Chapter 15

10

‘Is there anything that connects any of these cases?’ Rick downed a glass of Anthony’s Scotch and sifted through the papers. ‘Anything at all?’

‘Does complete randomness count?’ Anthony sent a listing of names, places and dates to his portable printer and leaned back in the uncomfortable hotel chair. ‘Take a look at these names, note the dates. There’s been a steady, if slow, case of mysterious vanishings for as long as records have been kept. I’ve narrowed down my search parameters to exclude the more obvious runaways and deluded souls, and to include all people with plausible reasons why they wouldn’t willingly vanish.’

‘Like Elizabeth Barton …’ Rick pulled the list from the printer. It was long, but not so long that any pattern was apparent, and not so close together in time that sus……