The Case of the Missing Family

An Apology, An Explanation, A Warning and A Thank You!

2008-04-23T05:28:00.001Z

Esteemed ReadersI'd like to begin by apologising to those of you who stuck with Harry McFry through the ups and downs of his investigation during 2007. Anyone who ploughed their way through the 150,000 words that were posted last year might have had every expectation that the story would, by now, have reached its conclusion. So what went wrong? Well, from a technical point of view writing a

That's a long time for anyone to be in the kitchen...

2007-11-21T15:00:00.000Z

Well, it seems like Harry has been in Lillian's kitchen for an age. Apologies to readers who have been waiting for Chapter 155. There's an apologetic explanation here. I'm crossing my fingers that there'll be some space in a few days in which I can draw the story to it's close.Thanks for your patience.THJnr

Chapter 154

2007-10-20T08:33:00.000Z

In just a few minutes, Harry and Danny had established that Dacre Lawrence had assembled a collection of certificates that were almost a perfect mirror of the ones they’d ordered from their contact in Southport. With the kitchen door firmly closed, they were comfortable to leave the rest of them to get on with things in the lounge. They knew they had the key to this mystery in their hands.

Chapter 153

2007-10-10T07:41:00.002Z

While Dave Morris and Jane Tobias were wrestling with what to do about the certificates, local journalists and fancy-coloured cake covered in marzipan, those of the party still sitting in the lounge had been contemplating weightier matters. Harry McFry remained loathe to speculate too much about the news they’d just received. Harry’s favoured form of speculation was, anyway, linked to the idea of

Chapter 152

2007-10-10T07:41:00.001Z

The bodies hadn’t been discovered until breakfast time on Tuesday morning. A subsequent hospital inquiry, quite separate from the police investigations, blamed a shortage of staff on the delay, and (some thought, unfairly) castigated two nurses on duty the previous evening for leaving the scissors in the room in the first place. After all, Galloway’s death was

Chapter 151

2007-10-10T07:41:00.000Z

It was difficult to tell who was more surprised by the news of the value of Lillian’s bond. Lillian herself had no idea that the McFry inheritance had matured in quite such a spectacular fashion. Colin McAllistair saw, now, quite why Galloway had been so insistent on finding the medals which, though valuable in themselves, were worth just a fraction of the bond’s value. He was starting to think

Chapter 150

2007-10-09T14:43:00.000Z

While Harry and Laurel had been cooking up a way to neutralise Bill Blunt, Lillian was continuing the account of her life. Before her guests had arrived, she’d been clear in her mind what she’d say – and what she wouldn’t say – about Jonathan, the McFry brothers and her subsequent life in Telford. She hadn’t expected Harry’s question about who she thought Colleen’s

Chapter 149

2007-09-29T09:00:00.000Z

It wouldn’t be easy getting Laurel on her own, and Harry wondered, even, if it was fair to pull her away from the proceedings when she had only just ‘met’ her grandmother. It was while he helped Bill prepare the tea that he realised he had no choice.They worked quietly, both of them straining to catch up on where Lillian was up to in her tale, but Harry saw how quickly his friend seemed to

Chapter 148

2007-09-28T08:00:00.000Z

Back in the kitchen, Harry found that Bill Blunt had begun the washing up. He’d taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, and was cleaning the cups as quietly as he could, with half an ear to Lillian McFry as she continued her account in the lounge. He looked up as Harry entered the room, staring at the potted plant he was carrying. “Galloway?” he asked, simply. His voice was a half whisper

Chapter 147

2007-09-25T11:20:00.000Z

Whatever else people said about Harry McFry, no-one ever called him malicious. As Lillian told the story of her time in the north of Spain, Harry had glanced around her assembled guests. He’d seen Colin McAllistair squirming whenever Jonathan Harcourt’s name was mentioned, and remembered the phone call he’d received from the academic. He hadn’t been totally sure, when McAllistair admitted his

Chapter 146

2007-09-21T10:04:00.000Z

With the biscuits out of the way, it was time to move on. But Lillian, it was clear, wasn’t volunteering to begin. She seemed to be thinking something over, and the quiet in the room was nothing foreign to her. All eyes were on Harry McFry – even Dave and Jane had realised he knew more about this case than anyone else in the room. It was only a matter of seconds – though it seemed longer – before

Chapter 145

2007-09-20T19:02:00.000Z

There’s little doubt that Harry McFry would have preferred a cigarette before they called on Lillian. After the journey down, in fact, a double whisky might have served him well, had there been a pub to hand. Together, they might have just loosened him up a little. But any thoughts towards smoking were banished by the looks he got from Laurel and Danny as he’d started to flick open his pack.

