Conduit to Murder by BRIAN O'HARE

Author:BRIAN O'HARE [O'HARE, BRIAN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Monday, 30th May 2022: Morning

On a damp, rather gloomy morning for May, Sheehan drove himself into the Connswater Industrial Estate. He had been genuinely concerned when he told Stewart to leave herself out of this meeting. He definitely didn’t want anyone to see her, and later recognise her. But he was now wondering guiltily if that was enough. What if he sent his two young protégés to France and the assassin was waiting there for them, maybe to kidnap them and use them as a bargaining chip for the keys? Or even worse?

He resolutely dismissed the horrific possibility burgeoning in his mind and started checking the names and number of the units he was passing on both sides of the estate road. Following instructions given to him by Stewart, he soon found the Chichester Antiques unit. It was surrounded by a high wire fence with metal supports, and the wide metal entrance gate opened into a sizeable forecourt. He drove through, parked near the unit, and went inside.

As he went into a small hall, a door to his left opened and a pleasant, middle-aged lady greeted him. “Saw you through the window as you came in. Are you Chief Inspector Sheehan?”

“I am,” Sheehan said, returning her smile.

“I’ll just page Matthew now. He’s expecting you.”

He waited in the doorway while she used the phone. When she put it down, she said, “He’s on his way.” And with barely a pause, she continued, “That’s not a great day for May, is it?”

Sheehan grinned. “It’s Monday.”

She paused a second, thinking about that. Then her face cleared and she chuckled. “Of course. What else can you expect from a Monday?”

The other door in the small hall opened and Kenworthy came through it. “Ah, Chief Inspector. Welcome.” He offered Sheehan his hand, and said, “Come on through now and I’ll show you the place.”

He took Sheehan on more or less the same tour he had given to Celine Dickenson a couple of days earlier, offering, however, a much less revealing commentary. Leading the detective to a showroom containing antique wardrobes, desks, chairs, and other items of dark wooden furniture, he said, “As you’ve seen, we don’t rely only on paintings. Indeed, we operate from a pretty broad base of collectibles. We don’t specialise, as such, because I learn about interesting options every time I go abroad. But certain items are fashionable and sought after. That’s where I would normally focus my attention. For example, furniture ornaments used by generations of royals are popular right now. Some of the items you see in this space come from Parisian royalty. “Take this,” he said, pointing at what looked to Sheehan like a small cheap wardrobe, one that he would more than likely have thrown out had it been in his house. “Would you care to try to put a value on it?”

Sheehan kept his face expressionless. He’d already seen enough in the short duration of his visit to guess that this rubbishy looking thing was probably worth a fortune.

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