Dead Man's Time

for a new daytime television
show.
    ‘I think we’ve got new neighbours,’ Cleo said.
    ‘Oh?’
    ‘The house next door that was up for rent.’
    ‘The owners are in Dubai, right?’
    ‘Yes, I think on a two-year contract. The TO LET sign’s been taken down and I saw lights on in there this evening.’
    ‘You haven’t met them?’
    ‘No – and so far they’ve been very quiet.’
    ‘Do you think we should invite them over for a drink sometime?’
    She shrugged. ‘I suppose that would be a nice gesture. Sometime when you are actually
here,’
she added pointedly.
    He nodded.
    ‘Go to bed, darling,’ she said. ‘You look exhausted.’
    ‘I was thinking,’ he said, and smiled.
    ‘Thinking what?’
    ‘How lucky Noah is to have such an amazing mother.’
    ‘His dad’s not bad, either!’
    ‘Sometimes.’
    ‘Yeah.’ She wrinkled her nose in agreement, and grinned. ‘Sometimes.’
    Noah burped.
    Grace went back to bed, but sat up, picked up the book he had been reading, and found his place. It was one from the pile of books on the early gang history of New York that he had bought from
City Books.
    Halfway through the first page of the chapter he saw a name, and froze.

66
    Gavin Daly was feeling his age this morning. He’d stayed up until 5 a.m. phoning his old contacts in America, first in New York, then, as it became late, he switched to a
contact in Denver, Colorado, followed by one in Los Angeles. He was feeling ready for his eleven o’clock glass of wine and his first cigar of the day. Then he heard the front doorbell
ring.
    A few minutes later his housekeeper knocked on his study door and entered. ‘There’s a police officer asking if he could have a word with you, Mr Daly.’
    He nodded, his eyes feeling raw. ‘Show him in – I’ll see him here.’
    Moments later, Roy Grace entered. Daly stood up and mustered a cheery smile. ‘Detective Superintendent, what a pleasant surprise. Do you have some news for me?’
    ‘I’d like to have a chat with you, Mr Daly.’
    He ushered Grace to one of the studded red chesterfields. ‘I was about to have a drink. Do you like white Burgundy?’
    ‘I do, but I’m on duty, sir. Some coffee would be very welcome.’
    The detective looked and sounded as tired as he himself felt. Daly instructed Betty to bring coffee and his wine, then sat back in his chair and swivelled round to face Grace. ‘Do you have
some news for me?’
    ‘We made an arrest last night, sir, of a male suspect involved in your sister’s robbery.’
    ‘That’s extremely welcome news. May I know his name?’
    ‘Do you have any views on possible suspects yourself, sir?’
    ‘I don’t, no.’
    ‘Other than the knocker-boy, Ricky Moore?’ Grace watched his eyes carefully.
    ‘Other than Moore, no.’
    ‘I’d appreciate your keeping this confidential, for the moment.’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘The man we arrested is called Gareth Dupont. Does that name mean anything to you?’
    Daly shook his head. Then echoed the name. ‘Gareth Dupont?’
    Grace continued studying his face. ‘I can’t say too much at the moment, but we have evidence linking him to the scene. You’ve never heard your sister mention his
name?’
    ‘Never.’
    ‘I’m trying to find out if he would ever have had a legitimate reason for being in the house.’
    ‘Not so far as I know.’
    ‘I wonder if you could tell me in a little more detail about the watch that was taken from your sister’s safe? To help us try to identify it. It’s extremely difficult without a
photograph, as I’m sure you can appreciate. We know the make and we have a description, but there are quite a number that may fit that description.’
    Daly shook his head. ‘No, this was unique. Well, let me qualify that, almost unique. I don’t know how much you know about watches, Detective Superintendent?’
    Grace glanced down at the sturdy but heavily scratched Swiss Army watch Sandy had given him for his thirtieth birthday, the day she disappeared; its leather strap was almost worn out.
‘Very little, I’m afraid.’
    ‘Well, it’s pretty fair to say that Patek Philippe & Cie, founded in 1851, is the inventor of the pocket watch, which evolved into the wristwatch familiar to us all today. The
firm invented automatic winding, the perpetual calendar, the split-seconds hand, the chronograph, the minute repeater – as a result, vintage Patek Philippes tend to have an exceptionally high
value. The world record price ever