Spotted Edward's absence? (5)
I believe the answer is:
noted
'spotted edward's absence?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'spotted edward's' is the wordplay.
'spotted' becomes 'not' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'edward' becomes 'Ed' (short for Edward).
'not'+'ed'='NOTED'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for noted that I've seen before include "Famous or eminent" , "Celebrated or recorded" , "Celebrated, eminent" , "Remarkable" , "Well known; registered" .)