Chapter 144

2007-09-16T16:13:00.000Z

Dave Morris and his colleague made their way past Bill Blunt, who closed the door behind them - pausing only to check whether Cyril Galloway might not be making his way up the path. As he pushed the door shut, he thought he saw a curtain twitch in the bungalow opposite. It was that kind of area, he realised: the comings and goings at neighbours’ doors would be the source of hours of

Chapter 143

2007-09-15T11:57:00.001Z

It wasn’t Galloway at the door. Instead, when Bill Blunt eased it open, he found a young couple, smartly dressed and looking for all the world like they might have got the wrong house. “Is… I mean, would Mrs McFry be at home, please?” It was Dave Morris and Jane Tobias, who had arrived at their appointment a little earlier than they’d expected, and who, after some discussion in the car

Chapter 142

2007-09-14T07:29:00.000Z

With each of them settled with their cups of tea, Lillian, Colin and Bill moved onto the business in hand. A tiny red light on the corner of the camera was the only clue that it was busy recording the proceedings. Colin was sitting opposite Lillian, leaning forward in the armchair, while Bill was perched on a chair he’d pulled away from the wall, his reporter’s notepad resting on his lap, his pen

Chapter 141

2007-09-12T07:02:00.000Z

While Bill was busy in the kitchen, Colin set his camera onto the tripod and positioned it in front of the window, where it was half-hidden by the foliage of the huge aspidistra that sat on a table there. He switched it on, and framed the armchair where he imagined Lillian must sit. Then, he panned the camera across the room, lingering on the faded photographs on the sideboard, before returning

Chapter 140

2007-09-09T10:55:00.000Z

Everything was ready in Vale View when Bill Blunt’s car drew up outside Lillian’s bungalow. In her kitchen, she’d filled the kettle and arranged the teapot, the cups, the saucers and the sugar bowl on a little table against the wall, next to a tray where she had created a mound of biscuits on a dinner plate. She was sitting in her favourite armchair, when she heard the car door slam. This must

Chapter 139

2007-09-07T09:36:00.000Z

Harry closed the office door, pausing as he did so in the hope that the fax would ring. He was acutely conscious of the gaps that still existed in their knowledge – the low scores on the flip chart sheets next to some of the main players’ names. But it didn’t. Linda had let him down. He been sure she’d come through, had expected to have the certificates in his hand before Lauren arrived. He

Chapter 138

2007-09-06T07:35:00.000Z

Colin McAllistair arrived at reception looking flustered, but a little tidier, at least, than he’d appeared to Bill Blunt just twenty minutes earlier. He found Bill sitting in one of the two small seats wedged against the wall in the tiny foyer, leafing through a tabloid newspaper. He’d showered and shaved, and taken a couple of couple of aspirin and four or five glasses of water. His headache

Chapter 137

2007-09-01T19:44:00.000Z

Harry knew they wouldn’t have time to properly explain their findings to Laurel. He was still worried about Bill Blunt, and what exactly he might be up to in Telford that day. But he could give her a flavour of them and, hopefully, enlist her help for the next stage in the proceedings. He’d give her the basics – enough to make her realize why she needed to meet Lillian if they were to ever

Chapter 136

2007-08-31T12:35:00.000Z

Laurel McFry arrived at Harry’s office just as the Town Hall clock was chiming ten. Danny opened the door as he heard her heels clipping across the floor in the hallway, Harry having nodded his assent to show her in. The room was at least (relatively) smoke free, Danny thought.She unbuttoned a stylish red overcoat and handed it to Danny, who shook it gently before hanging it on the hook near

Chapter 135

2007-08-29T19:25:00.000Z

After almost four decades of widowhood, Lillian McFry was a woman of confirmed habits. She usually woke early – too early to justify getting up – so she’d lie in her bed, with her eyes still closed for the next hour or so, listening to the news on the radio. Sometimes, she would let her mind perform gentle mathematical exercises, to the accompaniment of the soothing tones of the newsreaders.

Chapter 134

2007-08-19T10:54:00.000Z

Tuesday morning, and still less than a week since Harry McFry had first learned about Laurel McFry’s missing family. As he turned the key in the door to his office, Harry could be forgiven for suppressing a smile. His initial assessment of Laurel – an amateur family historian who hadn’t looked hard enough for those missing census images had changed over the last seven days, and he now saw her

Chapter 133

2007-08-16T14:51:00.000Z

It was after 10pm by the time Harry and Danny had wrapped up their work. They had completed a dozen or so sheets of flip chart paper, which had been torn off and blu-tacked around the walls, so that the office looked like one huge family tree. In the process, they’d pulled apart a few speculations, and the scoring system had allowed them to identify the gaps they still had to fill out –

Chapter 132

2007-08-16T14:48:00.000Z

Once Colin McAllistair had got over the surprise of meeting a journalist who was working on a piece on the Spanish Civil War, he had a little time to think about the co-incidence while Bill Blunt was at the bar. A middle-aged couple had entered the pub while Colin and Bill had introduced themselves to each other, and the male partner was ordering their drinks ahead of Bill. When he’d been

