Page 60 of Be Less Panda
She was just about to head back upstairs when she heard footsteps below.Don’t get too excited - they sound like a woman’s.Ingrid appeared on the landing. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, she hadn’t slept either. ‘Any news?’ Nancy asked.
‘No, I was hoping you would have heard something.’
‘Nothing at all.’
‘I’m going to call in sick,’ Ingrid said. ‘I haven’t slept, so it’s not an untruth. I’ll phone around the hospitals later.’
‘Let me know if you hear anything,’ Nancy said, giving her a hug.
Olivia was making coffee when Nancy walked back into the flat. ‘Still no Hans?’
‘No. And Ingrid hasn’t heard from Dieter either. Do you think we should report them missing?’
‘I doubt the police will do anything until they’ve been gone for more than 24 hours.’
‘Which will be lunchtime for Dieter,’ Nancy said.
‘Are you going to work?’
‘I may as well. Hans will come looking for me there if he wants to find me.’
Later that morning, Madame Dubois cornered Nancy in the back room of the shop. ‘Will you be alright with Monsieur Laurent this afternoon? You’ve been drifting around the shop like a wet weekend all morning.’
‘I’m sorry I’ve been distracted. Hans has gone missing.’
‘Have you fallen out with him?’
‘No. We’ve been getting on really well. His friend Dieter has gone AWOL too.’
Madame Dubois looked concerned. ‘Have you checked the hospitals in case they’ve been injured? The way everyone drives round here, I’m amazed more people don’t get run over. ’
‘Dieter’s wife has already phoned around. She popped in just now to tell me. There’s no sign of either of them.’
‘It must be worrying, but I’m sure there will be a simple explanation. What about his employer - have they heard anything from him?’
‘I don’t actually know who his employer is.’ Which sounded ridiculous given how close they’d become. Hans still avoided talking about his work.
‘You could report him missing?’
‘Olivia thought it was too soon.’
‘Possibly. If you want to take this afternoon off I can always phone Monsieur Laurent to ask him to rebook?’
‘That’s very kind of you but I’ll be fine. It will take my mind off it.’
After she left the bookshop at the end of the day, Nancy looked into the café opposite, hoping that Hans might be sitting there ready to surprise her. But there was no sign of him.
He might have gone directly to the Bois de Boulogne?Her inner voice was more optimistic than she was today. She headed to the park, but there was he wasn’t at their usual cafe either. One of the waiters came over to her.
‘Have you seen Hans?’ she asked.
He shook his head. ‘Not since you were here two days ago. Your usual?’
‘No thanks. I better not stay.’
He looked at her sympathetically. He was probably thinking they’d had some sort of argument.
‘Hopefully, we’ll see you both tomorrow,’ he said kindly.