The Truth About Celia Frost Read Online Free Page B

immediately to the above PO Box address and await my instructions.
    I cannot emphasize strongly enough that this case requires absolute confidentiality. There is to be no involvement from the police or from any other official agencies. As you can see from the
enclosed advance, I am willing to pay well for your services and discretion.
    NEMO
    Frankie quickly Googled the word Nemo and nodded approvingly on seeing the result. He’d dealt with people before who wanted to remain anonymous, but signing off as
    “Nobody” showed more style than his usual clients.
    He picked up the grainy photo enclosed. It was of a young woman with dark, windswept hair.
    Early twenties , Frankie mused, studying the angular face, definitely not unattractive. Heavily pregnant by the size of that bump , he thought, noting the bulge beneath her long
winter coat. It was a strange shot. Frankie could tell it was a still from a CCTV camera. From the brightness of the foreground he assumed that she was in the glare of a security light, but the
background was as black as a bottomless pit. Her startled almond eyes were looking straight into the lens, but this troubled-looking woman wasn’t posing for the camera, she’d been
captured by it.
    Next he opened the other sheet of paper. It was a photocopy of a report dated two weeks ago from a hospital A & E department in Wales.
    The patient’s name was Celia Frost – a fourteen-year-old, white British female. Next of kin was recorded as Janice Frost (Mother) . There was a home address and a mobile
number. The short report read that Celia Frost, who had a reported blood clotting disorder, was brought in by ambulance with a lateral knife wound to her upper left arm, which required suturing and
a tetanus injection. The patient couldn’t recall ever receiving treatment for her clotting disorder and yet the blood flow stemmed normally with no sign of problems. The mother arrived in the
department and presented as nervous and uncooperative. She had supplied the name of a GP but, when checked, both mother and daughter were unknown to that surgery. The mother removed the patient
from the department, refusing any further investigation into her daughter’s condition and without waiting to sign a self-discharge disclaimer.
    The report was signed by a Dr. Ross.
    Questions buzzed around Frankie’s head. What kind of client was willing to fork out such a big advance, and able to procure confidential hospital reports? And what was all this stuff about
the mother dragging her kid out of the A & E department? If this was a missing persons case, then he knew from experience that often the “missing” didn’t want to be found and
it became more like a game of hide-and-seek.
    He fingered the wad of cash to help him refocus his thoughts. The bottom line for Frankie was that he wasn’t there to question the client about their motives. If his investigation ended up
finding people who didn’t want to be found, and reuniting people who didn’t want to be reunited, so what? The consequences were none of his business. He collected his fee, hoped for a
bonus and closed the case. A smug smile crept over his face as he reread the A & E report . Look at all these lovely personal details , he thought. Finding this pair will be the easiest
money I’ve ever earned.

“We’re not going to spend another day walking around this city are we? I’m sick of looking at one grotty house after another,” Celia protested.
    “No, we’re not actually,” Janice replied cheerfully. “We’re going to go to the park. We need some fresh air.” She noticed Celia’s pale, soft hands.
“Why haven’t you got your gloves on? Come on now, we’re not leaving this room until they’re on.”
    “I don’t want to wear them. It’s sunny; they just make me look odd.”
    “Better to look a little odd than risk getting a cut.” Janice smiled sagely.
    Celia scrutinized her smiling face before reluctantly pulling on the black