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“Yes. Ingleborough from Hornby Castle Terrace. Hasn’t been seen since the turn of the last century. It fetched a record price when it was sold at Christie’s in 1881 to a certain W. Law, Esquire. Two thousand guineas, in fact. It would be nice to find it and complete the set, of course, but it’s not as if they’re all collected in one place.”
“Real Antiques Roadshow.”
“You may well laugh, but it happens more often than you think. That dusty old frame in the attic. The ugly landscape old Aunt Eunice’s grandad hid away in the cellar.”
A
“Of course not. But somebody thought little enough of it to bury it under a couple of layers of insulation.”
As they ate their meals, they talked about paintings and films they liked, and A
When it was time for dessert, A
“Have you ever heard of a local artist called Thomas McMahon?” she asked Phil after her first mouth-watering spoonful.
Phil frowned. “McMahon? Can’t say I have, no. Why? He any good?”
“I probably shouldn’t be telling you,” she said, “but it’ll be in the papers tomorrow, and probably on the radio and TV tonight. He’s most likely the victim in the boat fires. One of the victims. I just wondered if you’d heard of him at all, come across him in your line of business?”
“I don’t come across many living artists, I’m afraid,” said Phil.
“From all accounts, after a promising start he dropped out of the scene some years ago, made a living painting landscapes for tourists.”
“Then I’d have even less reason to have heard of him. Always the detective, eh, A
A
“Nothing unusual in that, surely?”
“We don’t think he was very well off, and besides, most of the stuff he bought was worthless. Worthless but old.”
Phil looked at her, and she saw the begi
“Okay. Don’t worry. I’ll be waiting.”
A
“DI Cabbot?”
“Yes.”
“DCI Banks said to tell you there’s been another one – another fire, that is – and he wants you to get out to Je
“I know it,” said A
Bollocks, she thought, putting her phone away and reentering the restaurant. Inconsiderate arsonist, spoiling her evening. She just had time to make a quick apology to Phil before heading out.
“Can I give you a lift?” he asked.
“No, thanks,” said A
Just to end their evening together on a perfect note, A
Chapter 7
Je
The call had disturbed Banks partway through Goldfinger – the bit where the laser is slowly creeping up toward Bond’s privates – takeout chicken fried rice and his second can of lager. He stood with his hands in his pockets breathing out plumes of air and watched A
She caught him looking and blushed. “What?”
“Nothing,” Banks said. “You look nice.”
A
The remains of a caravan, the sole dwelling in the field, parked at the far end, just under the shelter of a couple of beech trees, still smoldered, and an acrid stink of burned rubber and plastic wafted their way. There was nothing left of the roof and sides; only a skeleton of soot-blackened metal struts remained, and the i
“Anyone inside?” A
“We’ve got one body,” Banks told her. “And luckily this time we think we know who it is.”
A
Banks pointed to a man talking to DC Winsome Jackman over by the group of parked cars and two gleaming red fire appliances. “That’s Jack Mellor. He’s a regular at the Fox and Hounds, about half a mile down the road, in the nearest village, and he reported the fire. He’s still pretty shaken. He says he saw the flames as he was walking his dog down the road at about nine o’clock for a couple of pints and a chat with his mates as usual.” Banks pointed away from the village lights. “He lives in Ash Cottage, about two hundred yards in that direction. Says the chap who lived in the caravan was another Fox and Hounds regular. Quiet bloke, by all accounts. Harmless. Name of Roland Gardiner.”
“He lived alone in the caravan?”
“Yes. Been there at least a couple of years now, according to our Mr. Mellor. There’s no car in evidence. Not even any wheels on the caravan. See the way it’s propped up on blocks? Anyway, this field’s common land, despite its name. Nobody knows who the hell Je
“What the hell’s going on?” A
“It certainly looks that way, doesn’t it?” said Banks. “But let’s not jump to conclusions. We’ve no evidence yet that there’s any co