Dead Beat. Val McDermid

and extended his hand. ‘You must be the lovely Kate. I’ve heard so much about you from Richard. I’m Kevin, I take care of business for Jett.’

      ‘Pleased to meet you,’ I lied.

      ‘I want to make it perfectly clear that whether or not you take on this job for Jett, it’s vital that you do not mention outside this room what we discuss today. In the wrong hands, that information could do Jett a great deal of damage,’ Kevin smarmed, holding on to my hand for fractionally too long. I had to fight the impulse to wipe it on my trouser leg.

      ‘I’ve already told Jett that our confidentiality is guaranteed. We wouldn’t have so many corporate clients if we had loose mouths.’ My reply came out sharper than I intended and I noticed Neil smiling wryly.

      ‘Fine, fine, I just wanted to be sure we understood each other,’ Kevin oozed.

      I deliberately walked away from him and crossed the room to Jett. ‘Do you want to tell me why you’ve asked me here?’

      He nodded and, taking my arm, he steered me across the room to a group of chairs round a low table. I took the chance to look around the large room. It was the size of a tennis court and was obviously a recent addition to the beautiful eighteenth-century mansion Jett had bought five years before. In one corner was a built-in bar, the only thing in the place that looked tacky. The long windows that looked out over the house’s adjoining parkland had heavy shutters that could be drawn across to improve the room’s acoustics. As well as the piano, there were banks of synthesizers, a few guitars, both acoustic and electric, a drum kit and an array of other percussion instruments. It was an impressive sight and I said so.

      Jett smiled. ‘It’s not bad, is it? I’ve turned part of the cellars into a recording studio. I mean, for a man who can’t tell Château Margaux from Country Manor, it was a hell of a lot of wasted space.’

      Kevin walked across to join us. Jett ignored him and leaned on the bar, staring intently into my eyes. ‘I want you to find someone for me. I knew as soon as we met that I could trust you, Kate. I had the feeling that we’d met before. In a previous life.’

      My heart sank. I really wasn’t in the mood for some rehashed New Age philosophy. The last thing I needed right now was a loop for a client.

      ‘It’s the flux. When I really needed someone to do this job for me, our paths crossed. I realize this isn’t the kind of thing you usually take on, but you have to do this one.’ Jett patted my hand.

      ‘So tell me about it,’ I stalled, sipping my drink.

      ‘When I started out, I had a partner. I suppose you know about that, huh? Moira was my soul mate, the one person I was meant to be with. We wrote all the songs on the first two albums together, we were magic. But we blew it. I didn’t look after her needs, and she couldn’t take the pressures without my support. So she went. I was too full of my success to realize what a fool I was to let her go. And she left enough of her energy with me for me to keep going a long time without noticing how much I’d needed her.’ His eyes were shining with tears, but Jett showed no embarrassment at baring his soul in front of so motley a crew.

      ‘I don’t need to tell you that I’ve run out of that energy. My last two albums have been shit.’ He looked up defiantly at Kevin, who shrugged. ‘You know it’s true. I just can’t cut it any more. It’s not just my music. It’s my whole life. That’s why I need you to find Moira for me.’

      I congratulated myself silently on having guessed correctly. ‘I don’t know, Jett,’ I hedged. ‘Missing persons takes a lot of time. And if Moira doesn’t want to be found, no amount of work will bring her back to you.’

      Kevin, who had been bursting to interrupt, could contain himself no longer. ‘That’s exactly what I said, Jett,’ he said triumphantly. ‘I told you it would be nothing but grief. You don’t know that she’d want to see you. You sure as hell don’t know if she can still write lyrics the way she used to. Kate’s right. It’s a waste of time.’

      ‘Don’t tell me that shit,’ Jett roared. I nearly fell off my stool with the shock of the sound wave. ‘You’re all the goddamn same,’ he carried on shouting. ‘You’re all shit-scared of what will happen if she comes back. Neil’s the only one of you who agrees with me. But just for once, Kevin, I’m going to have what I want. And Kate’s going to get it for me.’

      The silence after his outburst was more deafening than the noise. I shook my head to clear it. I had to admit that Kevin’s opposition had aroused the contrary side of me. I almost wanted to take it on just to spite him. I took a deep breath and said, ‘I’d need a lot more information before I could decide if this is a case we can take on.’

      ‘You got it,’ Jett said.

      ‘Just a minute,’ Kevin said. ‘Before we get into this, we should know what we’re getting into. What’s it going to cost?’

      I named a price that was double our normal daily rate. If we were going to get embroiled in the search for Moira, they were going to have to pay for the privilege. Jett didn’t bat an eyelid, but Kevin drew his breath in sharply. ‘That’s a bit heavy,’ he complained.

      ‘You pay peanuts, you get monkeys,’ I replied.

      ‘Getting Moira back would be cheap if it cost me everything I own,’ Jett said softly. Kevin looked as if he was going to have a stroke.

      Neil’s smile had grown even broader during the last exchange. The prospect of me finding a major primary source for his book was obviously one that cheered him up. He got to his feet, slightly unsteady, and raised the glass of whisky he’d been nursing. ‘I’d like to propose a toast,’ he said. ‘To Kate’s success.’

      I don’t know if my smile looked as sick as Kevin’s, but I hope I’m a better actress than that. I tucked my hand under Jett’s elbow and steered him away from the others. ‘Is there somewhere we can sit down quietly and you can fill me in on the details I’ll need about Moira?’ I asked softly.

      He turned to face me and patted my shoulder paternally. ‘OK, guys,’ he said. ‘Me and Kate have got some business to do. Neil, I’ll catch up with you later, OK? You too, Kevin.’

      ‘But Jett,’ Kevin protested. ‘I should be here if it’s business.’

      Jett was surprisingly adamant. Clearly, he had the boundaries between business and personal clearly defined in his own mind. In business matters, like who was going to ghost Jett’s autobiography, Kevin’s word was obviously law. But when it came to his own business, Jett could stand up for himself. It was an interesting split that I filed away for future reference.

      Neil headed for the door, turning back on the threshold to wave his glass cheerily at us. ‘Good hunting!’ he called as he left.

      Grumbling under his breath, Kevin picked up a filofax and a mobile phone from the bar and stomped down the room without a farewell. As I watched his departing back, fury written large across his slouched shoulders, I remarked, ‘I’m surprised you chose a woman for a job like this, Jett. I thought you were a great believer in a woman’s place being in the home.’

      He looked a little suspiciously at me, as if he wasn’t certain whether or not I was at the wind-up. ‘I don’t believe in working wives and mothers, if that’s what you’re getting at. But single women like you – well, you got to make a living, haven’t you? And it’s not like I’m asking you to do anything dangerous like catch a criminal, now, is it? And you women, you like talking, gossiping, swapping stories. If anyone can track down my Moira, it’s another woman.’

      ‘You want her back so you can work with her or so you can marry her?’ I asked, out of genuine curiosity.

      He shrugged. ‘I always wanted to marry her. It was her didn’t want to. My mother brought me up strict, to respect women. She taught me the way the Bible teaches. Now, I’ve studied a lot of different philosophies and ideas since then, but I have never come across anything that makes sense to me like the idea of a family where the woman loves and nurtures