sure. First, let’s call Nell – find out when Kate left. That’s a start. Then, I think we should call the police. They know how to handle these–’
‘Christ, I told you, he warned me not to do that. Kate’s life is at stake.’ Alex leaned back, rested his head on the back of the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. ‘Lawrence, half an hour ago you were telling me what a ruthless sod this Wolff is. That he’s extremely dangerous. Now you want me to call the police and run the real risk of having him harm Kate? I can’t risk it.’ He sighed. ‘I have no choice. He can have the damned rose.’
‘You’re forgetting. That might not be quite as simple as it sounds. What about Graham’s claim and the auction? I think we’d better call Adell.’
The phone ringing startled Alex. ‘Bloody hell,’ he said, leaning over and picking it up. ‘What next?’
‘Hello, Alex,’ Nell said cheerily.
‘Oh, hello, Nell – we were just about to call you. Can you hold on a minute?’ He cupped the mouthpiece of the phone in his hand and looked at Kingston. ‘I’m not going to tell her about Kate. She’ll call the police.’
Kingston nodded.
Alex put the phone to his ear. ‘Sorry about that, Nell. How are you?’
‘I’m fine, thanks. Kate said she was going to call me when she got home. It’s been an awful long time now since she left – over five hours. I was calling to see if she got home okay. She is there, isn’t she?’
Alex felt the colour drain from his face.
‘She didn’t feel too well when she got back,’ Alex lied. ‘She went upstairs to rest.’ His voice sounded weak and unconvincing, even to his own ears.
‘Hmm,’ Nell muttered. ‘That’s odd. She was really upset about the rose – scared, she said – but she didn’t appear to be sick or anything. Well, I hope she gets over whatever it is. Would you ask her to call me tomorrow?’
‘I will, Nell.’
‘Are you all right, Alex? You don’t sound like yourself.’
‘I’m fine,’ Alex said. ‘Really.’
‘I know it’s upsetting, what happened to the rose, but I’m sure–’
Alex tensed. ‘What did you say? What happened to the rose?’
‘Didn’t Kate tell you?’
Alex thought quickly. ‘No, she just went straight to bed, but–’
‘It’s gone,’ Nell said. ‘Nothing but a whopping great hole in the ground. Made an awful mess they did.’
‘Christ!’
‘I’m sure it will work out all right, Alex. You’ll get it back.’
He gripped the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. ‘We’d better,’ he sighed. ‘We’d better.’
‘You’re sure you’re all right, Alex?’
‘Yes, I’m fine. But I have to go, Nell.’
‘Alex?’
‘Yes.’
‘You will ask Kate to call me?’
‘Of course I will, Nell,’ he stuttered. ‘Goodbye.’
‘Goodbye, then.’
Alex hung up and turned to Kingston.
‘According to Nell, Kate was okay when she left.’
‘Doesn’t look good, I’ll admit.’
‘That’s not all. The rose is gone. Somebody’s taken it.’
‘My God! What on earth is going on?’
‘Bugger the rose. Kate’s all I’m worried about.’ He paused, his head in his hands, then looked up again. ‘Maybe she broke down? It’s a possibility.’
‘If she had, surely she would have called to let you know.’
Alex swallowed hard. ‘Nell said Kate left over five hours ago. She said all that’s left now is a gaping hole where Vicky and I planted the rose.’
‘How much more complicated can this get? If we no longer have the rose…’
‘How can we exchange it for Kate?’
‘Exactly.’
Alex buried his face in his hands. His voice was muffled and quavering. ‘I can’t bear to think what that bastard might do when I tell him we no longer have the rose.’
‘Will he believe you? That’s another question entirely.’
Alex looked up to see Kingston pulling on his earlobe – a sure sign that his mind was in overdrive. He took a sip of the cognac.
‘What about the cuttings, Alex? Were those ever taken?’
Alex sighed. ‘I don’t know. Why?’
‘Well, if we could get our hands on them, it could change everything.’
‘I remember Kate saying that she wanted Vicky to do it because she’d never had too much success at it. But that was ages ago, around the time we first met you.’
‘If Vicky took cuttings – and we’ll assume for the moment she did – where would she have kept them?’
‘You’re asking the wrong person, Lawrence. I don’t think she would have left them with us. The most likely place would be the nursery.’
‘Then we should call right away and find out.’
‘You think that Wolff will accept the cuttings instead of the rose?’
‘No, I don’t for one moment think that’s a possibility. The rose is still out there somewhere. And to further complicate matters, there’s the crossing formula which, as far as we know, Wolff doesn’t know about, yet.’
‘Well, what then?’
‘At some point, we’ll have to tell Wolff about the cuttings. He’s not that naive. He’ll know that that’s the very first thing we would have done.’
‘Then he’ll want the rose and the cuttings before we get Kate back.’
‘First things first, Alex. Let’s find out whether the cuttings are at the nursery.’
‘All right,’ said Alex. He picked up the small address book on the table beside him, checked for Holly Hill’s number, reached for the phone and dialled the number.
‘Hello, is that Jill?’ There was a short pause. ‘Yes, it is. I’m surprised you recognized my voice. Yes, it has been. I have a question for you, Jill. It’s really important.’ Alex glanced at Kingston. ‘I’m here with a friend of mine, Lawrence Kingston – yes.’ He nodded. ‘Yes, the very same,’ he said. ‘Jill, we’re almost positive that sometime shortly before Vicky died, she took some cuttings from a rose in our garden. Kate had asked for them.’ Alex shook his head. ‘No, she’s not here right now, she’s visiting a friend for a couple of days. Anyway, we can’t seem to find them. It’s more likely than not that Vicky was caring for them at the nursery.’
Alex listened to what Jill had to say, then ended the conversation. ‘That would be good,’ he said. ‘Call me back as soon as you can. You’re an angel, Jill, thanks.’
Alex put the phone down and looked at Kingston. ‘She vaguely remembers them. Apparently Vicky had talked to one of the staff about keeping them secure. Jill said she’d try to track them down.’
‘Sounds promising.’
‘What about Wolff, Lawrence? We have to tell his mouthpiece we no longer have the rose.’
‘Perhaps we don’t tell him – not just yet, anyway. By the way, what did he say about the papers you’re supposed to sign on Wednesday?’
‘Nothing – only papers. But you know damned well they have something to do with turning over the rose.’
‘Of course.’
‘Oh God. Poor Kate,’ Alex moaned, gripping the brandy glass with both hands.
Kingston got up, stretched his legs and started to pace the room. ‘One small thing in our favour,’ he said. ‘We’ve got a little time to play with until he starts asking to see the rose.’
‘Not much, I would think. Who the hell could have taken it?’
Kingston shook his head. ‘I have no idea. Any number of people knew about it, if you stop to consider.