Chapter 131

2007-08-16T14:46:00.000Z

Shaking the tree: the patient analysis of every bit of information they’d gleaned so far. When Danny returned to the office to refill the machine with a fresh jug of water, Harry was already standing by the flip-chart, pen in hand, poised to start work. He looked every inch the college lecturer he had once been, his stance natural an relaxed. “We’ve got to pick everything apart – and I mean

Interlude

2007-07-29T20:10:00.001Z

Despite my best intentions, it's clear that Harry McFry won't be finished before I depart for my holiday tomorrow. Whether I can post any further chapters before my return will depend on whether I can get internet access while I'm away. I've altered the blog settings so that anyone so inclined can leave unmoderated comments, which will be waiting for me when I next get online (scary!).The

Chapter 130

2007-07-29T19:55:00.000Z

Monday night in a Travelodge in Telford might appeal to a certain kind of person, but as a definition of a ‘good time’ it certainly wasn’t Colin McAllistair’s. Although he was tired from his journey north, as soon as he’d checked in and dropped his bag on the bed, he knew he couldn’t spend the rest of the evening there.On his walk from the station, he’d spotted a pub just a few hundred yards

Chapter 129

2007-07-29T18:35:00.000Z

Shaking the tree: taking a look at all the information they’d managed to gather so far, and seeing if, between them, they couldn’t make sense of it all. That was Harry’s plan. Once Danny had returned from the kitchen and refilled the filter machine, Harry pulled a marker pen from a drawer and moved across to the flip-chart. He felt the chill, February night infiltrating its way through the

Chapter 128

2007-07-28T19:10:00.000Z

Harry was already at his office in Melrose Buildings when Danny arrived. He’d got there just before 7pm, and had caught Henry, the janitor, locking the main doors to the building. “You can leave those open!” he’d said, as he approached him from behind. Henry had swung around, a broad grin on his face. “Well, if it ain’t Mr McFry! How was your trip?” Harry hadn’t told him much about why he

Chapter 127

2007-07-27T10:50:00.000Z

Harry had gathered all the papers he wanted while he was waiting for a cab he’d booked into Birkenhead. After ringing Laurel, he’d made a call to his contact at the General Records Office, but this time to her home number. Could she organize some more certificates for him, early the next day, as a matter of urgency? Linda hadn’t sounded very confident. “I’ll do my best, Harry. But there’s

Chapter 126

2007-07-26T22:22:00.000Z

The messages on Harry’s answer phone were all very predictable: Bill, Laurel, Danny. He cursed himself for not clearing it before he’d left for Madrid – he might have saved himself a problem or two. Only the message from Carrie herself was unexpected, left earlier that day. Her languorous drawl hid implications Harry felt it better not to unpick just now: “You back yet, Harry? I hear you

Chapter 125

2007-07-24T12:00:00.000Z

Harry needed a drink. Although it was comforting in some way to be back in the familiar surroundings of Birkenhead, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he’d left a whole lot of business unresolved in Madrid. Like an actor auditioning for a play who’d learned the lines for the wrong production, he felt the director had humoured him by listening to his performance, but the job would never be

Chapter 124

2007-07-19T08:51:00.000Z

What led Cyril Galloway to decide to visit Dacre Lawrence on Monday afternoon, we will probably never know. Subsequent enquiries determined that the trip wasn’t outlined in his diary, so we can only speculate why he might have felt he needed to make an unscheduled trip all the way to Yorkshire to see his ‘friend’. Perhaps it was some sense of chagrin, that the doctor had seemed to suggest he (

Chapter 123

2007-07-18T08:54:00.000Z

Monday didn’t start too well for Harry. In fact, as the day progressed, it didn’t get any better. Before he left for the airport with Danny (via a taxi, as Alan was ‘going to be busy’), he’d managed a call through to the General Records Office at Southport, only to discover that his source there was on a training course that morning. The certificates he’d wanted would have to wait that little

Chapter 122

2007-07-17T09:29:00.000Z

Bill Blunt was next on Harry’s list of people to call, and he wasn’t about to pull any punches. He suspected that an article on Laurel McFry’s family might well be in draft stage, and could easily be heading for the front page of the Birkenhead Beagle - notwithstanding what he’d told Laurel.“Bill?” he asked, when his old friend answered. “It’s Harry. I’m in Madrid… but I guess you already

Chapter 121

2007-07-13T08:08:00.000Z

Harry’s call to Laurel McFry went well. Since taking the call from Bill Blunt, she had found the obituary he’d written on her father. Although it wasn’t old, the paper was already yellowed, and the words she read were like an echo. It had been some time since she had read it, but she remembered now how sensitive she had thought it was at the time, a generous tribute to someone she dearly

Chapter 120

2007-07-12T22:40:00.000Z

The paseo was new to Danny. Sitting outside a café in the corner of the Plaza Mayor, the thin, wintry sun sitting lower in the sky, he marveled at the procession around the square.“And this happens every day?” Danny asked Harry, intrigued by the spectacle of hundreds of people walking in groups, mainly around the edge of the plaza, but sometimes criss-crossing it. Their movement was slow,

