Volvo won’t be in the drive when you wake up.”
“Doing nothing is exhausting,” said William as he handed over the car keys.
“You’ll be on the midnight shift tomorrow, so make sure you get a good night’s sleep,” were Jackie’s final words before leaving.
William got undressed, took a shower, and climbed into a warm bed. It made him think about Beth. Hell, he hadn’t called her, and now it was too late. Moments later he was fast asleep.
15
William woke just after seven the next morning, took a shower, shaved, and was dressed by the time Jackie returned following her night vigil. They sat in the bay window enjoying a large breakfast of bacon and eggs, while still keeping an eye on the house. Carter didn’t come downstairs until after nine, and they had no way of knowing what he had for breakfast, as his kitchen was at the back of the house.
“So what now?”
“We’ll return to Mulberry Avenue and hope he leaves the house at some point. If it’s by car, we’ll follow him. If it’s on foot, I’ll stay in the car while you try to find out what he’s been up to in that shed. Perhaps it’s totally innocent, but Lamont will still want to know.”
Twenty minutes later they were parked on the other side of the road from Carter’s house, some thirty yards from his front gate, their eyes never leaving the front door.
“This is pointless,” said William after another futile hour spent discussing everything from Princess Diana’s proposed visit to Scotland Yard, to who would be the next commissioner.
“Is the Hawk in with a chance?” asked William.
“Not this time around,” said Jackie. “But possibly at some time in the future, although he has his enemies.”
Another hour slunk by, before William said, “What happened to that guy who was with you when I first saw the copy of—”
“Ross Hogan.” Jackie paused before adding, “The Hawk sent him back to Peckham.”
“Where I was meant to go!”
“And you still may if we don’t find the Rembrandt. Because Ross has disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“Probably resigned after being sent to Peckham.”
“Or working undercover.”
“I thought about going undercover.”
“You’d be useless,” said Jackie. “You look, sound and smell like a choirboy.”
“No, Ross would be perfect for undercover work. Even criminals think he’s a criminal.”
“And keep concentrating, because you can never tell when everything will change in a split second.”
“But when’s that second ever going to happen?” asked William at the end of the third hour. Then the front door opened and they both fell silent.
Carter appeared carrying an empty shopping bag. He walked down the path, opened the gate, and headed off in the opposite direction.
“Right, now’s our chance,” said Jackie. “Take the camera and see if you can get some pictures of what’s inside that shed.”
“Can we justify that?”
“Just about. We’d plead reason to suspect.” Jackie didn’t sound at all convincing. “The moment he reappears, I’ll honk the horn once. Just be sure to stay hidden behind the shed until well after he’s gone back into the house. And don’t forget the three-minute rule.”
“What about Angie?”
“If she comes out, I’ll honk twice. Three times if she spots you, in which case start running, because we’ll have to get out of town sharpish. Sometimes you only get one chance.”
“No pressure,” said William as he grabbed the camera from the back seat, got out of the car, and crossed the road, eyes darting in every direction. He walked cautiously toward number 91. No sign of anyone, and Carter had left the gate open. He nipped in behind the Volvo, and moved deftly toward the shed. He couldn’t have been visible from the front window for more than a few seconds. He tried the door but it was locked, then he heard a car coming down the road and ducked behind the shed until it had turned the corner.
Looking through the small window of the shed, he could make out a wooden bench and a chair. Some silver filings were scattered over the surface of the bench but it was so dark he could hardly make out anything else. Could he risk using the flash? He pressed the camera up against the window and fired off a whole roll of film, but he couldn’t be sure if any of the pictures would come out.
He removed the film and was reloading the camera when he heard a car horn honk once. Carter, not Angie. He looked up to see Jackie driving past, and quickly