‘Ah yes, the fellow who’s been helping you with the rose,’ Adell said, extending his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you, doctor, at last.’
‘Likewise,’ said Kingston, shaking his hand.
‘Well, come on in. I have a client due shortly but I can spare a few minutes.’
He ushered them into his office where they sat at Adell’s desk.
‘So, just what is it that can’t wait?’ asked Adell, sliding into his black leather chair. He looked at Alex, then back to Kingston. ‘You look upset. Is something wrong, gentlemen?’
‘Very wrong,’ Alex replied.
‘What’s this all about?’ Adell asked, putting on his glasses, regarding them across the large expanse of desk.
Alex looked directly at Adell. ‘Well, to start with, you can forget about the auction.’
‘What?’
‘We no longer have the blue rose. It’s been stolen.’
‘Stolen! My God, this is a disaster. The auction–’
‘You’ll have to cancel it.’
‘I can’t, for Christ’s sake! It’s too late.’ Adell put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes for a moment. ‘I don’t believe it,’ he sighed.
‘Well, you’d better,’ said Alex. ‘That’s not all. Lately, things have turned very nasty.’
‘What do you mean by nasty?’
‘You’re already aware of the tragic business with Graham Cooke, so I won’t go into that. But other incidents connected to the rose, incidents you’re not aware of, now pose a serious threat – a threat to a number of people. To the point where their lives could be in jeopardy.’
‘Serious threat to people’s lives? What are you talking about, Alex?’
‘I’ll tell you what I’m talking about. Since this rose came into our lives, there’s been nothing but trouble – serious trouble. What if I were to tell you that we know of four people who may have died because of this damned rose.’
‘Died! Oh, come–’
‘Yes, died,’ Alex interrupted. ‘They’re dead. We’re convinced that more will follow. Lawrence and I have been over every inch of this cursed rose business time and time again and keep coming back to the same place.’ He stared at Adell without blinking. ‘We come back to here,’ he barked. He slapped his hand loudly on the desk. ‘To your office.’
‘Now wait a moment–’
Kingston didn’t let him finish. ‘From the very beginning, we believe word of the blue rose was leaked by you. You told somebody who stood to gain from its sale.’
Adell shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his darting eyes signalling that he was now very much on the defensive. ‘Perhaps you’re not familiar with the confidentiality required of me by the lawyer-client privilege,’ he said, striving to gain the upper hand.
‘Screw your privilege,’ Alex snapped. ‘It’s too late for that. For God’s sake, who did you tell about the rose? Who got our file? Who was it?’
‘Just calm down, Alex. I don’t know who stole your file. It’s never showed up. So let’s not get into a shouting match. We’ll discuss this civilly, if you don’t mind.’
‘Go on, then,’ said Alex.
Adell licked his lips nervously. ‘You remember, I told you from the start that it would be impossible to prevent news of the rose from filtering down through the industry and eventually to the press. I must say, I’m very surprised that the media hasn’t picked up on it yet.’
‘I know full well what you predicted – but who did you tell?’ asked Alex.
‘Let me finish,’ Adell answered, massaging his temples. He was obviously buying the time to choose his words carefully. ‘I’ll try to explain. Alex,’ he said at last. ‘it was the letter you forwarded to me that got me thinking.’
‘The letter from Tanaka?’ asked Alex.
‘Yes, the chap who wanted the rose for his client in Japan. I was about to respond by telling him politely not to call you again, that he would have to wait for the auction and hold up his bidding card just like everybody else. Then it occurred to me…’ He took off his glasses, put them on the desk and rubbed his eyes, ‘that this might present the perfect opportunity for me to do Charlie Compton a favour. He’s a client of mine. Runs a rose-growing business down in Sussex, Compton and Sons. I told you about him when you and Kate were last here, do you remember?’
‘Yes, I do,’ said Alex. ‘Near Brighton, you said.’
‘Right. Our firm did work for his father way back, before my time. Patent stuff, mostly. The company’s not big, by any means – quite small actually. Charlie’s been going through a rough patch this last year or so. Between you and me, they’ve been having trouble lately meeting the payroll. Like a lot of industries, the big boys are getting bigger and the competition more cut-throat.’ He took a breath. ‘Then along comes Tanaka’s letter.’
Kingston flashed Alex a sly look, at the same time giving his leg a gentle kick behind the cover of the desk.
‘Go on. What happened next?’ asked Alex.
Adell toyed with his glasses. ‘If Tanaka was successful in bidding for the rose, I thought he would need somebody to handle the logistics of moving it: transplanting, shipping, all that kind of stuff. With the high stakes involved, that had to be undertaken by somebody who knew roses. It was out of the question for Charlie’s company to consider bidding for the rose at auction, but I saw no harm in telling Tanaka to contact him. It wasn’t like I was giving Charlie preferential treatment. He just couldn’t be a player. But if he hooked up with Tanaka, he could be a valuable asset. My guess was that he would probably make quite a chunk of money out of such an arrangement.’ He cleared his throat, nervously. ‘Well, I faxed Tanaka and told him about Charlie. Suggested that the two might be able to work something out that could be mutually beneficial. Only if Tanaka was successful in acquiring the rose, of course. Naturally, I couldn’t be involved in any part of it. I made that perfectly clear. That’s about the sum of it, I guess,’ he said, clasping his hands together.
‘So, they got together?’
‘Yes. Charlie called me later and told me so. That’s all I know.’
‘If Tanaka had our address, chances are he gave it to Compton, too.’
‘Well…’ Adell fumbled for the right words. ‘I assume he must have because – yes, I remember, now – Compton told me at the time that he wanted to meet you and Kate, Alex. He was very excited about the prospect.’
‘So Compton knew early on that we owned the rose – where we lived, too – the whole story,’ said Alex.
Adell ignored his comment. ‘I told Charlie I’d breached ethical boundaries in telling him. That he must respect that, and not bring up the subject of the rose again. To the best of my knowledge he kept that promise.’ He straightened, and put his glasses in their case, as if to indicate that the conversation was about to end. ‘In any case, just because he knew about the rose hardly means he stole it.’
‘Forgive me,’ Kingston said, interrupting. ‘Your Mr Compton seems to me to be far and away our most likely suspect. There’s only one other candidate but for reasons I won’t go into we’re ruling him out for the moment.’
‘We must to talk to Compton,’ Alex snapped. ‘Lives could be at stake here.’
‘Even his,’ said Kingston.
Adell snorted. ‘Come on, aren’t you exaggerating a bit?’
Alex and Kingston exchanged looks. ‘I’m afraid not and I’ll tell you why,’ said Kingston. ‘Alex and I have discovered something else about this ravishing beauty of a rose. It’s hiding a dirty little secret.’
Adell looked even more confused. He chuckled, nervously. ‘A dirty little secret? Like what?’