Chapter 119

2007-07-11T12:34:00.000Z

Harry felt guilty as he walked behind Alan, back towards the flat – but it was nothing to do with Carrie. He knew (he was 99% certain, anyhow) that he didn’t think about his ex-sister-in-law in that way. He couldn’t conceive he’d done anything but share her bed, and the more time that elapsed since Friday, the more certain he was of it. His guilt was all about Danny. Some ‘colleague’ he was

Chapter 118

2007-07-10T10:05:00.000Z

Fortunately, Pablo had turned up back at Yolanda and Alan’s place – with his tail between his legs – not long after Ana got there. Danny probably passed him in the street as he made his way across the square and on towards the internet café but, of course, had never met him before in his life, and didn’t know that the two sisters had been fretting about his absence. Ana had disappeared shortly

Chapter 117

2007-07-09T22:27:00.000Z

Standing in front of Guernica by Picasso, Harry was momentarily in awe. The huge canvas – much bigger than he’d ever imagined it, spread out across a whole wall of the gallery – shouted its anguish and pain as he slowly scanned it. Just like when he’d first visited New York, and felt – as every other visitor did – that he was walking into the set of every movie he’d ever seen that was filmed

Chapter 116

2007-07-09T18:04:00.000Z

“We’d best make our way back, don’t you think?” Alan McFry said to his brother, as they emptied the last of their beers.Harry had made no other arrangements with Ana, other than that she’d ring him as soon as the results of Laurel McFry’s DNA tests were through. Harry was hoping it would determine the relationship between Dacre Lawrence and her: he knew it was most probably a distant one, but

Chapter 115

2007-07-07T09:38:00.000Z

While Danny Longhurst’s mind was performing genealogical gymnastics, Dacre Lawrence’s wasn’t any calmer. If he’d been there longer than a few days, he might have realized that the Sunday afternoon routine at Northallerton Hospital didn’t alter much. Some of the beds in the ward had emptied for the weekend, as relatives collected their loved ones and took them home, planning to return them on

Chapter 114

2007-07-05T21:07:00.000Z

Once safely back at Alan and Yolanda’s flat, Danny didn’t feel much like hanging around. Yolanda had opened the door to them looking flustered, speaking quickly in that strange language that the sisters reserved for themselves, and had hastened Ana into the lounge, gesticulating all the while. Danny, meanwhile, made straight for his room, where he collected his bag before heading back up the

Chapter 113

2007-06-30T19:30:00.000Z

If Danny had plans for the rest of the afternoon, he didn’t give Ana any clue what they might be.Ana knew she had to go and relieve her sister of the onerous duty of entertaining Pablo, but she had enough time not to have to rush the trip back to the flat. She decided they could walk, taking a zig-zag route that took them through a mix of shopping and residential districts, cutting here and

Chapter 112

2007-06-27T08:51:00.000Z

Ana had to go. “I don’t want Yolanda getting bored by Pablo’s company”, she said, rising from her seat by the window. Outside the bar, the city was going about its usual Sunday afternoon routine. Coaches carrying out-of-towners were pulling up at the entrance to the Retiro. “Not much chance of that, Ana!” Alan said. “You know she adores him! Well, I guess that just leaves the boys, then.

Chapter 111

2007-06-25T21:08:00.000Z

By the time they reached the bar, Harry, Ana, Alan and Danny had all relaxed a little. Alan felt he had said enough to satisfy his honour, and didn’t feel the need to embarrass his brother in front of Danny any further. So, if Harry could just have the good sense to steer clear of any tricky areas in their discussion, all might yet be well.Danny, meanwhile, had been stitching together in his mind

Chapter 110

2007-06-24T22:38:00.000Z

Bill Blunt wasn’t a man to hang around. After he’d rung Laurel McFry, he moved swiftly on to the next name on his list: Cyril Galloway. Thanks to Laurel, of course, he now had a piece of information which he rather thought Galloway might be interested in. He didn’t think he should give away Harry’s whereabouts lightly, though.He’d rung the number listed for Danny Longhurst, had heard the

Chapter 109

2007-06-21T14:25:00.000Z

As Harry and Ana approached them from the other side of the fountain, Alan and Danny turned away from the guitarist, who had anyway paused to empty his collecting tin. The crowd started to thin a little, moving along slowly to the next attraction.“Good afternoon, Ana!” Alan exclaimed loudly, as they came nearer. He turned to Harry: “But, excuse me – haven’t we met before?” His expression was

Chapter 108

2007-06-21T06:28:00.000Z

Lillian Blyth was thinking about the call she’d had from Cyril Galloway. She’d been quite prepared to dismiss him out of hand, until he’d mentioned the two words that still seemed to have an affect on her: Jonatahn Harcourt.Of course, she did wonder how Galloway knew about Harry McFry, and it was certainly news to her that McFry had the medals she’d entrusted to young Danny Longhurst to pass to

Chapter 107

2007-06-20T07:30:00.000Z

For the avoidance of doubt, Yolanda and Pablo were nowhere near the Retiro Park on Sunday lunchtime. Which was probably a good thing, all things considered. As it was, Danny Longhurst and Alan McFry made their way towards the boating lake, pausing only to listen to a classical guitarist who had drawn quite a crowd near one of the large fountains that are dotted here and there about the park.

