Read Next Of Kin (Unnatural Selection #3) for Free Online Page B

him cracking up. He’s always
impressed me by how well he copes with pressure.”
    “Maybe this is
the first sign. It’s no less worrying, I admit.”
    “So I need to
find him. If he needs help, I have to offer it. If he’s fine
and...well, sick of me...then okay.”
    “Okay. But get
an expert onto it, Anton. You don’t need the added stress and this
kind of thing needs access to records and skills you don’t
have.”
    I opened my
mouth to argue, then closed it. He spoke nothing more than the
truth. “I’ll email Harry now.”
    He wiped
his hands on the napkin. “Good. I’ll shower and call
Liz.”
    “You could go
home tomorrow, Karl. I’m fine.”
    “She can cope
without me for a few days, and there are a couple of things I can
deal with while I’m down here. Do you really want me to go
home?”
    “No. But I can
cope.”
    “Anton, no one
should deal with this sort of thing on their own. Now stop
wittering and go email Harry.”
    I gave him the
finger and he grinned. I missed Nick like I’d miss a lung, but
Karl’s presence helped me breathe a tiny bit easier.
    Harry
came through in minutes with the name of a respectable firm used by
Angus’s brother for employee vetting and other, more sensitive
tasks. Harry also offered his own services should I need them. I
was grateful for that. He’d known Nick for years longer than me and
just as intimately, and that could be important if the detectives
made no progress.
    Next
day Karl sat in with me
as I spoke to George Adeyemi from British Investigations at the
house. I liked George immediately. He shook my hand with a warm,
strong grip, and his sympathy over what I’d described seemed
unforced, even if a PI could probably feign whatever emotion he
needed for the job.
    “So, before we
get down to specifics, let’s talk about costs,” he said.
    “I don’t
care—”
    “About costs,”
he said, smiling. “Yes, everyone says that. But we’re already
talking about a search in Europe, which is potentially quite
expensive, so I want you to have all the facts. Now, our firm’s
policy on missing person investigations is that if we don’t find
the person, we don’t charge.”
    “How often
does that happen?”
    He
smiled again. “Not often. We’re very good. But the bill will
certainly run to at least a thousand pounds, and could be as much
as ten thousand, although that would be very unusual. We’ll keep
you informed if we’re about to undertake a substantial expense, and
you can set a limit. At any point you can call a halt, and pay our
expenses to that point.”
    “If Anton
can’t pay, I’ll make up the shortfall,” Karl said.
    I turned to
him. “You don’t need to.”
    Karl held up
his hand. “Money is not going to be an object in finding your
husband, Anton.”
    God, I loved
my brother.
    “Well, if
that’s settled,” George said, “let me outline a broad approach,
what you can expect, and then I’ll need you to sign disclaimers and
a contract if you want to proceed. You can take as long as you want
to decide.”
    I wanted
to sign the contract immediately. Karl advised waiting until the
next day so we could discuss the implications. George had warned me
that even if Nick were found, he might not want to make contact
with me. Karl raised this again that night as we ate
supper.
    “At least I’ll
know where I stand,” I said.
    “But
it’ll mean finality which you don’t have now. You still have hope
now.”
    “Then
I’ll have to deal with it. I’d rather he was alive and out of love
with me than dead.”
    Karl nodded
when I didn’t continue. “Just be sure you want the answers they
might give you.”
    “I
don’t want anything
but Nick home. But I’ll manage whatever happens.”
    “I hope
so.”
    I signed
and scanned the contracts the next morning, and after I sent them
off to George, I told Karl he should go home. He agreed. “I’ll be
next week anyway.”
    I stared at
him. “Why?”
    “Rosh
Hashanah, of course.”
    “Oh