Next in Line (William Warwick, #5)(9)

‘No,’ said Faulkner firmly. ‘At least not until the trial’s over, if I’m going to convince the jury I’m a reformed character and was unlawfully arrested. So, for the next few months I need to be like Caesar’s wife – “above suspicion”.’

Tulip looked puzzled.

‘However, I intend to make sure Christina ends up penniless long before the case comes to court, and Warwick will be lucky to get a job as a security guard at the Fitzmolean,’ he added as he pushed his eggs and bacon to one side.

‘What about Inspector Hogan?’

‘You can dispose of him as and when you please. But be sure to make it memorable,’ said Miles, once again looking at the front page of the Telegraph. ‘As I plan to end up with more than a shelf in the Black Museum.’

? ? ?

‘That was Lieutenant Sanchez of the Barcelona police,’ said the Hawk as he put down the phone. ‘He said Booth Watson boarded Faulkner’s yacht soon after his men had turned up.’

‘Interesting,’ said William. ‘Where’s the yacht heading?’

‘It was last seen rounding the Bay of Biscay – Interpol have kept a close eye on it.’

‘So Booth Watson must be on his way back to England, under the illusion that his client was still locked up in the safe when he left, and couldn’t possibly have survived.’

‘You could be right, William, because Sanchez also said the only thing left hanging on the walls were the hooks, so he must have removed all the paintings.’

‘In which case, sir, may I suggest we alert the coastguard to keep a look out for him, so we can be waiting on the dockside long before he enters territorial waters.’

‘Good thinking,’ said the Hawk as he picked up the phone.

? ? ?

‘Mrs Christina Faulkner is on line one, Sir Julian,’ said his secretary.

‘Put her through,’ her lawyer said reluctantly. Although he didn’t care much for Mrs Faulkner, he always enjoyed their encounters. She’d made life difficult for his son over the years, and he knew William was concerned about Christina’s friendship with his wife Beth, but she was like a good novel, and you could never be sure how it would end – the twists came when you least expected them.

‘Good morning, Mrs Faulkner,’ he said, ‘how can I be of assistance?’

‘My ex-husband is back in jail, Sir Julian, as I feel sure you already know.’

‘I had heard as much.’

‘What you may not know is that his yacht is heading for England with Mr Booth Watson aboard, as well as one hundred and ninety-one oil paintings of not unknown provenance.’

‘How can you possibly know that?’

‘Because Miles’s butler rang me last night to tell me the yacht set sail from Barcelona over a week ago and asked me if I knew how to get in touch with Miles.’

‘What else did he tell you?’ asked Sir Julian as he picked up a pen and began to make notes.

‘BW has not only removed all of Miles’s paintings, but also ordered the butler to put his home in Spain on the market.’

‘And has he?’

‘No way. In fact, once he realized that Miles was still alive, and back in prison in England, he’s been desperate to get in touch with him, which is why he ended up calling me.’ She paused. ‘And then who do you think called me in the middle of the night?’

Sir Julian didn’t respond, well aware that Mrs Faulkner couldn’t wait to tell him.

‘None other than the yacht’s captain.’ Christina didn’t give a reason, knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist asking …

‘And what did he have to say for himself?’ enquired Sir Julian, finally giving up.

‘They are on their way back to England, Christchurch to be precise, and anticipate docking imminently.’

‘Once again I’m curious to know why he would call you, of all people?’

‘I’m the lesser of two evils,’ declared Christina. ‘In fact, Captain Redmayne distrusts Booth Watson so much I think that, if he was given half a chance, he’d throw him overboard.’

That would solve all our problems, thought Sir Julian, but kept his counsel.

‘So if you were able to contact the harbourmaster at Christchurch and find out when the yacht’s due to dock,’ suggested Christina, ‘we could be standing on the quayside waiting to greet the eminent QC, leaving him little choice but to return my half of the paintings, as agreed in my divorce settlement – which you drafted.’

It always fascinated Sir Julian that Miles and Christina were two of the same kind, and he wasn’t even sure which one of them was the more devious. However, he had to admit that sinking Booth Watson and Miles Faulkner at the same time was tempting to say the least.

‘I think that might be possible, Mrs Faulkner,’ said Sir Julian, still keeping her at arm’s length.

‘If you could let me know when the yacht has entered territorial waters, the captain assured me that would give us at least a couple of hours to make sure we can get there in time to give him a right royal welcome.’

It always amused Sir Julian that Mrs Faulkner assumed he would be available at the drop of a hat (her hat), but he had to admit she was far more interesting than the tax avoidance case he was currently prosecuting in the high court, which his daughter Grace was more than capable of handling. Although he would never admit it, he couldn’t wait to find out how Booth Watson intended to explain to Faulkner – who had probably been trying to get in touch with him for the past ten days – why he had brought his pictures back to England and put his house in Spain on the market without consulting him.