‘McKay.’
Simon typed the name and watched the results roll in. ‘We’re searching for a needle in a haystack. Do you know how many Douglas McKays there are in the UK?’
‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy,’ said Amanda, blowing air out of her cheeks.
Simon thought for a moment. ‘You know, Helen said he went overseas; maybe he ended up living there?’
‘Or maybe something else happened,’ Amanda said slowly as she sat down next to Simon. ‘Helen said she was surprised he didn’t come back. She thought he was serious about Diana, that Diana was a catch. I mean, what if something happened to him in Europe?’
‘God, you’re making it harder now,’ Simon said.
‘No, Helen said he was in the Black Forest, which is in Germany. Is there any way we can see newspapers from that time? Maybe there’s something in there?’
‘Amanda, you keep making it harder,’ Simon said. ‘Do you speak German?’ he asked.
‘No? Why?’
‘Because all the articles will be in German,’ he said.
‘That’s what the translation button is for,’ she said, waving his concerns away.
Simon typed and then scrolled.
‘So what year was this? Did you say 1963?’
‘Yes,’ Amanda said.
‘Black Forest?’
‘Ja,’ she said.
‘So you do speak German,’ he teased.
‘Ein bisschen.’ She made a face at him and went back to check the pasta.
Simon searched as Amanda finished making their dinner, mixing some fresh pesto from Shelley through the pasta.
‘Cheese?’ she asked.
‘Always,’ he answered, staring at the screen.
Amanda bought the bowls to the table and placed them down. ‘Leave it and eat,’ she said.
‘No, I can’t. I need to keep looking. It’s annoying me now. I want to know what happened to him.’
They ate while Simon scoured the internet.
‘So many accidents reported. I guess the roads and cars weren’t very safe,’ he said as he ate his pasta.
‘He was on a motorbike,’ Amanda reminded him.
‘Yes, I would imagine that wouldn’t have been the safest either, especially if the roads were icy.’
‘Even if something did happen, there’s no guarantee it was reported on.’ Amanda sighed. ‘If anything happened at all, that is. Maybe he just took his trip, lived his life and never thought about Diana again.’
‘Wait,’ said Simon, looking closer at the screen. ‘Wait, wait, wait.’
‘I’m waiting.’ Amanda laughed at Simon’s sudden seriousness.
