The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes Read Free Book Online Page B

to find.’
    ‘Maybe I should drive down to Clonakilty and have a chat with Wayne’s mammy.’
    ‘I don’t care what you do, I just want Wayne found. Drive the eight-hour round trip to Clonakilty if you want.’
    Now that Jay was agreeing with me, I wasn’t so sure. Clonakilty
was
a long way away. Also it was world-renowned for its black pudding and I didn’t think I could visit a town where they made black pudding, where they actually
boasted
about it.
    I’d have a think about it …
    There was a photo of Wayne with John Joseph Hartley, accepting an award that was covered with Arabic-y-looking writing, but none of him with any lady-friends, not even his ex-wife. Well,
especially
not his ex-wife, once I thought about it.
    ‘Does Wayne have a girlfriend?’ I asked.
    ‘Not that I know of.’
    ‘Or kids?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Where’s his landline?’ I spotted the phone across the room. There were twenty-eight new messages. The first four were from Jay, ordering Wayne to get in pronto for rehearsal.
    ‘This morning?’ I asked Jay.
    He nodded.
    The next was from a voice I half recognized.
    ‘You’ve got to come in.’ Whoever he was, he sounded very anguished. ‘John Joseph’s going mad.’
    ‘And that’s …?’ I asked.
    ‘Frankie.’
    Of course! Frankie Delapp. The Gay One and everybody’s favourite.
    Next message: Frankie again. He sounded like he was actually in tears. ‘John Joseph’s going to kill you.’
    ‘Ah Wayne …’ A new voice, speaking in a mix of exasperation and affection.
    ‘Who’s that?’ I asked Parker.
    ‘Roger.’
    Roger St Leger, aka the Other One. No one could understand how he’d ever got into Laddz. He was just a load of blank nothingness in a white suit, only there to make up numbers. He was never anyone’s favourite. But in real life he’d enjoyed an unexpectedly dissolute existence. He had three ex-wives and seven – seven! – children. How was that even legal?
    ‘C’mon, buddy,’ Roger coaxed. ‘I know it’s hard, but take one for the team, yeah?’
    ‘Wayne.’ A young woman’s voice this time. She sounded disappointed and exotic.
    ‘Zeezah,’ Jay said. ‘John Joseph’s new missus.’
    ‘You must come to rehearsal,’ Zeezah scolded. ‘You are letting down the other guys and you are not that kind of person.’
    On and on the messages came, from Jay, Frankie and Roger. Nothing from John Joseph, but why would he need to ring when he had everyone else doing it for him?
    While I listened, I scrolled through the outgoing calls; Wayne’s machine kept a record of only the last ten numbers he had dialled.
    I rang them to see if they’d give me some clue as to what Wayne had been doing over the last few days. Eating pizza, I soon discovered; the oldest seven of the ten numbers were for the local Dominos. The remaining three – all made this morning between eight and eight thirty – were to Head Candy, a hairdresser’s in the city centre. I got their out-of-hours recorded message. Could Wayne have been looking for an appointment to get his butchered hair tidied up? Or to buy a wig? Might he currently be roaming the streets decked out in a full head of auburn curls? I’d ring them tomorrow.
    ‘Looks very likely he was still here this morning,’ I said to Jay. ‘What makes you think he’s disappeared? How do you know he hasn’t just taken the evening off?’
    ‘He’s been working up to this for a good few days. Believe me, he’s gone.’
    Suddenly a new voice spoke on the answering machine. ‘Hi, Wayne, it’s Gloria.’ She sounded sweet and delighted. ‘Listen, I’ve good news.’ Then she faltered, as if she’d realized that it mightn’t be a great idea to leave the details of the good news on a machine that anyone could listen to. ‘Oh … you know what, why don’t I just get you on your mobile?’
    ‘Who’s Gloria?’ I asked Jay.
    ‘No clue.’
    ‘What good news had she?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘Why would he disappear after