The Search

Harrison looked in through the window of the store. There was no sign of a white haired woman. There was no sign of anyone except a young man sitting behind the counter reading the paper.

"Do you see her?" Cassie asked distractedly as she looked over the displays of china in the window.

"No," Harrison replied. "I guess we'll have to go in and ask."

He pushed open the door which hit the small old fashioned bell above the entrance. The clerk at the counter looked up for a moment before returning to his paper.

"Hi," Cassie said in a cheery voice as she approached the young man. "I was wondering if you could tell me whether Veronica is going to be in today?"

"Don't know," replied the young man with a shrug before turning back to his paper again. "She's out."

"Do you know where she is?" Harrison asked. The clerk shrugged again.

"Any idea at all?" Cassie asked. "We really have to see her today."

"She's at some auction," the clerk said impatiently. "Are you going to be buying anything?"

"No," Harrison replied looking around the contents of the store. The old and musty furniture was not something he would ever buy. Even if he could afford the ridiculously high prices.

"Actually," Cassie answered, giving Harrison a nudge to keep quiet, "I'm looking for contacts for my interior design business. You have some beautiful items here and I'm sure my client's will appreciate them as much as I do."

Harrison looked at Cassie in admiration. He'd known she was a good liar, it was one of the reasons they had managed to fool Tru for so long. But she had the clerk wrapped around her little finger with just a few words. He put down his paper and practically jumped up from his seat to offer his assistance. Moving around the counter he steered Cassie to the other side of the store. Harrison followed behind them, glancing at the ever-increasing price tags. By the time they had reached the clerk's destination the items were not even marked.

Picking up a book of their extensive inventory the clerk, who introduced himself as Tom, thrust it into Cassie's hands and proceeded to elaborate on how much he hoped to be able to help them.

Harrison looked at the youth more closely. He wondered if he was new to the job. He hadn't even asked the name of Cassie's company. Did her company have a name yet? He frowned as he tried to recall if she had mentioned one or not.

Seeing that Tom was getting very enthusiastic and they were no nearer to finding out where Veronica was Harrison decided it was time to step in.

"We really do need to speak with Veronica today," he interrupted as Tom flicked between dining room tables and clocks. With all the wonderful items in the brochure he wondered why the store had such a poor selection of items on display.

"Do you know which auction she's at?" Cassie asked with a dazzling smile at Tom.

"I might be able to find out," he offered with an equally sickening smile. "I'll be back in a minute. Just wait here."

"Thanks," Cassie simpered with another sweet smile as Tom hurried through the door into the back of the shop.

"You do know he's flirting with you?" Harrison hissed in Cassie's ear as soon as Tom was out of sight.

"Yes, I had noticed," Cassie answered. "It's not like you were getting anywhere with your questions. At least now he's helping."

"Only because he thinks he's getting somewhere with you," Harrison pointed out.

"Let him think what he wants, so long as he tells us where to find this mysterious Veronica of yours," Cassie answered with a shrug. Harrison frowned, far from happy at how Cassie was getting the information they needed. He didn't know where the jealous streak had come from but the green-eyed monster seemed to be alive and kicking.

"Here we are," Tom exclaimed with enthusiasm as he burst back through the door, waving a leaflet in front of him. "It's not far from here. Just fifteen minutes away. I'm sure you'll find her there."

"Thanks," Cassie replied as she took the flyer from him.

"Do come back soon," Tom said with a smile as they left the store.

Cassie nodded and smiled as she stepped out of the door onto the street outside. Harrison followed close behind her and put a possessive arm around her shoulders. Shooting a final glare at the disappointed looking Tom he hurried Cassie down the street to the address of the auction.

"Since when did you get jealous?" Cassie asked with a grin as she shook off Harrison's arm and hooked her own through it.

"Since you started flirting with other men right in front of me," Harrison grumbled.

"He was just a kid," Cassie pointed out with a laugh. "Let's find Veronica and you can flirt with her."

"Very funny," Harrison replied as they walked into the auction house.

The place was packed with buyers and sellers and Harrison wondered how they would ever find Tru's victim.

"What did you say she looked like?" Cassie asked as she scanned the crowd.

"Middle-aged with pure white hair," Harrison answered. "Not much to go on. Let's ask the staff if they know her."

Cassie nodded as they walked over to the reception desk. The smartly dressed man at the desk looked Harrison over quickly before turning an appreciative gaze in Cassie's direction. Harrison frowned again. This man was no eager to please kid. His neat and professionally cut hair made Harrison's unruly hair look nothing more than a mess. Why hadn't he noticed before that men had a habit of fawning over Cassie?

