Free Siren by Tara Moss Page B

‘If he’s run away I’ll take him straight to the police! A night in jail would teach him a lesson!’
    This sudden change in tone was jarring.
    ‘I understand you must be very concerned about him,’ Mak said soothingly, ‘but it’s not illegal to run away—if that’s what he’s done. He’s nineteen for starters, so technically he can go where he pleases.’
    Glenise appeared momentarily stumped by this obvious fact, and reddened.
    If Adam ended up in the hands of the correctional authorities, Mak doubted it would give him the kind of lessonhis mother hoped for. Jails were often nothing more than a school for delinquents to learn how to become better delinquents.
    ‘I didn’t mean that literally,’ Glenise explained. ‘Of course I would never want my son in jail.’
    ‘Of course,’ Mak agreed. She waited a moment for the older woman to regain her composure before continuing. ‘Does Adam have any tattoos, piercings or other identifying marks?’
    ‘Certainly not.’
    ‘Does he have a mobile phone?’
    ‘Yes. I haven’t found it.’
    ‘Passport?’
    At this Glenise frowned for a moment.
    ‘I checked, and it’s still where I always keep it.’
    So no travel plans.
    ‘His wallet?’
    Glenise shook her head.
    ‘Does he have a credit or debit card we might be able to trace?’
    ‘He had a credit card for a while, but he couldn’t keep up the payments, so I made him cancel it. He’s on a family card now. A MasterCard.’
    Okay, that’s something.
    ‘Has he been using it?’
    Again, a shake of the head.
    ‘So you haven’t noticed any unusual activity on it? No purchases you can’t recall making?’
    ‘No.’
    Mak pressed on. ‘It would be helpful if you could give me a full list of Adam’s friends, as many as you can think of, even if there are a hundred of them.’
    ‘There won’t be a hundred.’
    Thank God. ‘That’s fine,’ Mak said. ‘Just give me a list of all his regular contacts, when you are able. I know it may take a while, but it would be very helpful. Most of these sorts of cases are solved that way. Often, someone knows something. A romantic partner might know a great deal, for instance. Is Adam involved with anyone?’ Makedde asked. ‘A girlfriend, or…?’ She left her query open.
    ‘He isn’t seeing anyone.’ The reply was swift.
    ‘No one that you know of then?’
    ‘No.’ Glenise was definite.
    Mak frowned slightly. Was there something Adam’s mother was uncomfortable with? ‘No recent partners?’
    She shook her head.
    Mak felt her client shrinking away, and decided to move on to another subject. ‘Now, if you can, I’d like to hear your view of things. You last saw Adam on Tuesday at dinnertime, I understand. Is that correct? What was he wearing?’
    Glenise surprised her by opening her notebook up about halfway through. It was not a notebook at all, Mak saw, but a diary. The year was embossed on the cover. She had sprung up and left Mak alone so she could fetch her diary. This was a good sign, even if the timing seemed odd. Glenise was the meticulous type. This could be helpful.
    ‘He was wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans,’ Mrs Hart recited, as if reading from a textbook. ‘He came home from uni, and then said he was going to eat in his room. He took his dinner upstairs. He wasn’t there in the morning.’ She paused and, when she spoke again, Mrs Hart sounded as if she was barely keeping her emotions at bay. ‘He didn’t come down for breakfast, and he wasn’t in his room.’ She referredagain to the pages before her. ‘At seven-fifteen a.m. I discovered he was missing,’ she said dolefully.
    So he could have left any time that night.
    ‘You sure keep a thorough diary,’ Mak commented.
    ‘Always,’ Glenise replied with a touch of pride.
    ‘Does Adam keep a diary as well?’
    Glenise frowned. ‘No. I don’t know. Well, he used to…’
    ‘Did he often eat alone in his room?’ This had struck Mak as odd; did it mean he and