Silver Kiss by Naomi Clark Read Free Book Online

police and social
workers to see if they can help and it’s like getting blood from
stone. They’re just so suspicious of a private eye asking
questions. I think they’re expecting something out of a James
Ellroy novel.”
    There was bitter frustration in her voice
and it cut into me. I knew what she was thinking. Back home she had
contacts, friends, allies. Here she had nothing. I wondered
guiltily if she was starting to regret moving down here. It had
been for me, after all, not her. It wasn’t just her reputation and
contacts she’d left behind; all her family and friends lived up
north too.
    I covered my sudden anxiety with a swig of
my drink. “Well, we’ll find a way in,” I said. “There’s bound to be
somebody who knows somebody who’ll help.”
    Lawrence handed Shannon her drink. “So
you’re a PI. Pretty funky! Have you ever gone undercover as a
gangster’s moll or anything?”
    Shannon laughed. “I once went undercover at
a Chinese takeaway to prove they had illegal immigrants working for
them. Does that count?”
    “ Only if you had to dress
in a sequined gown and sing for it,” he replied, then sighed when
she shook her head.
    “ Did you get a chance to
speak to Vince?” she asked me.
    I nodded, then shrugged, remembering how
abortive the conversation had been. “He recognized Tina Brady’s
name but didn’t know anything about her.”
    “ Oh well.” She dipped her
finger in her drink, prodding an ice cube then sucking her finger
dry. The movement fascinated me. “I’m not beaten yet. It’s only day
one.”
    “ Can’t you just ask Tina?
Clearly she wants her daughter found—isn’t she pretty much obliged
to tell you anything useful?” I asked.
    “ People have funny ideas of
what’s useful sometimes.” Shannon plucked the ice cube from her
glass and popped it in my mouth, laughing as I flinched at the
sharp cold snap on my sensitive gums. “Most people in situations
like this are usually afraid of being thought of as bad parents.
They keep things back.”
    “ Have you tried water
torture?” Lawrence asked. “Bamboo under the
fingernails?”
    “ Funnily enough, no,”
Shannon said.
    I crunched my ice cube and
turned the problem over in my head. Vince hadn’t known anything
about Tina Brady. But my parents might. Mum was always
well-informed on Pack gossip and going-ons; once you got her
started it was impossible to shut her up. It was a facet of her
personality I’d loathed growing up, because it meant the whole Pack
knew every argument we ever had over my sexuality—my phase as my parents had
called it. Everywhere I went as a teenager, some big-nosed Pack
member was there dropping hints and making insinuating comments
about my private life. When was I going to just settle down and
start a family? Didn’t I know what a disappointment I was to my
parents?
    Pack gossip could be vicious, devastating.
In such a tight-knit community as ours, there was little real
privacy and I’d decided early that the best way to deal with that
was to leave town. Now I was back and homosexuality was less of a
taboo than it had been eight years ago, I might be able to turn the
Pack’s penchant for tittle-tattle to my advantage. That would make
a nice change.

FOUR
    I arranged to go to my parents for
dinner on Thursday night. Shannon gracefully declined the offer. My
parents had made a real effort to accept our relationship but there
was still a hint of uneasiness about their interactions, like they
still thought I might wake up one day and fancy men. I tried not to
let it get to me—and it didn’t get to me as much as it had when I’d
been younger. Maybe I’d mellowed with age. Or they’d become less
obvious in their disapproval.
    Either way, I arrived at my childhood home
alone, clutching a bunch of flowers for Mum. The smell of
chrysanthemums and daisies wafted around me, mixing with the fatty,
buttery aroma of roasting potatoes coming from the house. I paused
on the front step, looking