CHAPTER TWO

Chief Inspector Louis Peppiatt had been running late all day. A briefing with his team, concerning an armed robbery at a Newquay sub-post office, had badly overrun. He had then made a mad dash to Falmouth to witness his son's sports day. Edward, aged nine, was not a sportsman and was quite happy for his father not to attend, on the grounds that sports day was boring. Louis, however, felt he should be demonstrating support, whatever his son's views. Meanwhile, his ex-wife, Stephanie, and her new husband, Andrew, were attending the sports day of his daughter, Daisy, who was at secondary school. Sports day mercifully over, he was back in the car heading for Camborne, having been summoned by his boss, Chief Superintendent John Dent.

The summons, according to John Dent's wonderful secretary, Sally, was an urgent one, though Louis could not imagine why. The armed robbery was nasty and had put the postmaster in hospital, though not critically so. An armed robbery was something that very rarely happened in Cornwall and, working with the Met, Louis was now confident that the perpetrators were a gang from London. The investigation was going well and Louis was pretty sure of an arrest within the next few days. There was nothing else major on the horizon, which left Louis a little nervous - he didn't relish an urgent summons from the chief super without knowing the cause.

He took the stairs two at a time and reached Sally's office seriously out of breath. He looked at her clock on the wall, he was ten minutes late and John Dent had strong views on punctuality.

'I'm so sorry, Sally,' he managed between gasps, 'only it was Edward's sports day this morning and, of course, he was in the last race so I had to stay until the bitter end.'

'Of course you did, Louis dear,' said Sally, 'now calm down. I've just taken sir a lovely coffee and a piece of toasted saffron cake with plenty of butter. He perked up no end. How did Edward get on?'

'Not well,' said Louis, 'but he didn't seem to care; sport is not his thing, unlike Daisy.'

'He's still a lovely lad, just like his father. Now what can I get you?'

'You old charmer. Just a glass of water would be great before I face the music. What's up anyway?' Louis asked.

'He'd better tell you himself but don't worry - for once you're not in any trouble.' Sally smiled fondly. 'You know, now you're a chief inspector, you really ought to slow down a bit, let others take the strain for once.'

'That's rich coming from you, Sal dear. How many years are you past the official retirement age?'

'It's extremely rude to refer to a lady's age, particularly if she is a little on the mature side. Get in there, Louis. I hope he gives you hell!'

'I'm so sorry I'm late, sir,' Louis began.

'No problem,' said John. The two men shook hands and the normally rather dour John Dent appeared to be smiling. Clearly, the coffee and saffron cake had worked their magic.

'Come and sit down,' John said, indicating the two armchairs at the end of his office, which suggested the subject matter was not too serious. Louis relaxed a little.

'I want you to take on a cold case, Louis. I want it investigated as a matter of urgency and I want you to re-assign all your other cases and concentrate entirely on this one.'

'I thought cold cases normally went to retired officers?' Louis said. 'You're not suggesting I retire, are you, sir?'

'Of course not,' said John irritably, his substantial eyebrows starting to bristle, which was never a good sign.

'It's just that I'm very much involved with the Newquay armed robbery at the moment,' said Louis. 'I only need a few more days. I'm working with the Met and an arrest is imminent.'

'This can't wait, I'm afraid, you'll have to offload Newquay and everything else you're working on. The case in question is close to St Ives so you can have Jack Eddy to assist. Otherwise you're on your own.'

'Great,' said Louis, with a barely disguised sigh.

'Just listen, Louis, and let me explain. Back in the summer of 1992, a farmer named Philip Trehearne disappeared on his way to the Halsetown Inn from his home, just outside St Ives - a journey by foot of about twelve minutes. He never reached the pub and no trace of him, dead or alive, has ever been found. He was very happily married, the farm was doing well, he was a cheerful chap, very well liked, a positive pillar of the establishment and a true Cornishman.'

'So why are we opening the case after all this time? In any event, I was still in Newton Abbot when this chap disappeared so I can't see I'll be much use, particularly as no one could find him at the time.'

'I'm coming to that,' said John impatiently. 'Ten days ago, Philip's widow, Sarah, killed herself with an overdose of sleeping pills. She left a very brief note for her children, saying how sorry she was to leave them but she just couldn't bear living any longer with the uncertainty surrounding Philip's disappearance. She was seventy-three.

'Their son, Tom, who has run the farm for many years, blames the police for his parents' deaths. He's very angry and bitter, not an easy man at the best of times, so I understand. However, he is getting a huge amount of media coverage, nationally as well as in Cornwall and on the socials. The whole story is really going viral and the "powers that be" want someone senior to clear up the mess as quickly as possible, aiming to vindicate the police at the time from having made a balls-up, whether they did or not. So, naturally, we thought of you.'

'I'm flattered,' said Louis, sounding anything but.

'Look, Peppiatt, I know you are an officer of very high moral standards, and I admire you for that. However, it is extremely important that we shut down the vitriol that has developed in respect of this missing man, who obviously must have been dead for years. I'm not looking for a solution, it would be nigh impossible after all this time. I just want you to satisfy the Trehearnes that the police did everything they could.'

'Sir, I'll take on the case, but only if you agree that my aim will be to find out what really happened to Philip Trehearne. I'm not prepared to simply patch over the cracks in a thirty-year-old investigation to make the force come out smelling of roses. But assuming that you accept my approach, then I'll do my best. When do I have to start?'

'Right now,' said John. 'There's a fat file for you to take home and read. Whatever you say, I can only repeat that I am not looking for answers as to what happened to the missing man - just a calming-down of what threatens to be a media frenzy.' He buzzed through to Sally. 'Could you bring me the Trehearne file please, Sally?'

Sally appeared in the doorway and gave Louis a brief wink. 'Here's your light reading, Chief Inspector. Could you just sign here to say you're taking the file out of the office?' She turned to her boss. 'Oh, one thing, sir. I've just heard that the Trehearne sister is flying back from Australia to be with her brother and presumably attend their mother's funeral. Her husband's coming too, they're a Mr and Mrs Tripconey. Presumably they'll be joining in the campaign to help discredit the police who originally handled of the case, God help us all.'

'Tripconey!' said Louis, suddenly showing real interest for the first time. 'They must be related to Merrin McKenzie. She was a Tripconey before her marriage to Adam and now I come to think of it, I believe she said she had a brother in Australia.' He hesitated, frowning in thought. 'Jago, I think she said his name was.'

'Bullseye,' said Sally, 'that's the one.'

'You remember Mrs McKenzie, sir, from the Steve Matthews case?' said Louis. 'I'll start by talking to her to get some background.'

'Of course, I remember Mrs McKenzie, she was a great help with that poor man. However, your starting point should be to try and convince Tom Trehearne to stop stirring up trouble. That's your brief, Peppiatt. I don't care how you do it, but your job is to bring to an end this adverse publicity, and bloody quickly.'

'Nonetheless, I think I'll talk to Mrs McKenzie first, she's a clever woman and very perceptive. She's bound to have a helpful overview.'

'And she's unattached now, Louis, as are you,' said Sally wickedly.

'Don't be ridiculous,' said Louis, picking up the file and heading for the door....