Chapter 106

2007-06-18T14:46:00.000Z

Midday in Birkenhead, and Bill Blunt found Laurel McFry easily enough in the telephone directory. There were only a handful of McFry’s listed, and as soon as he saw her name he recognized it as that of the daughter of the late Philip McFry.He wondered, for a moment, how best to approach the call. Cradling the receiver, he finally thought of a way in. He dialed the number, and was only slightly

Chapter 105

2007-06-16T20:40:00.000Z

Danny was enjoying his morning with Alan McFry. He’d settled into their easy amble around the flea market, picking over the oddments of people’s lives that were on display for sale. No launderettes were passed en route. Alan seemed ‘straight up’. There was none of that second-guessing which he’d begun to feel was part and parcel of being a work colleague of Harry. That didn’t mean he didn’

Chapter 104

2007-06-15T13:58:00.000Z

When Snr Guttierez told Harry the value of the bond, it was the first time he really believed the true value of the piece of paper held by Lillian McFry, and the potential windfall that might be heading in Laurel McFry’s direction. A part of him – that rueful part that all of us have – fleetingly wondered whether he shouldn’t have booked himself into a five star hotel in Madrid, instead of

Chapter 103

2007-06-13T10:09:00.000Z

Juan Guttierez descended the stairs with the confidence of someone who was on the final pages of a novel they had been enjoying, knew they had only a few paragraphs left to read and had already worked out the conclusion of the story.He was wearing a casual, sand-coloured linen suit, a crisp cotton shirt and brown loafers, the absence of a tie his concession to being called into work on a Sunday.

Chapter 102

2007-06-09T07:48:00.001Z

It wasn’t that Harry McFry had stopped thinking about Laurel McFry, or her problem with her missing family. It was just that, for the moment, his thinking time was being overburdened (just a little) by ‘other’ things. Now, as he stood outside Madrid’s old Post Office, waiting for Ana to arrive, his mind was playing over the conversation he’d had with Yolanda, over breakfast. The rhythm of the

Chapter 101

2007-06-09T07:44:00.000Z

It was an unusual Sunday morning when Bill Blunt didn’t spend an hour or two in his study, marshalling his thoughts in readiness for the fray of the week ahead. The deadline for the Birkenhead Beagle was Tuesday, noon, so it always helped to have a plan ready for the next day.The modus operandi of the seasoned journalist was very different to that of someone like Harry McFry. Lacking the

Interlude

2007-06-04T07:32:00.001Z

Thanks to the good offices of Barbara Blunt, here's a little synopsis of 'the story so far'...

Technical Note: An Apology

2007-06-03T20:09:00.001Z

Readers of Harry McFry Investigate may be interested in this note. Please excuse the interlude.Kind RegardsTHJnr

Chapter 100

2007-06-03T19:32:00.000Z

Meanwhile, lest we forget…When Lillian McFry answered the phone on Sunday morning, she might have thought it would be her friend, from further up the close of bungalows, just ringing (as she often did) to see how she was. They had a practiced repartee – honed over many years. “No need to ring the florist!” she would say.Instead, though, she heard the measured tones of a voice she immediately

Chapter 99

2007-06-03T19:00:00.000Z

It’s true that Yolanda had kept her distance from Harry McFry since he arrived in Madrid. She’d manoeuvred it so that she wouldn’t be at home when he was due to arrive there.“So, why did you come to Madrid now, Harry?” she asked, as they sat in the small bar over coffee, orange juice and pastries. He knew what she might be getting at. He was here, he told her, strictly on business. Yolanda

Chapter 98

2007-06-01T00:50:00.000Z

Alan McFry always enjoyed visiting the flea market. It sprawled all down the hill behind the Retiro Park, full of bustle and life and just a perfect microcosm of everything he liked about Spain, and about Madrid. The locals were dressed against the relative chill of an early February wind, so that the tourists were even more conspicuous. Now, as he wandered slowly past the stalls with Danny

Thank You

2007-05-29T16:46:00.000Z

Many thanks to Theresa H Hall for nominating me for a Thinking Blogger Award - much appreciated. I understand I get the pleasure of nominating five other bloggers for the award, so I will do this via my companion blog, A Diary on the Writing of Harry McFry.

