Page 104 of A Death in Cornwall

The doors slid open and Ingrid followed Monjean into the foyer. A single overhead light shone dimly. On the wall directly before them was Harris Weber & Company’s understated logo. Next to it was a glass door and card reader.

“Open sesame,” said Ingrid.

A buzzer groaned, a lock snapped.

They were in.

Nothing about Harris Weber’s stylish workplace suggested that the firm was involved in the practice of law. Ingrid followed a corridor past a row of empty glass-enclosed offices, then turned to the left. A locked door halted her progress.

“Ready when you are,” she said, and the lock gave way.

The room they entered was in darkness. With the flashlight function of her phone, Ingrid illuminated several rows of metal file cabinets. At the opposite end of the room was yet another door.

“Would you mind terribly?” she asked.

Lambert unlocked the door remotely, and Ingrid and Monjean went inside. A table, a swivel chair, a desktop computer, a printer, and a double-doored executive safe with an electronic lock.

Ingrid entered the combination.

“Shit,” she whispered.

“Don’t tell me,” said Gabriel.

Ingrid opened the door of the safe. “Works every time.”

She illuminated the interior.

“Merde,” said René Monjean.

“What’s the problem now?” asked Gabriel.

“Several million euros in cash,” replied Ingrid.

“Is there anything else?”

“A rather large pile of physical documents and a twenty-terabyte SanDisk external hard drive.”

Ingrid removed the SanDisk and connected it to her laptop.

“How much data is there?” asked Gabriel.

“Three point two terabytes.”

“How long will it take?”

“One moment, please. Your question is very important to us.” Ingrid connected one of the storage devices she had purchased that morning and initiated the transfer. “According to the little window on my screen, it will take four hours and twelve minutes.”

“Which will leave you plenty of time to photograph the rest of those documents.”

“It would be my pleasure,” said Ingrid, and rang off.

René Monjean was eyeing the stacks of newly minted euro banknotes. “How much do you suppose there is?”

“Five or six million.”

“Do you think they would miss a million or two?”

“Probably.”

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