Cut to the Chase by Joan Boswell Read Free Book Online Page B

same.
    â€œWhy are you afraid?”
    â€œWe always talk on Sunday nights. Always. It’s never mattered where he was or what he was doing, he always, always phoned me on Sundays. I had lunch with him two Saturdays ago, and he hasn’t contacted me since.” She paused. She probably thought that this sounded a bit odd and required an explanation. It did. Most grown men did not phone their sisters once a week.
    â€œI’m older than Danson and more or less brought him up. Kind of a surrogate mother. He’s never missed a Sunday night. Never. He would have phoned or e-mailed me if he could.”
    Definitely didn’t sound good, although a man might change his habits without it meaning anything more serious than a desire to alter routines.
    â€œHave you checked his home to see if he took clothes, suitcases, cancelled the paper or anything else to tell you he left intentionally?”
    â€œWe’re in his apartment right now. His car, wallet and keys are gone, but his cell phone isn’t, and he didn’t take shaving stuff or toiletries.”
    â€œSounds as if it’s time to report him to missing persons. Go to your nearest station and file a report. Take a recent photo. Let me speak to Hollis again.”
    â€œHollis speaking.”
    â€œI don’t want to alarm your friend, but if Ms Lafleur has access to his apartment, ask her to pick up and bag his hairbrush or something else that will have DNA and drop it off at the desk downstairs. Also get the name of the young man’s dentist.”
    â€œMay I ask why?”
    â€œPursuant to another inquiry,” Rhona said. “We’ll get back to you.”
    â€œHow soon?”
    â€œWhen the lab work is done.”
    Ian raised an eyebrow after Rhona had placed the phone in its cradle.
    â€œHollis Grant. I’ve dealt with her twice before,” Rhona explained.
    â€œIn what capacity?”
    â€œWhen I worked in Ottawa, her husband was murdered and here, in Toronto, the stepson of one of her friends was murdered.”
    Ian exhaled a puff of breath and shook his head. “I’d say you need hazard pay to associate with her.”
    Rhona nodded. “You could be right. She seems to be murder-prone. You heard what her friend said. Her brother is the right height, weight and has the same colour hair as the man in the morgue. For his family’s sake, I hope it isn’t him. But it would speed up our investigation and give us leads if we knew the victim’s identity.”
    * * *
    As Danson’s TV blared and Elizabeth sat entranced, Hollis and Candace stared at one another.
    â€œWhat did the detective say?”
    Hollis gave herself a minute to think while she readjusted and resettled her red-framed glasses. She hated passing on the message, but Candace had every right to be told. “She wants something with Danson’s DNA and asked for his dentist’s name.”
    â€œOh my god! Do you suppose his statistics match those of the unidentified man? Is that why they want…” Candace’s voice petered out, as if she couldn’t bear to say the words aloud.
    â€œI’m sure she would have asked anyone reporting a missing man the approximate age of the victim to supply those things.” Hollis made her voice sound offhand. “I expect it’s totally routine—an elimination process. Probably doesn’t mean anything.”
    Candace looked doubtful.
    â€œDo you know his dentist’s name?”
    â€œSure, I go to him too.”
    â€œYou have his address and number?”
    â€œAt home.”
    â€œWhy don’t you go back to the house and write everything down. I’ll pick up a couple of items here. Then you or I or both of us can take everything to the police station.”
    â€œDental records. My god, this is awful. Waiting will be unbearable. Doing lab tests and matching dental records—it will seem like forever before they have the answer.”