The Bodies at Westgrave Hall by Nick Louth

Author:Nick Louth [Louth, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo
Published: 2021-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

The easyJet flight to Geneva left on time, and Gillard had only just made it. He was travelling light, carry-on luggage with just a change of clothes, two digital recorders and plenty of spare batteries. He was in the middle seat, squashed between a male ski fanatic from Worthing who regaled him with stories of the black runs that he had conquered around the world, and an elderly woman who was going out to see her daughter for the New Year. Given that it was Boxing Day, he wasn’t surprised to see no one else on the flight wearing a suit. He’d chosen his newest, a nicely tailored charcoal grey with a silk tie. Sam had pouted when she saw her husband getting dressed, knowing that he was planning to interview one of the world’s wealthiest women at Geneva’s luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel instead of spending any of Christmas with her.

Geneva Airport was busy with skiers clutching huge bags of equipment and carrying plastic ski boots. Gillard managed to snare a taxi, whose meter gobbled up his euros at a breathtaking rate even while they were queueing to leave the pickup zone. The cost of getting to the hotel was enough to repay the debts of a small African country.

Gillard walked into the imposing lobby of the hotel and scanned the huge opulent lounge. Ms Yalinsky had said she would be waiting here. In his peripheral vision he noticed a large smartly dressed man scrutinising him. He had a neat beard that did not quite disguise the tell-tale spiral wire coming from his ear and into his shirt collar. Gillard turned to him as he approached. ‘Detective Chief Inspector Gillard, the lady is waiting.’ He carefully checked Gillard’s identity and led him to a lift.

They emerged on a silent floor, thickly carpeted and lined with expensive panelling. The detective was led to an anonymous and unnumbered door. The security man tapped lightly, and the door was opened from the inside by another bodyguard. The suite was huge and had a ten-yard long balcony giving a view over the river. Yelena was sitting on a sofa near a roaring fake-log fireplace. She looked up at Gillard’s approach. ‘Good to see you again,’ she said, offering him an adjacent chair. ‘I’m so sorry I had to rush off before.’

Gillard sat. There were two other men on an adjacent settee. They were older and had the self-confident glaze of lawyers or accountants.

‘I’m glad I was able to catch you, Ms Yalinsky. We have one or two areas on your witness statement that we need to clear up.’

‘Okay, then ask away.’

Gillard carefully set up the digital recorder and got out his notebook, setting them on the coffee table but out of reach of the lawyers. ‘You said that you never saw who it was firing?’

‘That’s right. I heard several shots, and Maxim said I should rush to the panic room and he would follow me.’

Gillard looked puzzled. ‘Previously you said that Volkov had pushed you back into the panic room and would follow.

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