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so late would unbalance the team.’
    There was a moment’s pause as Andreadis considered the best way to answer this. Horton guessed he was reassessing his original view of him. Andreadis must now know he was talking to someone who knew about sailing.
    ‘OK, so I admit I was curious to see how Scott and the others handled that. In yacht racing, Inspector, crew members can get injured and pulled out at short notice. The skipper and crew need to be flexible, and Johnnie needed experience of being pitched into a team at the last moment.’
    ‘He isn’t a very good team member then?’
    ‘On the contrary, he is excellent, but he’s been sailing with the same team and working with me and the same staff for the last five years. I thought it was time he started to broaden his skills, and as I said he wanted to spend some time with his family.’
    Horton picked up on this. ‘When was he due back?’
    ‘He had a week off after Cowes Week.’
    Horton threw Cantelli a glance. He shook his head to indicate it was the first he’d heard of it. Not that there was anything suspicious in that. Johnnie might have intended to surprise his mother, or perhaps he had arranged to stay with someone else. Who though? A friend? And was he now with that same friend?
    ‘Was there anything troubling him?’
    ‘Not that I’m aware of.’
    ‘Has he ever disappeared like this before?’
    ‘Never. He’s very reliable and an excellent sailor. He has a lot of talent and a passion for it.’
    ‘There’s never been any illness?’
    ‘No. He’s a very fit young man.’
    ‘How did he travel to the UK?’
    ‘My secretary booked his flight.’
    ‘From where?’
    ‘Here, Sardinia.’
    ‘I’d like the details please.’
    ‘She’s away with her family until Monday.’
    Horton saw Cantelli open his mouth to protest but stilled him with an upraised hand. He knew that Cantelli was thinking someone else could look up the information, or Andreadis himself could obtain it, it could only be a matter of accessing a computer, but obviously that was beyond the scope of a millionaire.
    ‘It is very urgent, sir,’ pressed Horton. ‘Johnnie could have had an accident, and we need to trace his movements to find out where it could have occurred.’
    Again there was a moment’s silence before Andreadis answered. ‘I’ll call her now.’
    ‘We’d also like details of Johnnie’s bank account in case he’s been attacked and his debit and credit cards stolen.’
    ‘That information might take longer to obtain. My finance director is not contactable until Monday. I’ll get Sophia to call you, though. What number shall I give her?’
    Horton relayed his mobile number. ‘I was wondering if you have a recent photograph of him we could circulate.’ Cantelli’s was OK but rather out of date.
    ‘There are many taken during racing. I understand you are at Cowes, Inspector. Why don’t you ask Sarah Conway? She’s a professional photographer who’s taken many pictures of my team, Johnnie amongst them. I’m sure she’ll let you have copies. I’ll also call her and ask her to give you every cooperation.’
    ‘Thank you.’ Into Horton’s mind flashed the image of the woman he’d seen hanging off the edge of the RIB which had cut across his path earlier. Horton hung up.
    Cantelli threw himself back in his seat and said, ‘He’s lying.’
    ‘He’s not comfortable about something, that’s clear, but that might be annoyance because he’s been personally inconvenienced. This is a man who has everything done for him; he doesn’t normally have to bother himself with small matters like staff problems.’
    ‘The more I hear the less I like it.’
    Horton couldn’t help agreeing but he wasn’t going to tell Cantelli that.
    ‘And it doesn’t get us much further.’
    ‘It does,’ Horton contradicted. ‘I’ll get a photograph from Sarah Conway and get it circulated. There’s nothing more you can do here, Barney, so get back to Portsmouth and