Dead Man's Time

snoring.’
    ‘Darling, this might be very important. Is there any way you could take him to the vet?’
    ‘Sure, and leave Noah to mind the house?’
    ‘Yep, teach him to use the vacuum cleaner and washing machine! Look, I’m serious, Humphrey could have been drugged – but we’d need some tests done before the stuff leaves
his system. If it’s difficult, I’ll see if I can get a police dog handler to take him.’
    ‘That would be helpful.’
    ‘Okay, leave it with me. I’ll get back to you.’
    ‘You’ll be home in the morning.’
    ‘Absolutely. My flight’s booked.’
    ‘I’m really scared.’
    ‘You needn’t be, darling. I’ve got the patrols stepped up around the house, and a scene guard on the gates. Has the FLO arrived?’
    ‘Yes, a lovely lady called Linda Buckley.’
    ‘Good, you’ll be fine now. How’s Noah?’ His phone was beeping.
    ‘Noah’s fine. He’s pooing for England.’
    He grinned. His phone continued beeping. ‘I’ve got another call. Love you.’
    ‘Love you, too.’
    He switched to the incoming call.
    It was Glenn Branson at the mortuary, where he was attending Amis Smallbone’s post-mortem. ‘I’ve got some fast-time developments, Roy. Alec Davies, right? He’s bright;
you’re right about him.’
    DC Alec Davies was a young officer Grace had recruited to his team a few months back, a young, extremely keen detective who he felt certain had a great future. ‘Tell me all.’
    ‘He just happened to notice a serial about a firm of estate agents, Rand and Co., who were broken into on Saturday night. They’re the ones that handle Cleo’s next-door
neighbour’s house. He checked with them and found that there was only one thing stolen – ready for this?’
    ‘Ready.’
    ‘The spare keys to the house – Chez Amis Smallbone.’
    ‘Any idea by whom, or for what reason?’
    ‘There’s more. SOCO found shoeprints at Rand and Co., and I’ve just had an analysis done by Haydn Kelly, comparing them to shoeprints found at Smallbone’s. They’re
an exact match.’
    Grace thought hard for some moments as he absorbed this. ‘So, if Haydn Kelly’s right, the implication is that someone helped themselves to a set of keys to Amis Smallbone’s
house, and then let themselves in. On the same night that Smallbone fell from the roof?’
    ‘You’re playing catch-up very well, for an old man.’
    ‘Sod you! So did he fall, or was he pushed?’
    ‘I thought I’d let you work that one out.’

110
    Beads of sweat rolled down Eamonn Pollock’s face; his Mediterranean tan had vanished and his complexion was now sickly white, as he stared into the gun barrel and at the
fury in the old man’s eyes behind it.
    ‘Dad!’ Lucas Daly said, standing up. ‘Put that down.’
    ‘I’ll put it down when I’ve emptied it into that sack of shit,’ he said, waving it at Pollock. ‘Now you sit back down.’
    Lucas hesitated.
    ‘SIT DOWN!’
    ‘Dad!’
    Gavin Daly pulled the trigger. In the confines of the room the shot was like a thunderclap. The bullet tore through the tabletop a couple of feet from where Lucas was standing, sending splinters
flying, and plugged into the carpet.
    In the stunned silence that followed, all four of them were motionless, momentarily deafened, their ears popping, breathing in the reek of cordite.
    ‘I said
sit down
!’ Gavin Daly hissed at his son.
    Lucas sat down.
    ‘Gavin!’ Rosenblaum said. ‘What the heck—?’
    ‘I’ll pay for any damage, Julius. You have to understand what’s going on.’
    ‘Jesus, Gavin! You got some score to settle, do it someplace else – not in here, please!’
    Supporting himself on his walking stick, Gavin Daly jabbed the gun at Pollock. ‘This piece of vermin’s uncle murdered my father.’ He swung the gun towards Lucas. ‘This
other piece of vermin is my son, unfortunately. These two charmers killed my sister to get this watch.’
    ‘I never – I never did – Dad, that was not the plan!’
    ‘Perhaps you’d like to tell me what the plan was, exactly? I’d like to know. I’d like to know why my sister was murdered and why the pair of you are in New York trying to
sell my stolen watch? Go on, tell me, I’m all ears, and it had better be damned good.’
    The two seated men looked at each other.
    The door opened and Rosenblaum’s secretary looked in, nervously. ‘I heard a – Is – is everything all – ?’ Then she froze as she saw the gun.
    Rosenblaum nodded, then looked at her,