Early Morning Coffee with Nancy Neiro

I read the newspaper report about the burglary at the therapists's practice, but I didn't connect it to the note I received until later. If nothing else, this has taught me that I need to be a lot sharper. I'm now thinking that the note probably came from a third party rather than from the therapist himself. Did this person know what to look for, or was the note to me just an opportunity taken after a chance find? I don't know for sure if there is a connection but it does at least give me something to go on, and now I have a name - Dr Jake Hobie.

Early the next morning I went to the Dogs Bollocks for a coffee. The coffee isn't great there but I like the feel of the place (when the owner isn't around) and the location, so close to the sea. It helps me to wake me up.


There was only one other patron in there at that time, Nancy, the cousin of poor Laura. I did want to speak to her but I hadn't planned on looking for her yet. She had far too many other things on her mind, after all.

I found her to be still edgy, which was no surprise, but on the whole she seems to be bearing up quite well. She's managed to find out a little more about her cousin's lifestyle, including some suggestions which are likely to raise a few eyebrows.

She also mentioned that the dead girl had been seeing Dr Hobie, which of course made me sit up and take notice. It seems he works out of a room over the Daily Sins newspaper office. I'll have to take a look. I could ask Dita what she knows about it, but I'll need to be careful what I say to her. She's sure to have a few questions of her own.

Anyway, back to Nancy. She said her mother amd Laura's are sisters, and that both she and Laura were only children. My heart went out to her when she said that. I did ask if she knew anything about Laura's father, but she said she knew very little. I can see I'm not going to have an easy time finding out more about that line.

We chatted a bit more and it seems that we have a few other mutual acquaintances in this and nearby towns, so it's likely we'll be seeing more of each other while she's around. She's a bright girl, but vulnerable, and I have an uneasy feeling she's going to have a lot more pain to go through before she finds any peace.

Later on I did get to speak to Dr Balut at the hospital. She didn't know Dr Hobie but offered to make enquiries. She'd read the newspaper report too, of course, and I expect she has her own reasons for wanting to find out more about him. On my way back I stopped off at his place but the door leading upstairs was locked and there was no reply when I rang the bell. The newspaper office was empty too so I shall have to try another day.