Chapter 8 Chapter VII

The bar was bustling when Tom Douglas walked into it on Friday, and his crew was celebrating a recent victory.It's hard to tell everyone's voices from the din, but there's always something special about the cries of joy and celebration.The conversation is getting louder and the speed of people's speech is getting faster and faster. Strange laughter penetrates the original noise. This is an unrestrained carnival celebration night. Tom has now been back in Manchester for several months after a brief break in Cheshire following his resignation from Scotland Yard.He likes his new job very much.He took over a good team, but he knew there were one or two nerve-wracking crew members to deal with, and it was a matter of urgency, but it would be a mistake to break up when they were about to crack a big case .Two years of hard work, much of it before he joined the team, came to fruition today, as they finally found the hard evidence that would lead to the arrest of a serial rapist.

As Tom pushed through the crowd and walked to the bar, he waved to every member of the team and made gestures in the air that they all knew: Would you like a drink?Several glasses were raised up, and the team members all used their food to indicate that it would be great if they could be filled more.Tom turned to the bartender and asked, "I put your credit card here, can I have people come over and refill their drinks?" It's no secret that Tom is rich, but most people don't know that he inherited it from his brother.Tom felt his crew deserved a drink, and he was happy to be able to buy them a few rounds.The crew is hard at work, and the jerk who threatened the girls with the tip of a knife and gave them victory signs because the police couldn't find evidence seemed to be gone for a long time.Tom was glad to think that Manchester was a safer place now, but he wasn't foolish enough to think that there would be much improvement in general.There are always so many cases and there is always more to do.

Tom decided to just stay here for an hour and then leave them to celebrate.While most of the crew are moderately relaxed around him, the younger, lower-ranked ones—perhaps with the exception of the cocky Ryan—are a little scared of him, and they should play better with him gone. happy. In any case, he was struggling with whether to see Leo or not.Their relationship has been troubled for some time, but neither seems ready to break the deadlock in their relationship - if it is a relationship at all - it seems that this matter is up to him, which is not It's the first time. Leonora Harris meant both joy and pain to Tom.They had known each other for nearly a year, and he had always hoped that their relationship could become closer.When he bought the cottage next to Leo's sister's house, he hadn't even thought about starting a new relationship.In fact, a new relationship was probably the last thing on his mind at the time.But Leo was so different from the other women, straight as an arrow, and painfully frank.She had an unhappy childhood, scarred by her father's indifference.Leo made it very clear that she would keep all men at arm's length, but Tom wished he were an exception.

There's something special about Leo, she's airy, tall and slender, exuding a casual elegance.She tries so hard to be a little bit acerbic to hide her vulnerability, but Tom is never fooled by her. He has known for a long time that it is not so easy to get close to her, but he still hopes to break down the barriers she has built for men for a long time with persistent sincerity and respect.But she is really hard to beat.For every two steps forward in their relationship, there was a step back—sometimes it felt like one step forward, then two steps back, and he was always in a position to back off.She seemed to want to see him and be with him, but would suddenly build up her defenses and push him away, disappearing, sometimes for weeks at a time.He suspected but wasn't sure she was testing him.How long will this situation last?

Leo had made it very clear from the start that he didn't want to have a relationship, making love was another matter, but he couldn't think that making love would make them a couple, or that having the first time would lead to a second time. Tom breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't live like this, not knowing whether he was in a relationship or not, and doing everything according to her requirements.Although she didn't ask to listen to her, he knew that once they made love, he lost.With Leo, he always tried to stay sober, too close to make him lose his mind. "Sir!" a cry jolted him out of his contemplation.He turned around and saw that the team members were toasting him with glasses, and he picked up the glasses from the bar counter in return. "Cheers!" they shouted in unison.It was a good feeling, so that he could stop thinking about Leo, and maybe not have to make a detour to see her tonight.He doesn't want to play games, that's not his style.If she called and told Leo that she was celebrating outside, she would probably feel indifferent.In order to let him know that they don't have to be responsible for each other, she should say: "You don't need to call, if you don't show up, I will think you are busy." Cold-blooded woman!

Tom felt the phone vibrate in his pocket.Speaking of cold-blooded women, there is another one here-his boss, Detective Superintendent Philippa Stanley.From the time she started working under him to the following years, she became more and more serious, almost to the point of putting on airs, but the position was promoted again and again.Tom really hoped she was calling to congratulate them on a job well done, but knew that was impossible.She would congratulate them formally, but she wouldn't call him when he was in a bar. He raised the phone to his ear, knowing that he couldn't hear what she was saying. "Wait a minute, Philippa, I'll go outside and say it's too loud." He put the beer glass back on the bar.He doesn't like beer, so he doesn't think it's a pity, but it's not good to order a glass of red wine for himself.Pushing away the crowds who were pushing for free drinks at the bar, Tom managed to stand on the sidewalk outside the bar. "Sorry, Philippa. We were having a party, so I didn't catch what you said just now."

"Can you hear it now?" Philippa asked, completely ignoring the celebration he had just mentioned. "Okay, that's clear. What's the matter?" "I thought you knew we had a disappearance case. We sent a guy to do a risk assessment, and the cop looked like a deadbeat, but he had a good memory, so he was able to write it down before it entered the system. Me." Philippa paused a little while Tom waited, knowing she had something to say. "Do you remember a phone call I gave you when you were in London a few years ago? It reminded you of a girl whose parents died right after her Iranian boyfriend disappeared."

"I remember. Her husband took their kids somewhere and didn't come home, did he? I remember you also emailed me saying they all came back safe and sound. Is something happening now what?" asked Tom, knowing she wouldn't be calling for no reason on this old case. "This time it was the husband who reported that his wife Olivia and the children were missing after returning from a business trip." What the hell is going on with this family?Tom brushed his short hair with his hands. "Is it real this time or is it a waste of resources again? Nobody's really gone missing in the past, have they? We've run around like fools only to find out that there's an unassailable explanation all along," Tom said. Via's life is made up of a string of disappearances, but to me it's more like a string of communication problems. What do you think this time? I don't think you believe it's just another stupid game, or you wouldn't fight Call. You sound worried."

He could hear a sigh on the other end of the phone.At this stage of the investigation, this sort of thing wouldn't normally bother a Detective Superintendent, but he sensed that she was concerned. "Philippa?" he asked, pressing her to respond. "The officers who went to investigate said it was a weird situation. Her car was in the garage, her handbag was in the kitchen. If she just walked away without saying goodbye, she didn't have a purse, clothes or anything from the kids. No one would leave empty handed. Leaving, so I'm not sure what to think. Our guy, I think Constable Michelle, of course, is still investigating the scene. He's done the basic investigation, but we need someone higher up Go check."

"How long has she been missing?" "Her husband didn't know. He claimed to be sure his wife was home earlier in the day, but by the time he got home in the afternoon, they were gone. It was ten o'clock and he called the police around eight. Their youngest son had died. Four years old, so he didn't believe the wife would let the younger son stay out so late. But she thought her husband wouldn't be home until tomorrow, so it's possible that nothing happened." "But you don't think so." It wasn't a question, Tom concluded from her tone.

"Last time, on the night her husband and the kids didn't come home, she said something. I got involved because of that and I talked to her alone. She kept repeating Same thing: 'He won't do that, tell me he won't do that.'” "Won't do anything?" Tom asked. "I don't know, she wouldn't tell me. But whatever it was, it terrified her out of her wits. I'll tell you the truth, Tom, and that look of terror in her speech has haunted me ever since. "