Shirley-Ann laughed.
'I'm serious.'
'You can't be.'
She put her hand lightly over Shirley-Ann's. 'Darling, if ever I've met a group of potential murderers anywhere, it's the Bloodhounds. It wouldn't take much. They've read about killing, come to terms with it in their minds. I mean, aren't we all participating mentally when we read a crime novel?'
'I'm not sure,' said Shirley-Ann. 'I've never thought of it like that myself.'
'We're the experts, we people who read them steadily. We know all the plots. We've read the gory bits. We know what the police look out for. If anyone could do the job and get away with it, one of us could.'
From across the room came a peal of laughter. Someone had reached the punch line of a joke. It seemed well timed. Shirley-Ann looked to see if Jessica was smiling, but her face was serious.
Chapter Five
On Thursday, another meeting was hastily arranged. Putting on his glasses and picking up a file, the new Assistant Chief Constable said, 'Gentlemen, I'm sorry about the short notice, but this is a matter of some urgency. You'll recall that we had an encouraging report from Mr. Wigfull only last Monday evening on crime prevention here in Avon and Somerset.' He nodded toward Wigfull.
'Sir?' said Wigfull brightly.
Peter Diamond, seated opposite, surprised himself by recalling another verse from long ago: 'How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour.' Wisely he didn't speak it aloud.
The ACC was thinking along the same lines. 'This has Bumblebee written all over it. Yesterday we received a tip-off that a major crime is being planned in Bath. A theft. Just out of interest, I wonder if any one of you could name the most valuable piece of property owned by the city.'
'A building?' said Tom Ray, the Chief Constable's staff officer.
'Portable property.'
'Something in the Roman Baths, sir?' suggested Wigfull, his whiskers positively twitching with the challenge. 'A gold torque?'
'Not so ancient as that.'
'Precious metal in some form?'
'No.'
'An antique object?'
'You could describe it as such, but antiquity is not what makes it so valuable.'
'A work of art, then?'
The ACC bestowed a smile on Wigfull. 'You're almost there. Anyone else with a suggestion?'
It was apparent from the faces around the table that there would be no takers except Wigfull.
'I don't know a lot about art, sir. Where is it housed? In the Pump Room?'
'The Victoria Gallery.' Sensing astutely that he had reached the limit of his officers' knowledge of fine art, the ACC unveiled the truth. 'It is Turner's painting of the Abbey. A watercolor. Anyone been to see it?'
Total silence.
He added, 'It's worth over a million.'
'One picture?' said Tom Ray, rolling his eyes.
'J.M. W Turner was probably the greatest painter our nation has ever produced. This was one of his earliest works, completed before he was twenty-one.'
'Hope it's insured,' said Diamond.
The ACC gave him a shocked look. 'We're not giving anyone the chance to steal it.'
'Isn't the gallery guarded by Impregnable?'
Impregnable was the private security firm entrusted with the safety and security of the mayor, the officers, and all the public buildings of Bath. Among the police, there was an unending series of jokes about Impregnable.
'Yes, but that doesn't mean we abdicate our responsibility.'
'Good Lord, no,' said Wigfull. 'If the Turner was taken, we'd get stuffed by the press, not Impregnable.'
'Who's Deep Throat?' asked Diamond.
'Deep who?'
'Your source, sir.'
'That's uncertain,' the ACC admitted. 'The tipoff reached us by an indirect route. A CID officer in Bristol- Sergeant Plant-seeking information on another matter, picked it up from one of his snouts.'
'I like it,' said Diamond, his belly quivering with amusement.
'What?'
'Sergeant Plant, our plainclothes man. Who was the snout-Mr. Grass?'
The ACC reddened ominously. 'You'd do well to take this seriously, Superintendent. Plant is a promising young officer.'
Diamond made an effort to contain his amusement by thinking about the list of jobs waiting to be done in his new home in Weston. This meeting shouldn't drag on much longer if the Turner was the only topic.
'The point is,' the ACC resumed, 'we have the opportunity to prevent a major theft. I'm ordering a review of security at the gallery. Mr. Wigfull, the Bumblebee team will be responsible. You can liaise with Impregnable. We're not trying to score points here. The painting is kept upstairs in the permanent collection. Check the windows, the roof, all points of access. See that the alarms are functioning and the guards are aware of the threat. Art thieves are among the most professional of all the criminal fraternity.'
'Right, sir,' said Wigfull. 'If you don't mind my asking, is the prime objective to scare them off?'
The ACC hesitated. 'Well, I see this as an exercise in crime prevention, don't you?'
'Absolutely, but…' His voice trailed away.
'What's your point, then, John?'
Wigfull picked his words judiciously. 'I may be out of order, sir, but it seems to me that we have the opportunity of, er, staking out the gallery and pulling in these villains.'
'Ah.' The ACC's response was flat, still uncommitted.
'If so, it might be wise not to make a show of strengthening the security.'
'You think so?'
'We don't want them getting suspicious.'
'You're thinking of setting a trap?'
'With the Bumblebee team and a few others, I could catch them in the act, sir.'
'Good thinking.' Wigfull's plan had got the nod.
'I'll need officers I can rely on, sir, preferably people I know. As we were told that the murder squad isn't overburdened at this time-'
At the mention of his murder squad, Diamond jerked forward in his chair. 'Hold on. How long will this pantomime go on for? I can't spare men to sit in an art gallery for weeks on end.'
'It might improve their minds,' said Tom Ray.
'You're not busy,' said Wigfull. 'You may not have a murder in the next month.'
'I may commit one,' muttered Diamond.
He had little chance of defending his empire. It was decreed by the ACC that four of the murder squad should be seconded at once to Operation Bumblebee. Wigfull picked them himself. He had the gall to pick Inspector Julie Hargreaves, Diamond's best detective.
'I can't release Julie.'
'I need a woman,' insisted Wigfull.
Tom Ray said, 'Tell us something new.'
Wigfull gave him a fish-eyed stare and said, 'She'll be just right for this. She can sit behind the desk and sell postcards.'
