The Road North

Reid returned Emma's call the next morning. He agreed to meet her at the charity office but said he could not discuss private information over the telephone.

Emma arrived early. A volunteer was preparing envelopes for elderly passengers who needed lifts to hospital appointments. The place felt ordinary and welcoming. She wondered how much a person's work today could tell her about a decision they had made fifteen years ago.

Reid brought a folder of handwritten notes. "I wrote these after you contacted me," he explained. "They're my memories, not official records."

Emma showed him the incident-log extract. "Were you asked to investigate the possible sighting?"

"Yes. I was asked to make an enquiry."

"Did you follow it up?"

He looked towards the window. Two volunteers were loading chairs into a van.

"I spoke to someone," he said. "But I didn't include everything I learned in my report."

Emma waited before asking why.

"I believed someone could be put in danger if I recorded the detail," Reid said. "I also thought I had the right to make that decision alone. I was wrong about that."

"Does that mean Claire was alive?"

"It means I left out information that mattered to a missing-person investigation. I won't make public claims about another person's life."

Emma wanted to ask whether he had driven Claire north or helped her disappear. Instead, she asked what his decision had meant for the investigation.

"It may have affected it," he replied. "I can't tell you how much."

"Did your supervisor know?"

"Not at the time. I've since asked for advice about correcting the record."

He paused. "You wrote about the family back then."

"I did. And I made mistakes."

"Then you understand why I don't want a simple story built around this."

Emma did not ask for forgiveness. She asked whether he might speak to her again after taking advice. Reid said he would think about it.

Emma glanced at Reid’s hands as he turned his empty cup. She wondered whether he was nervous or simply uncomfortable, but she could not know. Rather than interpret his expression, she checked that she had recorded his answers accurately. Outside, a car passed the charity office. Reid waited until it had gone before standing to leave.