"Did you even run a check on the bloke?"
"Matter of fact I did. I've known him since I was seven."
Strickland relaxed a little bit then. "Wow. I guess, congratulations are in order. I owe you a moderately expensive bottle of alcohol when you return."
"Thank you. Um, can you put a note in to the authorities? Can I speak with her? I know I'm not family, and it would be awkward for me to just stroll in there and ask to see her."
"I’ll put in a call and asked Interpol to let you talk to her."
"Thank you. I have an Interpol contact too, so from both ends, we might be able to make it work."
"Yeah, that's right, your friend. Anyway, they're going to bring her home in a day or two, so if you want to talk to her, I suppose now is the time. I was going to arrange to meet you and go see her, but if you're already in the city, then you might as well go ahead."
"Thank you so much."
I hung up with him and turned to Bridge. "How much did you hear?"
"Not enough. What's going on?"
"That was DI Strickland. I don't know if you remember, he was one of the police officers who investigated Toby's death."
Bridge frowned. "I don't necessarily remember him, but okay."
"Anyway, he's kept up with the family. Checks on me and mum every now and again. So when I got the Price case and it felt wrong, I called him. You know, a favor to just come and look at it. And he did. As it turns out, the girl, Price's daughter, they think they’ve found her here in Barcelona."
Bridge's eyes rose. "What the fuck is she doing in Barcelona?"
"That's what we’re going to find out."
Bridge’s brows lifted. "Do you think they'll let us talk to her? We're not family."
"I don't know. Strickland said he'd work on Interpol, so maybe I can see her and at least see if it's the right girl. I want some answers about who took her."
"All right. Let's go."
I took his hand. "I'm sorry. Are you disappointed that our day was cut short?"
He shook his head. "No. I'll make it up to you. It's not like I can't bring you back to Barcelona."
"Right. Because now we have time."
He nodded with a smile. "Now we have time."
Thirty-Seven
Emma
We were right. The Interpol agents wouldn't let us speak to the girl. But then Special Agent Allen Morison did take Bridge and me inside. "Are you the friends of Special Agent Nyla Kincade?"
We both nodded. He led us into a separate room. "Look, I can't let you talk to the girl as you're not law enforcement or family, but I can answer some questions for you if that helps."
I nodded and jumped at the chance. "Okay, well, first things first; is she really Asha Price?"
He sighed. "It appears so. She's wearing different clothing, but when asked her name, she said it was Asha."
My stomach rolled. "She doesn't know how she got here?"
He shook his head. "Doesn't seem to. She's obviously extremely traumatized, and she doesn't know how she was taken anywhere. They blindfolded her."
"Jesus," I breathed.
"You recognize that I normally wouldn't be talking to you, right? But I've known Nyla for years, so…"
Bridge nodded. "We appreciate it. I'm just here for moral support."
He nodded. "There's not much I can tell you except that she was found at the corner shop of a petrol station. She didn't speak any Spanish, but the clerk spoke English, and he was the one who called the authorities. We don't know where her mother is, and she can't really tell us anything."
My heart sank. "Her father is coming?"
He nodded. "Yeah, he was called in. So hopefully he'll be able to get her and then start getting her some help. How are you connected to the case?"
I smiled. "I was at the house after she went missing with her mother. I can't really tell you much more than that."
He lifted a brow. "That sounds like fixer talk."
I shrugged. "It's just talk."
"Fair enough. What are you doing in Barcelona?"
"Like I said, I'm here for work."
"Is that more fixer tasks?"
"I do work in communications and public relations, so take that as you may."
"Why are you so interested in the girl?"
I shook my head. "I can't tell you that either."
"Is there anything you can tell me?"
I shrugged. "No, not really. Is there anything else you can tell us? Did she mention her mother? How she got to Barcelona or anything that might lead you to who took her?"
He shook his head. "No. Nothing of importance. Like I said, I can't let you talk to her. But we have tried it all. I will say that she was well taken care of. She's a little pale and vitamin D deficient, so she was probably kept indoors for the weeks she's been missing. She has a healthy body weight though, and her skin isn't sallow. She's been fed. Her clothes were clean. She's been bathed."
I jumped to ask more questions, but he stopped me before I could. "You can't answer things, and I can't answer things either. Just know that for the most part, she’s happy and unharmed.”
"Okay, thank you."
He eyed me curiously. "How do you know DI Strickland?"
I was always amazed and surprised by that pang of pain when I thought about my brother. "He was the Detective Inspector working on my brother's case when he died."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," I muttered as I shook his hand before leaving the room.
Bridge took my hand. "If you want in on the transcripts, we'll call East and Telly,” he whispered.
“Thank you, but this little girl has had her life turned upside down. I don't want to add to that."
He nodded. "Understood. You want to leave her alone?"
"Maybe just have one of them do a quick perusal to see if she indicated anywhere she'd been kept. My only question is, why Barcelona?"
As we stepped outside into the cool evening air, Bridge took my hand. “There are too many coincidences that I can't not say it."
I turned to him and at the same time, we both said exactly what was on our minds. "Middleton's involved?"
He sighed. "Yeah. It's what I'm thinking. He was there at the home. He obviously has a connection to Barcelona. His family has been coming here for years. Not to mention, he's dangerous. He's stalking you. And well, his father has been paying money into accounts here for years. This is the direction we need to look in. Middleton has something to do with that girl."
"I feel the same way. Something weird is going on.”
"Yeah, but weird doesn't equal clear guilt. So we are going to have to figure something out."
"Well, we're here in Barcelona. Maybe we should get access to his family's house?"
He stopped and stared down at me. "Why is it by the time I think I've got you safe finally, you go and say something crazy that makes me worry?"