The Vanished Ones by Carrisi Donato

Author:Carrisi, Donato [Carrisi, Donato]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Crime, Psychological, Thrillers, Suspense, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, General
ISBN: 9780349140056
Google: ZXYdAwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0349140030
Goodreads: 20768804
Publisher: Abacus
Published: 2014-01-02T06:00:00+00:00

37

It was a Tuesday at the end of September, but it felt like summer.

The warm air enveloped them like an tight embrace. Hitch kept his head outside the window of the Hyundai, enjoying the artificial breeze created by the forward movement of the car.

Mila kept her eyes on the road as she drove. In the seat beside her, Berish was reading the contents of the brown folder yet again.

He had a coffee stain on his shirt cuff, which he kept trying to hide by pulling down the sleeve of his jacket, almost without realising it. Mila noticed the gesture out of the corner of her eye, and it struck her as endearing. Berish cared about how he looked. It wasn’t just about appearances, it was a question of decorum. He reminded her of her father and the care he had taken over polishing his shoes every morning. He’d always said it was important to present yourself well, as a mark of respect towards other people. Berish might not be as old as her father had been when she was a girl, but he had the same kind of old-school manners, and Mila found that reassuring.

‘How long is it since you last slept?’ he asked her distractedly.

‘I’m fine.’

The last twenty-four hours had been one damned thing after another, but now the warmth of the afternoon was having a calming effect on Mila’s nerves. The suburb they were passing through was peaceful. The small houses were all different from one another. The people who lived in them were mainly working class. They worked, raised their children, and aspired to nothing more than a quiet life. It was a close-knit community, a place where everyone knew everyone else.

They drove past the Baptist church at the end of the block, a white building with a steeple, surrounded by a large lawn. The sound of joyful hymns could be heard, even though there was a hearse parked outside.

Mila turned just after the church and stopped in front of the third house on the street, which stood in the shade of a tall elm.

They got out of the car, and a blast of hot air hit them and then moved on. In the front garden of the modest, single-storey house were three children – two boys and a girl. They stopped playing to look at the two newcomers. They all had spotty faces.

‘Is your mother at home?’ Berish asked them, letting Hitch out of the car.

None of the three children replied: they were all far too interested in the dog.

Just then, a woman appeared at the door, with a child of about two in her arms. She looked at them suspiciously for a moment, then smiled when she saw Hitch.

‘Hello,’ she said.

‘Hello,’ Berish said, politely. ‘Mrs Robertson?’

‘Yes, that’s me.’

Berish and Mila made their way up the path, dodging a number of toys and a tricycle, and climbed the steps to the porch.

‘We’re from the Federal Police Department,’ Berish said, taking the single sheet of paper out of the brown folder and holding it up between two fingers so that the woman could see it.

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