was looking and did a double take.
It was going to require some time to get used to two of them.
Emily wrapped her arms around Ashley as they bounced up and down and then hugged Jessica. “This is awesome. I am chuffed to bits!”
Jessica set the suitcase down where Ashley had been seated and began to pack the shopping bags inside.
“Had a little fun, now, did ya?” Emily quipped.
“We did indeed,” Jessica said and gave her an eyeroll.
Manchester
The jangling of Oliver’s phone startled him. “DCI Townsend.”
“Adam Reid at The French,” the woman’s voice said.
“I beg your pardon.” Oliver had not yet made the connection.
“Dinner,” Helen said and repeated the name. “Adam Reid at The French.”
“Isn’t that the spot where you don’t get to choose your dinner?” he asked suspiciously.
“It’s a ten-course tasting. They tell you what it is when they serve it.”
“I see. Let me see if I have this straight. I don’t get to order what I want, and then they don’t tell me what it is until they bring it to the table.”
“You’re not a detective for nothing,” Helen jested.
“Are you sure about this place?” Oliver was not yet convinced.
“Absolutely. Adam Reid is a culinary star. He was Manchester’s Chef of the Year.”
“Ye don’t say.” Oliver was beginning to understand the lure of the establishment.
“I do. And what day and time shall we go?” Helen was not going to let Oliver off the hook. Not that he wanted to be.
“First tell me. What have you found? It’s only fair.”
“Come to my office in an hour and I will show you.”
“I presume it’s good news or you wouldn’t have suggested such a bougie place.”
“You won’t be wasting your money is all I can say. See you in an hour.” Helen ended the call.
Oliver didn’t want to presume it was good news. The deal was, if she discovered anything he’d take her to dinner. Or was it just the favor which required reciprocity? He would know in an hour.
The train arrived in Birmingham just before four. Emily handled one of the larger suitcases and they got in the queue for a taxi.
“Are you sure your mother isn’t going to mind?” Jessica’s nerves were being stoked again.
“She will be gobsmacked and over the moon.” Emily was almost one hundred percent certain.
When it was their turn, they piled themselves, along with their paraphernalia, into the vehicle, and Emily gave him the address.
“I have an idea.” Emily smiled at Ashley. “You ring the doorbell while Jessica and I hide on the side.”
“Are you sure she won’t faint?” Ashley wasn’t sure it was a good idea. The mere fact she was showing up at all would be enough to make someone go bananas.
“I guess we’ll find out,” Emily said with a devilish grin.
“Okay. If you say so.” Ashley wasn’t sold on the idea, but Emily was in charge of this portion of their trip.
Emily asked the cab driver to pull up in front of the house next door so the three of them could slink up to Kathleen’s flat.
The driver placed their luggage on the cobblestones and the women began their stealth approach.
Ashley’s palms were sweating. She hoped she could pull it off without fainting or puking.
She straightened her shoulders, and with her head held high she pressed the buzzer.
A slender woman in her mid- to late-forties opened the door wide.
Neither of them spoke for a moment. Kathleen blinked several times and furrowed her brow.
Something was a bit off. Ashley sensed the bewilderment.
“Hi. I’m Ashley.” Kathleen’s jaw dropped in shock and Emily popped her head into view. “I’m Emily,” she said, and giggled.
“What? How? When? Oh my goodness.” Kathleen’s hand flew up to her mouth. Then Jessica peeked around. “Hi. I’m Jessica.”
Kathleen was, indeed, gobsmacked. Emily took her by the arm, guided her back into the house, and eased her into a chair. “I don’t understand,” Kathleen uttered. She thought she might be hallucinating.
“Mum, this is Ashley. I told you I was going to find her! Isn’t this incredible?”
Kathleen sat with her eyes bugging out. “How? When?” she repeated.
When she realized it wasn’t a mirage, she stood up with shaking legs and grabbed Ashley by the shoulders and stared into her face.
She stepped back and looked her up and down, then hugged her.
That’s when the waterworks began. First Kathleen, then Ashley, then Emily, and then Jessica.
They were bawling their eyes out in an incredibly good way.
Emily reached for the box of tissues on the side table and handed them out to everyone.
Kathleen clutched hers and began to weep even more.
“I wish your father could be here.” The room fell silent. It was bittersweet.
The security guard at the forensic lab buzzed Oliver in. “She’s down the hall. On the left.”
“Thanks, mate.” Oliver knew the way, but pleasantries never went out of style.
Oliver knocked on the frame of Helen’s open door. “Hi ya.”