Chapter 97

2007-05-29T10:50:00.000Z

By the time Harry had got back to Alan’s flat he was feeling choked - like when he was a young boy, and his mother sprayed hairspray just a little too wildly, so that for a moment or two he couldn’t breathe. He’d jogged the whole way, knowing he’d be unlikely to see a cab so early on a Sunday morning. The streets were quiet, and all along the route he checked the pavement – just for the chance

Chapter 96

2007-05-27T17:59:00.000Z

They were dressed now, and sat across the table from each other in Ana’s small kitchen. “The meeting is at 11.30am,” she said, and scribbled down the address for him on a piece of paper torn from a calendar. “Don’t you dare be late. They are doing you a favour even seeing us today,” she warned him, as she handed the scrap to him. It was just after 9.30am. Harry knew he’d have to go back to

Chapter 95

2007-05-26T22:52:00.000Z

Harry and Ana made love again as the pale sun rose over the city, its thin light dusting into the bedroom. Now, it was a languid love, somehow more as they remembered it used to be between them – easy, sensuous – those years ago.They both dozed some more, Harry waking only when Ana tapped him on the shoulder, holding a coffee cup in her other hand, like a nurse about to administer a medicine.

Chapter 94

2007-05-20T23:50:00.000Z

Danny Longhurst wasn’t about to head back to Alan and Yolanda’s flat after he left Harry in the club. Apart from anything else, he was worried they might still be around if he got back so early, and he didn’t want to face the inevitable questions they’d have about where Harry was. Instead, he found a small, quiet bar and had a short coffee, determining that he’d wander back down towards Sol and

Chapter 93

2007-05-19T19:51:00.000Z

Harry didn’t hang around in the club much longer. In fact, once he’d seen Danny exit, he made his own way out of the place. As he left the building, he saw Danny walking off in the distance – heading, he noticed, not back to the flat but down towards the Gran Via. It made him happier to know he wasn’t going home, and might be exploring the city. The kid was deeper than he thought. Within a

Chapter 92

2007-05-19T07:26:00.000Z

Harry was alarmed to find that the place had changed. He was ten years older now, of course, but the music, the ambiance and the people there were more like twenty years younger than Harry. It had seemed like a good idea at the time: Harry remembered the Club Joy as a place he had ’found’ himself, when he first traveled to Madrid. He’d checked into an aparthotel, late on a Saturday night, in

Chapter 91

2007-05-16T21:39:00.000Z

Well, I suppose a liberal might interpret 8.35pm as ‘around eight or so’. Just a shame, for Harry’s sake, that his brother wasn’t feeling particularly liberal right now. By the time Harry wheeled up, the bar had emptied a little, and Danny, Alan and Yolanda were conspicuous in the corner. He’d felt the evening chill descending as he’d walked the short distance from Tribunale to their

Chapter 90

2007-05-14T23:06:00.000Z

Danny wasn’t even sure he wanted to know about Ana and Harry. If Harry hadn’t told him, then that was his business. Yes, it would have been nice to know that his first few hours in a foreign city would be spent being dragged around the sights and (one or two, at least) of the bars that were on offer. But even if part of him didn’t want to know about Harry’s history, he sensed he wouldn’t have

Chapter 89

2007-05-14T21:45:00.000Z

Harry McFry. A washed-up, emotionally empty, forty-something guy with a string of failed relationships behind him. Quite a catch, then, for an attractive, articulate, academically-bright, woman like Ana. But yet... When he walked in the bar and she saw him for the first time in five years, an emptiness inside her suddenly filled itself with a yearning she thought she’d conquered. Ana had

Chapter 88

2007-05-11T22:24:00.000Z

Danny was starting to relax a little in Alan and Yolanda’s company, despite his initial feeling that he wasn’t exactly a wholly welcome guest at their home. After their tour of the city’s landmarks, they’d taken in a couple of bars, and he’d sampled choice pieces of Serrano ham, a sharp cheese that Yolanda told him was from the Manchego region, and more olives than he’d eaten in his life until

Chapter 87

2007-05-06T09:57:00.000Z

Alan and Yolanda were good hosts, in the end. They seemed to leave whatever tensions they had back in the flat, Danny noticed, with relief. To fill the time before they’d agreed to meet up with Harry, they took a whistle-stop tour around the main sights of the capital, cruising down the Gran Via past the cinemas with their huge advertising hoardings, swinging round to see the huge Palacio Real,

Chapter 86

2007-05-05T21:57:00.001Z

After a group of locals arrived and congregated at the bar, Harry and Ana moved away and took up seats at a table by the window. Harry was desperate to know what the paper Ana was still holding was all about – wanted to be let in on the ‘joke’. Ana was serious, now, as she translated it for him. It was a bond, issued by the Republican Government in exile. She explained how, after the Civil