He caught Cassie's eye and tried to silently convey the message to her that he didn't want her flirting with this man no matter how much they needed his help. Cassie gave him a quick smile that was not entirely pleasant before turning back to the man at the desk.

"We're looking for Veronica Carter," she asked politely with a cool smile. "Would you know if she's here yet?"

"I believe so," the man replied. "You're both looking for her?" Harrison watched him tear his gaze away from Cassie to flicker over him before quickly turning back to his dark-haired tormentor.

"Yes," Cassie replied with a sugary smile. "She helping us decorate our new home. We've just got back from our honeymoon, right Harry?"

Harrison stood in silent horror as a queasy feeling came over him. The thought of marriage to anyone had never crossed his mind and for Cassie to suddenly introduce him as her husband was a shock he just wasn't ready for. He really should have set out some ground rules for what their story was going to be whilst tracking down Veronica. He plastered a smile on his face which he hoped she realised was as fake as her own. He barely registered what the man at the desk was saying to them.

"…through the double doors, then the fourth room on the right," the man on the reception directed them.

Cassie smiled her thanks and grabbed hold of the stunned Harrison's arm and steered him through the doors.

"What did you tell him that for?" Harrison hissed as they walked down the corridor.

"You didn't want me flirting with him and that was the quickest way to stop him from getting the wrong idea," Cassie replied.

"The wrong idea?" Harrison croaked. "You just…"

"Good grief Harrison," Cassie muttered. "It's not like we're actually married. It was just a little white lie. Has anyone ever told you there's no pleasing you?"

"Tru might have mentioned it on occasion," Harrison admitted. Now that the shock had worn off a little, and now that he realised Cassie had no more interest in walking down the aisle than he did, he was starting to breathe a little easier. He mentally counted the doors they had passed and realised they were at the fourth door already.

He stopped walking and pulled Cassie to the side before they went into the room. "Maybe you should let me do the talking," he suggested, dreading what she would come out with this time.

"Okay," Cassie replied with a smile. "I'll just wander round and take a look at the stock. I hadn't planned on coming to this particular auction house today but since I'm here, I might as well make the most of it."

"Okay," Harrison agreed. "I'll find Veronica and we'll meet back here in an hour."

"Sure," Cassie replied, her eyes already wandering over the displays of items for sale later that day.

Harrison watched Cassie disappear into the crowd and then searched the room for Veronica Carter. There were several white haired women in the room and Harrison approached them one by one without success. Realising that he was getting nowhere he then turned to ask one of the staff members standing by a display of plates ready to answer questions.

"Mrs Carter?" the man replied, scanning the room. "She's over there in the pottery section," he nodded in the general direction.

Harrison thanked the man and quickly made his way across the room to where the displays of vases and bowls were. He looked over the people looking at the displays but there was no sign of a white-haired woman at all. He spotted Cassie looking at a particularly ugly vase and gave her a quick shake of his head at her silent question. Turning again to a member of staff he had no sooner asked his question when a voice from directly behind him announced that she was Mrs Carter.

Harrison turned round to see who the owner of the voice was. Tall and stately, Mrs Carter was indeed in her forties but instead of pure white hair, she was a stunning redhead.

"You're Mrs Veronica Carter?" Harrison asked in confusion.

"Yes, I'm Veronica. You're looking for me?" Mrs Carter replied.

"The Veronica Carter of the antiques store over on Third?"

"Yes," she confirmed again, her face starting to look as confused as his own.

"Sorry," Harrison finally managed with an apologetic smile. "You just don't match the description I was given."

"Can I help you?" Veronica asked.

Harrison stood in silence as he realised that he had not thought of a cover story to tell the victim when he found her. He knew from his past experience with Cassie that telling the truth was out of the question. He wondered what Tru would have said to her, or whether she would simply have stood by and watched from a distance to make sure the woman was safe. Too late he realised that that option was already lost to him. He looked to where he had last seen Cassie to see if she would be coming to the rescue with another story but she had gone from the pottery display and was nowhere in sight.

"Are you alright?" Veronica asked with concern as she followed his gaze to the display.

Thinking quickly, Harrison gave Veronica a bright smile before using his own gift of the gab to explain why he was looking for her. Picking up on Cassie's cover story at the front desk he embellished it and explained that he was looking for his wife who was dying to meet her. Within a few minutes Veronica was looking around the room for Cassie eager to help the young couple find the perfect items for their new home. Harrison wondered briefly why he had not given her Cassie's original story about her interior design business, but decided not to dwell on that too much.

They eventually found Cassie in one of the neighbouring rooms where the auction itself was underway. She was bidding on one of the items when Harrison finally spotted her. He was just about to wave her over when his cell phone rang out loudly in the hushed room.

"Harrison?" the voice asked. "It's Davis, where are you?"