The Hawk Is Dead

86

Tuesday 28 November 2023

‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.’ Glenn Branson sat in front of Grace’s desk the way he always did, spinning the chair round and straddling it as if it were a horse. He rested his arms on the back and leaned forward. ‘Very smart. But Sir Jason Finch is away until next Monday, right?’

‘In Amsterdam.’

‘Is that significant? Like, Amsterdam?’

‘I looked it up. It used to be one of the main hubs of the world diamond trade. Less so now, but still significant.’

‘Confirming your original suspicions about him?’

‘Not suspicions — let’s just say interest. All the more so since Denton Scroope’s deciphering. I’ll look forward to interviewing him next week.’

Branson grinned. ‘And in the meantime, get you! Detective Superintendent Roy Grace all cosied up to The King and Queen. How soon before it’s Sir Roy? I’ll have to start wearing a cap so I can doff it.’

‘Very funny. Can we be serious?’

‘Sorry, boss.’

‘I’d hate to have to send you to the Tower.’

Branson grinned. ‘So?’

‘So you heard my conversation with Polly Sweeney, earlier, when she was with Lady Greaves. Lady Greaves was very definite that her husband — late husband — had enrolled in an advanced course on computer coding at the specific request of The King, right?’

‘No question.’

‘So I just had a conversation with The King.’

‘As you do.’

Grace stifled a smile. ‘He said he could not recall any such conversation.’

‘What?’

‘My thoughts exactly.’

‘Hang on, this isn’t making sense. Lady Greaves very distinctly said that His Maj was concerned about cyber-security and thought Sir Peregrine, with his intelligence background, might enrol in a course on computer coding, which could be helpful in establishing a secure network for the Royal Household. She said he’d mentioned about establishing a firewall.’

‘She did,’ Grace confirmed. ‘This is not a conversation His Majesty was likely to have forgotten.’

‘So someone hasn’t been telling the truth?’ Branson suggested.

‘Either Sir Peregrine lied to his wife. Or Lady Greaves lied to Polly. Or—’

‘Or your new bestie, The King, lied to you?’

Grace smiled. ‘Shall we do a process of elimination? Top of my list to eliminate is The King.’

‘Shame,’ Branson said with a broad grin. ‘Imagine the press coverage you’d get! Top Sussex copper arrests King Charles III as prime suspect in murder case! It would go viral. You’d instantly become the most famous detective in the world!’

‘I’m not sure it would be the smartest career move.’

‘Probably not.’

‘So, Lady Greaves. What reason would she have to lie?’

‘Trying to protect her late husband’s reputation? Or were they both in it together?’

‘In what, together?’ Grace quizzed.

‘In whatever the hell’s going on — the murder of Sir Peregrine, the murder of Geoffrey Bailey?’

He nodded, reflectively. ‘That is a possibility, although I feel unlikely. Hopefully we’ll get a clearer picture soon.’

‘What do you think?’ Branson asked. ‘What’s your gut telling you?’

‘I think Lady Greaves was telling the truth. And The King was, too. Which means Sir Peregrine was lying.’

‘Why?’

Grace thought for a moment. ‘John Gotti, former head of the New York Gambino family, and a major player across the New York Mafia families, famously said: I never lie because I don’t fear anyone. You only lie when you’re afraid.’

‘You think Sir Peregrine was afraid of something? Such as what, losing his life?’

‘Let’s consider the options. If he was one of the conspirators, he was afraid of getting caught. He wasn’t going to risk telling his wife because he knew she wouldn’t approve.’ Grace raised his eyebrows.

‘That’s one possibility,’ Branson conceded.

‘Option Two. He was suspicious that something was going on with some members of the Royal Household on the dark web. He wanted to have a look for himself, but was nervous of telling his wife for some reason — perhaps that she might be a gossip.’

Branson nodded.

‘Option Three — he’d discovered what was going on and was scared for his own life if he confronted the conspirators. So instead he decided to take a secret deep dive into their activities.’

Branson nodded again. ‘All plausible. But we’ve heard about his inappropriate relationship. And about the strange torch signalling in Sir Peregrine’s office late at night. We know the dark web is a place where you can get pretty much anything you want that you won’t find on sale in your local high street, or Amazon. Maybe he was just looking for company. Bailey had a crush on him, which was flattering, he didn’t say no. And it’s nothing to do with our enquiry. I mean, he’s sure not going to have told his wife that, and making it up that he was improving his computer coding skills at The King’s request would make it seem totally kosher.’

Before Branson could respond, Grace’s phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but answered. ‘Detective Superintendent Grace.’

‘It’s Shannon,’ she said. ‘Are you free to talk?’

‘Go ahead.’ He put the phone on loudspeaker for Branson to hear.

‘Do you have Rose Cadoret on your list of Persons of Interest?’ she asked.

‘Rose Cadoret, the Deputy Director of the Royal Collection?’

‘Correct.’

‘She is very much on my list, Shannon. I’m hoping to interview her on Thursday.’

‘I’m working on getting more information, but from what I have so far, I would say definitely she’s one to watch. I’ll have more information for you by tomorrow.’

‘What can you tell me about her now, Shannon?’

‘I’ve only just come across her name, but it’s unusual, I wanted to make sure.’

Grace spelled it out for her.

‘Yup,’ she said. ‘That’s her. Rose Cadoret.’

‘OK,’ Grace said, ‘I have another name for your list, to check out, too.’

‘Sure, who is it?’

‘Sir Jason Finch.’

‘Leave it with me.’