The Stone Wife
- Автор: Ловси Питер
- Серия: Peter Diamond #14
- Год: 2014
- Язык: английский
- Год: Sphere
- ISBN: 978-0-7515-5405-2
- Жанр: Полицейские детективы
Электронная книга - «The Stone Wife». Краткое содержание книги:
‘As far as I’m concerned, he could have it for nothing if he’d cart it away.’
‘Who does it belong to now?’ Halliwell asked.
‘Bridgwater museum.’
‘Not the auctioneers?’
‘No, they’re the middle men. It didn’t go under the hammer, so technically it still belongs to the seller. The museum people are only too pleased to have it under police protection now they know it’s worth a small fortune.’ He hesitated as a thought distracted him. ‘It is still with us? I haven’t looked yet.’
‘It’s unlikely to walk.’
Just to be certain, Diamond got up and opened his office door. The slab remained defiantly in front of his desk. There was still a faint whiff from the decontamination. ‘My cactus has had it.’
‘Shame.’
He closed the office door. If there was ever an incentive to work in there, it had gone. ‘I’d better interview Bernie myself. Send someone else and they could end up as part of the foundations of a luxury home. Where is he based?’
‘All over. He hops around the country in his private helicopter.’
‘But where does he live?’
‘Several houses. The closest is Maidenhead.’
‘Long drive. Get on to his office and find out his schedule for this week. With a bit of luck that chopper could be landing closer to home.’
While Halliwell was on the phone, Diamond started a slow patrol of the CID room, checking progress on the investigation. Just as he reached John Leaman’s desk, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He swung round in annoyance. No one in the team dared touch him.
He was faced with Georgina Dallymore, the Assistant Chief Constable. She was in the full dress uniform with the silver buttons strained to the point of separation. ‘A word, if you don’t mind,’ she told him.
‘What’s that, ma’am?’ he said, privately thinking a word of four letters. A visit from Georgina never brought welcome news.
‘In your office, if you don’t mind.’
Seven words already, and not to his liking.
‘As you wish.’ He led her across the room and opened the door. ‘Mind you don’t trip.’
She peered at the Wife of Bath.
‘Don’t ask,’ he said as he stepped over and moved behind his desk to open a window and let the fumes out. ‘Have a chair.’
She sat down and said, ‘DS Smith.’
‘Ingeborg? Not in today,’ he said with an effort to subdue the alarm going off in his head.
‘Unwell?’
He did his best to appear casual. ‘Unlikely. She’s very fit.’
‘Hasn’t she called in?’
‘Not yet. No doubt she will.’
‘She isn’t pursuing enquiries, then?’
He hesitated. How much did Georgina know? ‘She could be. I allow my team some scope, as you appreciate.’
‘She drives a Ford Ka — is that correct?’
‘To the best of my knowledge, she does.’
‘The reason I ask is that a query came in from Bristol. A foot patrol making a routine check of the harbour-side area early this morning came across a vehicle apparently left overnight close to the Great Britain.’
‘The old Brunel ship?’ Now he was puzzled himself.
‘They did a vehicle check with the PNC and found it was registered to DS Smith. She doesn’t live in Bristol.’
‘No. She has a flat here.’
‘Then why would she leave her car overnight in Bristol?’
‘I’ll ask her when she comes in.’
‘You don’t have any enquiries currently going on in Bristol. Anything over there would be handled by their CID.’
‘Goes without saying.’ He knew those silver buttons couldn’t possibly take the strain if Georgina learned that one of Bath’s officers had been authorised to go undercover in Bristol. Better she learned the truth at the conclusion of a successful investigation than now when it was barely under way. ‘I’ll certainly look into it.’
‘And report to me.’
‘Directly, ma’am.’
She stood up and took a long, unadmiring look at the Wife of Bath. ‘I take it this is the item that provoked the fatal shooting at the auction last week?’
‘So we understand,’ he said.
‘You’re not certain?’
‘It’s not impossible that the shooting was premeditated and made to look like an argument over the carving.’
Georgina frowned. ‘That’s rather skewed thinking, if I may say so.’
‘Say whatever you like, ma’am. We prefer to use the term Byzantine.’
16
Keith Halliwell was through to the head office of Wefers Construction. No music, no voice asking him to hold and then telling him he was moving up the queue. He’d picked a good time and was through to Bernie Wefers’ personal assistant, Colleen. He raised a thumb to Diamond across the room. The big man shimmied between the desks and joined him.
Halliwell stressed the urgency of the request. ‘If you give me the locations, we’ll arrange to meet him at the most convenient one… Very important, yes… His helicopter, yes. We know that… No, it’s a personal matter… Thank you. I have a pen ready.’
Diamond stood at Halliwell’s side vetting the place names as they appeared on the notepad. Hastings was a no-no. Brighton out of the question. The Isle of Wight still too far to travel. The route seemed to be moving in their direction along the south coast. Then it veered north. Marlborough.
Marlborough was possible.
‘Is that it, then?’ Halliwell asked Colleen. ‘… He’s back to London after that?’ He looked at Diamond, who nodded. ‘We’ll meet him in Marlborough. What time will he land there?… And where exactly is the site?’
Before getting on the road, Diamond spoke to the youngest of the team, DC Paul Gilbert. ‘You were looking for some action.’
Gilbert looked up from his computer screen, eyes shining. ‘Ready to go, guv.’
‘This won’t be quite what you had in mind. I’m not asking you to go undercover, but it will get you out of the office and it’s a solo mission.’
‘Cool.’
‘The ACC is fussing over Ingeborg. A query came in from Bristol police this morning about a vehicle left overnight on the harbour-side where the Great Britain is. Do you know where I mean?’
‘That’ll be the car park for the Maritime Heritage Centre.’
‘Sounds like you know it better than I do. If Bristol haven’t got more urgent things to do than check on parked cars, they need downsizing, in my opinion, but I suppose this red Ford Ka stood out. Maybe it’s illegally parked. Turns out it’s registered to Ingeborg.’
‘That’s what she drives.’
‘And I expect there’s a very boring explanation.’
‘She isn’t in today.’
‘I know. She took a few days off with my blessing. What I want you to do is keep everyone happy by going over there and checking it out — if it’s still there. See if there’s any sign of a breakdown, a flat tyre, or whatever. The wardens could have served a parking notice by now. Make sure they don’t tow it away.’
‘Is Ingeborg interested in old ships?’ Gilbert asked.
‘Not to my knowledge.’
‘There isn’t much else there. She could have left the car and taken the harbour railway from there, I suppose. Shall I ask the Great Britain people if they saw her yesterday?’
‘If you like. We’re not too fussed. This is mainly to keep Georgina sweet. Do you understand me?’
Gilbert returned Diamond’s grin. ‘Sure thing, guv.’
There was ample time. Marlborough was not much over thirty miles east along the old Bath Road.