Winter Chill. Jon Cleary

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СКАЧАТЬ to calling it that,’ she added, more to herself than to him.

      ‘Perhaps I should contact him?’

      ‘To what purpose? But please yourself.’

      ‘Will you have dinner with me this evening? I understand the food in Sydney is edible and the wines are excellent.’

      ‘I wouldn’t be good company, Dick.’

      He drained his glass, then stood up. ‘Oh, by the way, did Orville leave any papers here? He brought a stuffed briefcase with him, I believe. Young Tallis told me he was the one who had to carry it. Lug it, was the phrase he used.’

      ‘It’s in the other room.’ She rose and went into the bedroom. While she was gone he looked at the drinks tray, looked at his glass, then reluctantly put down the glass. When she came back she stopped in the bedroom doorway. ‘It’s not there.’

      ‘Perhaps Tallis has it?’

      ‘Perhaps. But he wouldn’t have taken it without telling me—’

      ‘Have you been out of here since you arrived?’ His voice was quick with concern.

      ‘No. Yes, yes, of course. I had to go to the morgue on – Monday? Two days ago? God, have I been sitting here that long?’

      ‘We better get Tallis up here. What’s our room number? Oh, yes.’ He picked up the phone, asked for the room: ‘Adam? Could you come up to Mrs Brame’s suite? Yes, now.’ He sounded irritated again; or edgy. He hung up the phone. ‘We have to find that briefcase.’

      ‘Pour me a gin-and-tonic, please. Light on the gin,’ she said, remembering his heavy hand. ‘Why did Orville bring papers all the way from New York to here? Were they ABA papers?’

      ‘Some of them, I guess. Yes, some of them would be. But there would have been others—’

      There was a knock on the door; De Vries went to it and opened it. ‘That was quick, Adam.’

      ‘I came up the stairs, I didn’t wait for the elevator. You said now.’ The young man was not impolite, but Joanna recognized where his loyalties lay; and was pleased for Orville’s sake. ‘Something wrong?’

      ‘Mr Brame’s briefcase is missing.’

      Tallis frowned, looked at Joanna. ‘You sure? It was there – damn! Come to think of it, I haven’t seen it since Sunday afternoon, when I gave it to Mr Brame. He gave it to me to take care of Sunday morning when he went out to see his brother.’

      ‘He told you he was going to see his brother?’ said De Vries.

      ‘Yes. He seemed – perturbed? I mean, at meeting him. But he didn’t say why. But what’s happened to the briefcase?’

      ‘That’s what – perturbs us,’ said De Vries. ‘Did you know what was in it?’

      Tallis shook his head. ‘It was locked all the time I had it. Mr Brame never told me the combination. But I can’t understand …’

      ‘Someone must have taken it while I was out at the morgue on Monday morning. Or – once I went down to the coffee lounge when the maid came in.’ Joanna put down her glass, picked up the phone. ‘I think we should call the police.’

      ‘No.’ De Vries held up a hand. ‘No, not yet. Let’s make sure no one here in the hotel has it. If there are ABA papers in it, Orville could have given it to one of the other officers. Karl Zoehrer, perhaps. Don’t let’s panic—’

      ‘I’m not panicking, Dick.’ But Joanna put down the phone.

      ‘Mr Zoehrer’s over at the Convention Hall,’ said Tallis. ‘There’s a session on international law. He’s chairing it. Mr Brame was scheduled to do it. I’ll go over there now, find out if he has the briefcase.’

      As the door closed behind him, De Vries turned to Joanna. ‘We have to retrieve that briefcase and those papers.’

      ‘That’s why I think we should call in the police. There has to be a connection between it and Orville’s – murder.’

      ‘I think I need another drink.’ He moved towards the drinks tray.

      ‘No, I think you should go and lie down, Dick. You look as if you’re suddenly suffering from jet lag.’

      Then the phone rang. Reception wanted to know if Inspector Malone could come up to see Mrs Brame.

      2

      Malone preferred not to interview people on his own, but his resources were spread thin this morning. ‘We want someone here to mind the store,’ he had told Clements. He had looked around the almost empty big room; there were only two detectives at their desks, each of them head bent above papers. ‘You’re it, Russ. You can enjoy yourself answering the phone from the Commissioner, the Minister. Even Bill Clinton. Where’s Andy Graham?’

      ‘I sent him over to ABS Security to check on Rockman’s references from his other employers. Then he can follow that up by going to see those firms, find out what he can about Rockman.’

      ‘Peta Smith and John Kagal?’

      ‘They’re out looking for Rockman’s ex-girlfriend.’ Clements settled back in Malone’s chair. ‘This chair’s a bit tight on the bum. If I’m moving in here next Monday, I’ll bring my own. Good luck with Mrs Brame.’

      When Malone knocked on the door of the Brame suite it was opened by a silver-haired man who didn’t seem particularly glad to see him. ‘I’m Richard De Vries. Come in – Inspector, is it? Your ranks are different from ours, aren’t they?’

      In contrast to De Vries, Joanna Brame looked pleased to see him. ‘Do come in, Inspector. Have you some good news? Well, no, not good news—’ She gestured, but not vapidly. ‘Why should I be asking for that? If you’ve caught the murderer, it still won’t be good news, will it?’

      ‘No, Mrs Brame. And we haven’t caught him. I’m sorry to say we’re not much further advanced. Except—’

      ‘Except?’ De Vries was standing by the drinks tray. ‘Drink?’

      ‘Mr De Vries is the other senior partner. He arrived from the States only this morning.’

      Malone shook his head at the offer of a drink, but noticed that De Vries poured himself a stiff whisky. But before the older man tasted his drink he said, ‘You said except. Except what?’

      Malone then explained about the murder of Murray Rockman.

      ‘He was murdered near here? Is this a dangerous area where the hotel is?’

      ‘It hasn’t been up till now.’ Malone knew he sounded defensive, like a local city councillor.

      ‘It’s starting to sound that way now.’

      Malone ignored him and looked at Joanna Brame. ‘The bullet that killed the security guard was the same calibre as the one that killed your husband.’

      ‘But СКАЧАТЬ