Chapter 85

2007-05-05T19:54:00.000Z

Danny didn’t have long to wait until he met Yolanda, Alan McFry’s ‘partner’. After Harry had disappeared for his date, Alan had left Danny alone in the lounge, while he busied himself with something in the kitchen. He’d turned the TV on for him, saying Danny might enjoy watching the highlights from a bullfight, something that seemed to be on one channel or another at any time of the day in

Chapter 84

2007-05-03T20:56:00.000Z

Harry walked into a small bar near the Tribunale metro station, a few blocks from his brother’s flat. Nothing much had changed in the area in the six years since he’d been there, and it felt like he was walking through a movie set, the backdrop to a film he’d seen a thousand times. Here and there, groups of young people were gathering, chatting animatedly. It was a pale, grey, early

Chapter 83

2007-04-30T21:17:00.001Z

“You’ll be sleeping in here,” Alan McFry said to Danny, as they passed a small study off the long corridor in his flat. “You might as well drop your bag in there now, if you like. You’re in the spare room, Harry.” Danny followed the instruction and found himself in a tiny box room only just big enough to hold a single bed, a desk and a wall of books. He dropped his bag on the bed and unzipped

Chapter 82

2007-04-29T22:56:00.000Z

Laurel McFry wasn’t stupid. She’d listened to Harry’s explanation of why he and Danny were going to Spain, but had decided not to challenge it. And she’d agreed that he could take the envelope she’d received the day before, even though she wondered exactly what ‘analysis’ he might be planning to do on it. She’d noticed that he’d given only a cursory glance to the letter, that once he’d seen

Chapter 81

2007-04-27T23:15:00.001Z

Harry and Danny’s plane landed at Madrid Barajas airport pretty much on schedule, around 4.20pm local time. By the time they’d collected their bags and cleared customs it was after five, and a short walk to the car park later, the two of them were climbing into his brother’s car. It was grey and overcast, but a few degrees warmer than the Liverpool they’d left, Harry thought. In his mind, he

Chapter 80

2007-04-18T20:05:00.001Z

The pale, grey, morning light was filtering through the half-open curtains as Harry McFry stirred from a deep slumber. His pillow felt ‘different’, the bed strangely comfortable, but as he turned over he knew something about that light wasn’t right. Too bright. Maybe he hadn’t drawn the curtains last night? His eyes still resolutely shut, he turned again, but his mind had kicked in, he knew

A brief pause

2007-04-17T06:56:00.000Z

I have a day or two when I will be unable to post to Harry McFry Investigates, but normal service will be resumed shortly.Kind RegardsTHJnr

Chapter 79

2007-04-14T19:40:00.001Z

As Harry edged his way into the kitchen, Carrie was stirring a pot of home-made tomato and basil soup. He saw she’d arranged a couple of candles on the table, which seemed to turn the kitchen into an intimate bistro, and he noticed she’d already poured two large glasses of red wine from a bottle that sat at the table’s centre. She turned round and smiled at him. “You feeling more relaxed now

Chapter 78

2007-04-13T17:46:00.000Z

Dave Morris had a hunch that they would need to visit Lillian ‘McFry’ before he could complete his report on Dacre Lawrence: or Lillian ‘Blyth’ as she was recorded in her medical records. They were en route back to Cardiff, but wouldn’t get there until until just after 11pm. He’d have to hope Tom Gauntless, his boss, would accept a little delay: he’d need to see if they could schedule a trip

Chapter 77

2007-04-13T11:30:00.001Z

Sometimes fate has a way of kicking you in the teeth. Or sometimes, maybe, you just hold out your jaw to it and say “Kick me!” By the time Harry made it back to his flat, it was 5.30pm. As he opened the door to his bedsit, he saw that the answer phone was blinking away in the corner. That could wait a minute, he thought, as he automatically headed for the cupboard to pull out the coffee. He

Chapter 76

2007-04-13T09:59:00.001Z

Bill Blunt didn’t garner much more information from Galloway over their late lunchtime drink. Their conversation was interrupted by a call his companion received on his mobile phone. Galloway had turned slightly away from Bill as he took the call, but it didn’t stop him noticing that Galloway was angry about something. And why wouldn’t he be? It was Colin McAllistair, informing him, cold as

Chapter 75

2007-04-12T20:10:00.001Z

Dave Morris and Jane Tobias made their way up the path to the block of masionettes that lay on the edge of a small council estate on the outskirts of Thirsk. They’d told the taxi driver that brought them to wait, as they didn’t expect to be long. He’d smiled, pulled out a newspaper and started doing the crossword, happy to be paid to do so. They found flat 14 on the first floor, and Dave

Chapter 74

2007-04-12T19:07:00.000Z

As Bill Blunt made his way back across to Cyril Galloway with the drinks, his seasoned, journalist’s brain was working overtime. A stranger from Telford sat in a bar looking out across at Meldew Buildings, coupled with the knowledge that Harry McFry himself was down in Telford just now, would spell ‘s-t-o-r-y’ to anyone. He wondered what those medals were that Galloway had mentioned, and if

