Langton coughed. ‘So what, you think someone got into the boat and pulled themselves across?’
‘Well, that’s what we thought, but they weren’t in the woods.’ Mr Powell puffed himself up. ‘I know that because I did a good search around. I had my flashlight with me, and my cosh, so if anyone was trying to break into our cottage…’
Langton sighed. The interview had really tried his patience, but at least now they had the Powells’ permission for officers to camp out on their land. He was just worried that ‘the General’, as he nicknamed Mr Powell, might give the game away with his flashlight and cosh!
Anna called Alison to say that, when she spoke to Keith, could she ask him if he was ever in a rowing boat with Sickert.
‘It all adds up, you know,’ she told Langton. ‘Dogs arriving: could be the ones from Peckham. Then to hear kids’ voices by the lake and some kind of argument — maybe that’s how Sickert got the kids out of there. It would also make sense of why Orso wants that boundary line: he could fence in the property.’
Langton leaned over and ruffled her hair. ‘Little brain never stops ticking!’
She hated people who ruffled her hair!
He didn’t notice her response, however, as he checked his watch. ‘Mike must be in there by now.’
Mike Lewis, wearing a Gas Board boilersuit and accompanied by a real Gas Board official, was being shown to the back kitchen entrance by the tall man they knew as the driver. The kitchen door was opened by a good-looking black woman in her thirties. She was nervous, but gestured for them to come in.
The kitchen was massive, with a marble floor and a square central marble-topped chopping area; above it were rows of copper pans and utensils. There was a large round pine table in the bay window, which overlooked the lake. The table was set for lunch: four places.
‘The Aga no work,’ she said, pointing.
They kneeled down in front of it, as she hovered.
Mike then got up and turned to the woman. ‘This might be a mains gas problem; does this also heat the water?’
She looked confused.
‘Only I’ll need to check the water tanks.’
‘Excuse me.’ She walked out. Mike had the tiny microphone in place beneath the table within seconds.
‘What is the problem?’ This was the elegant woman seen driving in and out.
‘We think you have a gas block but, as this Aga also heats your water, I will need to look into your boiler room. Have you turned off the main gas taps?’ He showed her his fake ID. ‘Are you the owner?’
‘I am Mrs Orso. Ella, stay in the kitchen please,’ she snapped, then gestured for Mike to follow her.
According to Mike, compared to the house in Peckham, this place was like Buckingham Palace. It was very classy: full of antiques and clean as a new pin. He had not been able to get any microphones in the main dining room, lounge, or guest bedrooms, but he had one in the kitchen, one on the staircase close to the front door, another on the first-floor landing and one in the master bedroom.
‘It’s a huge place, bloody massive; from the plans, you can’t really tell just how big it is. There are two Alsatians chained up in a kennel at the front by the garage. The rear is clear — access would be easy from across the lake, with good coverage from the woods — but the front is like Fort Knox. You’ve got the gates, that high fence, and a wall with a dense hedge all the way round. They also have a lot of automatic security lights; these are positioned right the way round the house and gardens. There’s a wine cellar, but we couldn’t get down there.’
Harry and Brandon arrived, and gave their report. They had checked out the delivery lorries that belonged to the warehouse and would now process all the known employees. They had also discovered that Orso had shipped the same cargo into the USA.
‘Who buys all these bloody baskets?’ Harry said disgustedly.
‘Same masks as the ones in Peckham house,’ Brandon noted, then looked to Mike Lewis. ‘How did the gas fitting go?’
‘Okay. They’re planted, but sadly not in the main rooms. We saw no one apart from a very nervous servant girl and Mrs Orso, who’s a piece of work.’
Langton sighed. ‘We’ve also no sighting of this guy Emmerick, or the other men in the house, apart from the driver.’
‘Big place though; there was a whole floor I couldn’t get to,’ Mike said.
Langton sighed again, then looked up as the sound engineer opened the door and gestured for him to come into the van parked outside. There was a four-man team closeted in the van, working round the clock for as long as it took to get a result. Langton entered, and one of them passed him a set of headphones.
‘Phone?’ he asked.
‘No — kitchen microphone.’
It was Mrs Orso and she was screaming. ‘How can you ruin a steak, how can you ruin a steak? This is fillet steak, do you know how much this cost? What each of these steaks cost? Just get out of my way, get out!’
There was a clatter and rattle of what sounded like pans.
‘She has been trouble from day one. I want you to get rid of her — she is driving me crazy! She still has no idea how to use the iron. I had to show her how to work the dishwasher, never mind the tumble-dryer. I want you to get me someone else.’
The voice was male, soft and cultured. ‘Make do with her until we leave.’
‘How long is that going to be? We can’t keep taking Rose in and out of school; it’s very unproductive for her. Will you have this one? It’s the only one not spoilt. You know what I caught her doing? Boiling it! She was boiling fillet steak!’
‘Yeah, well, they eat dogs where she came from.’ This was another male; a cruder voice, lower-pitched.
Langton listened attentively. There was the sound of crockery and cutlery, and then Mrs Orso again.
‘There’s some salad, but God only knows what she would have put on that. She can’t even mix a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing.’
‘Gimme some Hellmann’s,’ said the crude voice.
‘Sweetheart, go and see Rose, and get David in; maybe he likes shoe leather.’
There was a laugh, again from the crude voice. ‘He’d eat it if it was.’
‘That’s enough; keep your mouth clean round my wife!’
Langton felt the sweat run down from his armpits. ‘That’s got to be Emmerick; so if she’s gone to get David, who’s the big mouth?’
They listened as cutlery hit crockery; then in came footsteps and voice three.
‘I’ve had Franklin on the phone. He says there’s been customs officers crawling all over the warehouse, saying some bloke’s been picked up for taking bribes.’
‘Wasn’t our man,’ said Emmerick.
‘They were there for a hell of a long time and he got into a panic.’
‘Too late. The cargo was checked and clean, so just stay calm.’
‘I am calm — I just thought you’d want to be informed. You know I didn’t like that prick from Parkhurst coming on to me.’
‘Then lose the phone!’ Emmerick again.
‘Christ, this is tough. I can’t eat this shit,’ said the crude voice.
There was a crash, as what sounded like a plate hit the floor and broke.
‘You are beginning to get on my nerves. If you can’t eat it, give it to the dogs, but you chuck one of my dinner plates around again and I’ll—’
‘Sorry, sorry, but it was disgusting. Gimme the Hellmann’s; I’ll have some salad. I’ve not had anything to eat since breakfast and I’m starving. Being stuck up there is starting to drive me nuts. Maybe send the bitch Ella up to make my bed.’
‘You know, sometimes your audacity makes my skin crawl. You didn’t even consider what problems you caused by handing her over to me, did you?’