Alex was staring out the window. ‘That’s right,’ he muttered.
‘What?’
‘It was something that Adell said. The first time we met him. Maybe I didn’t mention it to you at the time.’
‘What, Alex? What?’
‘He mentioned that their firm represented a rose grower near Brighton.’
Kingston was on his feet. ‘God! This could be the break we’ve been hoping for, Alex. The connection is too much of a coincidence. Did he mention any names? Think hard, Alex.’
‘I don’t recall. I don’t think so.’
‘Alex, don’t you see – there’s more than a fifty-fifty chance that that’s where the rose is right now. The connection is perfect.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Think about it.’ He wagged his forefinger at Alex as he spoke. ‘All along, you and Kate, and Vicky, of course – for obvious reasons – have nurtured Sapphire like a newborn baby.’
‘That’s true,’ said Alex.
‘And we know that whoever took the rose knows of her astronomical value.’
Alex nodded.
‘That being the case, they, too, will make damned sure that she continues to receive the same kind of mollycoddling. They’re sure as hell not going to run even the slightest risk of letting her shrivel up and die, are they?’
‘No, they’re not.’
‘I can’t imagine why I didn’t think of it before. Wherever the rose is sequestered must be a location where she can get proper expert horticultural care–’
‘Like a place that specializes in roses. Adell’s client’s place.’
‘Exactly, Alex.’
Kingston paced the kitchen. ‘We’ve got to get to Adell immediately.’
Alex frowned. ‘Surely
‘We can’t be certain, but lawyers have been known to commit serious crimes – including murder, I might add. In any case, I’m not suggesting that he stole it, that he did the whole thing single-handed. But I can almost guarantee you that he is somehow involved. It all fits.’
Alex’s expression quickly darkened. ‘If you’re right, and Adell is directly or indirectly culpable, I’ll see to it that the son of a bitch is disbarred,’ he said, through clenched teeth. ‘What a bastard!’
‘Slow down a bit, Alex. It’s only a theory, you know. Let’s not rush our fences.’
Kingston glanced at the clock. ‘If we leave right now we could be up in town by eleven. We’ll just have to chance his being there. I don’t think we want to deal with this on the phone.’
‘What if Wolff calls?’
‘He’ll have to leave a message.’
‘Why don’t we leave one?’
‘A message?’
‘On the answering machine. Record a new greetings message. Instead of saying, sorry we missed your call and wait for the beep, record a new message saying that we think we know where the rose is and that we’ll call back later this afternoon. At least we’d be buying some time.’
‘Clever idea, Alex. Let’s just hope that we’re right about Adell and his rose grower friend.’
‘We’d better be. God, we’d better be.’
Adell was clearly flummoxed when Alex and Kingston showed up at his office unannounced. ‘This is a surprise, Alex,’ he said, taking his eyes off Alex momentarily to size up Kingston. ‘What brings you two here?’
‘We need to talk about something that can’t wait. It’s serious.’ Alex turned toward Kingston. ‘Oh, this is a friend of mine, Dr Lawrence Kingston.’
‘Ah yes, the fellow who’s been helping you with the rose,’ Adell said, extending his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you, doctor, at last.’
‘Likewise,’ said Kingston, shaking his hand.
‘Well, come on in. I have a client due shortly but I can spare a few minutes.’
He ushered them into his office where they sat at Adell’s desk.
‘So, just what is it that can’t wait?’ asked Adell, sliding into his black leather chair. He looked at Alex, then back to Kingston. ‘You look upset. Is something wrong, gentlemen?’
‘Very wrong,’ Alex replied.
‘What’s this all about?’ Adell asked, putting on his glasses, regarding them across the large expanse of desk.
Alex looked directly at Adell. ‘Well, to start with, you can forget about the auction.’
‘What?’
‘We no longer have the blue rose. It’s been stolen.’
‘Stolen! My God, this is a disaster. The auction–’
‘You’ll have to cancel it.’
‘I can’t, for Christ’s sake! It’s too late.’ Adell put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes for a moment. ‘I don’t believe it,’ he sighed.
‘Well, you’d better,’ said Alex. ‘That’s not all. Lately, things have turned very nasty.’
‘What do you mean by nasty?’
‘You’re already aware of the tragic business with Graham Cooke, so I won’t go into that. But other incidents connected to the rose, incidents you’re not aware of, now pose a serious threat – a threat to a number of people. To the point where their lives could be in jeopardy.’
‘Serious threat to people’s lives? What are you talking about, Alex?’
‘I’ll tell you what I’m talking about. Since this rose came into our lives, there’s been nothing but trouble – serious trouble. What if I were to tell you that we know of four people who may have died because of this damned rose.’
‘Died! Oh, come–’
‘Yes, died,’ Alex interrupted. ‘They’re dead. We’re convinced that more will follow. Lawrence and I have been over every inch of this cursed rose business time and time again and keep coming back to the same place.’ He stared at Adell without blinking. ‘We come back to here,’ he barked. He slapped his hand loudly on the desk. ‘To your office.’
‘Now wait a moment–’
Kingston didn’t let him finish. ‘From the very beginning, we believe word of the blue rose was leaked by you. You told somebody who stood to gain from its sale.’
Adell shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his darting eyes signalling that he was now very much on the defensive. ‘Perhaps you’re not familiar with the confidentiality required of me by the lawyer-client privilege,’ he said, striving to gain the upper hand.
‘Screw your privilege,’ Alex snapped. ‘It’s too late for that. For God’s sake, who did you tell about the rose? Who got our file? Who was it?’
‘Just calm down, Alex. I don’t
‘Go on, then,’ said Alex.
Adell licked his lips nervously. ‘You remember, I told you from the start that it would be impossible to prevent news of the rose from filtering down through the industry and eventually to the press. I must say, I’m very surprised that the media hasn’t picked up on it yet.’
‘I know full well what you predicted – but who did you tell?’ asked Alex.
‘Let me finish,’ Adell answered, massaging his temples. He was obviously buying the time to choose his words carefully. ‘I’ll try to explain. Alex,’ he said at last. ‘it was the letter you forwarded to me that got me thinking.’
‘The letter from Tanaka?’ asked Alex.