Chapter 73

2007-04-10T20:16:00.000Z

By the time Harry McFry left the bar, it was already dark outside. He’d spent most of the rest of his time there thinking about Dr Dacre Lawrence. What was it that Lillian had recalled him saying? His father was a cousin to Thomas McFry. She didn’t seem to know much about the supposed family link, whatever it was. Harry had formed the distinct impression that Lillian, in some way, resented

Chapter 72

2007-04-08T21:57:00.000Z

After a pint or two in The Letters, Bill Blunt was – almost - ready to return to the fray. As he left the pub, his path took him past Meldew Buildings, so he thought he’d call in to see if Harry McFry had got his message about Jonathan Harcourt. He found Henry cleaning out a drain outside the building. “Mr Marchant!” Bill boomed. Everyone called Henry Marchant ‘Henry’, so the janitor was

Chapter 71

2007-04-08T20:29:00.000Z

Danny dropped Harry off by his flat in Rock Ferry. It was maybe 3.30pm. They’d arranged that Danny would collect him the next morning for their trip to the airport. The grey clouds over the Wirral spat a thin, persistent drizzle of rain, and Harry didn’t much feel like going home just now. Despite the debrief with Danny on their journey back, he still had a few things he wanted to figure out.

Chapter 70

2007-04-07T21:44:00.000Z

Left alone to her thoughts, Lillian was wondering exactly who Harry McFry was. Just a ‘coincidence’ that he was a McFry? She doubted it. Why had he been so disingenuous, pretending he was Danny’s father when, just to look at him, you could tell it wasn’t true, she wondered? In the end – somehow - she had come to trust him. Maybe that was just how the McFry’s were: they had messed up her

Chapter 69

2007-04-07T20:10:00.001Z

The journey back to Birkenhead went smoothly enough for Harry and Danny, and gave them the opportunity to test out with each other some widely divergent theories they had as to the parentage of Colleen Blyth. They left Vale View around 2pm, feeling Lillian was maybe more than a little exhausted with all her talking. They’d learned a lot in those three hours. Harry’s head, in particular, was

Chapter 68

2007-04-06T20:14:00.000Z

Although she had little reason to be, Mabel Harris was feeling just a little nervous as she followed Jane Tobias into Dr Lawrence’s office. She hadn’t really expected the visitors from Cardiff to return that day, and when they had done, and she had parked them in Lawrence’s room, she had rung a friend who worked as a practice manager in a nearby surgery to find out a little more about the Family

Technical Note: Tag, You're It!

2007-04-04T15:15:00.000Z

The blogosphere is a wonderfully friendly institution. If reading Harry McFry is your first foray into the world of blogs, then I can only encourage you to explore further.Kevin, who runs the Fuel My Blog website (and where readers have catapulted Harry McFry into the No3 position for art and literature blogs on the site) has kindly 'tagged' me as one of seven people with the challenge of naming

Chapter 67

2007-04-04T12:02:00.000Z

The ringing of Lillian’s phone gave Harry McFry a chance to collect his thoughts. Danny was still in the doorway to the small lounge, so that it seemed natural for Harry to stand up, collect together the cups and say: “I’ll go and rinse these through, while you take that, Mrs McFry.” Lillian made no protest, and reached to pick up the receiver as Harry left the room.“What’s going on Harry?”

Chapter 66

2007-04-03T22:44:00.000Z

Danny Longhurst was getting worried. He’d trusted Harry –he was his ‘partner’, after all. But it seemed to him that everything Harry was saying was making Lillian McFry more anxious than she needed to be. First of all, he’d blown his cover by a making a stupid reference to her exact age. Then, he’d seemed to retrieve the situation by playing the ‘honesty’ card (even if it did paint Danny as

Chapter 65

2007-04-02T20:29:00.000Z

Harry McFry wasn’t to know it, of course, but Colin McAllistair really did want to find Lillian Blyth / McFry for academic purposes. A living testimony of the Spanish Civil War was a rare commodity in the twenty-first century, and he couldn’t easily let go of the idea that he might capture her for posterity. He could see it all in his mind – right down to the lighting, the titles and the

Chapter 64

2007-04-02T14:21:00.000Z

Harry knew what he was doing, alright, even if it might not have seemed that way to Danny. When he looked at Lillian McFry as she seemed to struggle to respond to his question, he saw a strong woman – a survivor. He was pinning his hopes on using the information he’d gleaned from Colin McAllistair to get her to open up a little, to reveal her secrets.“What do you know about Jonathan Harcourt,

Chapter 63

2007-03-30T20:00:00.000Z

Harry had forgotten – or never realized - that Lillian McFry had never explicitly mentioned her age to Danny during their previous meetings – and he could be forgiven for giving himself a swift, mental kick as he worked out what he’d said. Little wonder, then, if Lillian was tempted to retreat behind the barricade she’d built up so successfully over the years.‘Who are you, really,’ she was