Tooth for a Tooth (Di Gilchrist 3)

while alive.
    ‘Just a thought.’ He pushed himself to his feet, picked up the photographs and letters. ‘Do you mind if I borrow these?’
    She stared at him for a long moment.
    ‘I’ll return them tomorrow,’ he pressed on. ‘Give you a call before I drive over.’
    ‘Please,’ she said, as if realizing the futility of it all, ‘help yourself to any you would like. They’re just going to lie in the box until I die.’
    Back in Saratoga, he drove along Broadway and found a spot in a parking lot between Lillian’s and Professor Moriarty’s. He chose the Professor and ordered a Sam Adams, which came in an ice-chilled glass with beer frothing over the rim. He took a long sip, removed the lid from the shoebox and began to sort through Kelly’s letters.
    Most were statements from Provident Bank. He counted twenty-seven in total, and wondered if he would have done the same if Maureen had gone missing. Would he not have notified her bank for over two years? If hope was all you had, why destroy that? He made a note of the account number and sort code, then continued sifting.
    Two letters from the IRS, which Kelly’s father would have checked to make sure his daughter did not fall foul of tax demands. Next, four statements from Visa, which surprised him. He would have expected more. He checked the dates and confirmed that the oldest one was dated one year after Kelly had gone missing, and had a balance of $761.00. The remaining statements had a zero balance, and he realized her father must have settled her account and closed it about the same time he closed her bank account. Gilchrist would have liked to have seen her Visa account at the time of her disappearance, to check if any of her purchases threw light on her final days. He scribbled down her account number and laid the four statements on the bar.
    He pulled other letters from the box: one from Skidmore College about an upcoming reunion; four statements from Macy’s for the same closing months as her Visa account; one from a photographic studio in Albany thanking her for her response to their ad and asking her to contact them on her return from Scotland. Nearing the bottom of the box, he recognized the striped edging of the old-fashioned airmail letter, two in total, addressed to Kelly, but no letter from Kelly to her parents. Had Annie withheld that from him?
    He removed the airmail letters. The St Andrews franks would have had Kelly’s parents’ hearts racing. One of them did not have the return address filled out, while the return address on the other was to Rita Sanderson at the flat in College Street.
    He unfolded Rita’s letter. The first thing he noticed was the date, 22 April 1969, two months after Kelly disappeared.
     
Hi Kelly
,
I must say that I am disappointed. I expected to have heard from you by now. Your departure left me in a bit of tizzy to say the least, and it would have been nice if you had left me some note of explanation. What did you do with the sheets? Why did you take them? And can I please have my scarf and gloves back, and my books, especially my Jane Austen? I wouldn’t have expected that of you. Anyway, now I’ve got that off my chest, and I have to say that my chest is getting bigger, much to Brian’s liking I hasten to add, I am pleased to tell you that my final exams are over, and I am quietly confident that I have passed them all. I will be returning to Wales at the end of next week, that is if my old banger of a car can survive the trip. Brian says he is going to visit me, but I’m not holding my breath. I like him a lot, but that’s about it. I’ve enjoyed our time together, but I really want to start something new, not lug the old about. I will be back in St Andrews for graduation in the summer, and if there is any way you might be able to make it, please drop me a line. Lorena sends her regards, as if she cared, the little tramp. Oops. I must watch that tongue of mine. And I was able to find someone to take over your share of the rent, some Scotch bimbo with bigger boobs than mine. Margaret’s her name, although she wants everyone to call her Megs. Ughh!!!! Nothing but a beer-guzzler. Anyway, I hope all is well, and I would love to hear from you again. Please please please write
.
Love,
Rita
     
    Other than confirmation that Lorena shared the flat, nothing else jumped out at him. Confirmation that Megs also shared the flat, perhaps. He presumed the missing scarf, gloves and books had all been taken by