Page 98 of Traitors Gate

‘Which will be at eleven thirty tomorrow,’ Jackie reminded them.

‘I still think he’s got another surprise in store for us,’ said Paul.

‘I agree,’ said William, ‘because so far, he’s always been a step ahead of us. Why did he give us back the Sword of State, but not the crown?’

‘Where is the crown now?’ asked the Hawk.

‘Paul and I delivered it to Buckingham Palace about an hour ago,’ said William. ‘I was met by the Lord Chamberlain who was standing in the courtyard waiting in the rain. I’ve never seen such a look of relief.’

‘Did he check inside the bag?’

‘He certainly did,’ said Paul, ‘and as he allowed us to leave, I can only assume he was satisfied.’

‘Or has Faulkner got away with it,’ mused William, ‘while we’ve walked straight into his latest trap?’

‘But we’ve got the crown and the sword back, and arrested Faulkner,’ said Jackie. ‘What more could we ask for?’

‘I don’t know,’ said William, ‘but I have to wonder why he would give us back the sword but keep the crown, and then allow himself to be caught with the crown, knowing he would end up in custody. As you taught me when I was a young detective, sir, only three things matter in any crime.’

‘Motive, motive and motive,’ said Rebecca, speaking for the first time.

‘Money, money and money?’ suggested Paul. ‘The crown must be worth millions.’

‘Over a billion,’ said Jackie, ‘if the internet is to be believed.’

‘Or nothing,’ said William. ‘Don’t forget no professional criminal would touch the crown for fear that every police force on earth would want to take credit for apprehendingthe thief. So I don’t believe that was ever Faulkner’sraison d’être.’

‘Unless he planned to break up the crown and sell the stones individually?’ suggested Jackie.

‘Something else he couldn’t risk,’ said William. ‘The moment anyone saw the Cullinan II Diamond, they’d panic. It’s the second largest diamond in the world and the size of a golf ball. So would be pretty hard to miss. As would the St Edward’s Sapphire or the Black Prince’s Ruby that any jeweller worth his salt would recognize immediately. No, if it had been Faulkner’s intention to sell off the jewels individually,’ continued William, ‘it would have been a lot easier to have stripped the sword of its stones as they are not as well-known as those in the crown, but are still worth a fortune.’

‘Then if it isn’t money,’ said the Hawk, ‘what is it?’

‘I suppose he could ransom it,’ said Rebecca.

‘For what?’ said Paul.

‘Me,’ said William.

This silenced even the Hawk as they all waited for an explanation.

‘Can you imagine how much publicity this story would create if it became known that someone had nicked the Crown Jewels from right under our noses? Not just in Britain, but across the world. While at the same time everyone around this table would have to resign and spend the rest of their lives being remembered for only one thing.’ A long silence followed before William finally said, ‘The press would hail Faulkner as the new Raffles, while I would be cast as Inspector Clouseau.’

No one laughed.

‘But Faulkner would still end up spending the rest of his life in jail,’ Jackie reminded them.

‘Not if he tells the world’s press he never intended to stealthe jewels in the first place. He simply wanted to expose how inefficient the Royalty Protection squad is, and then remind everyone he left the State Sword in the back of a car a couple of hundred yards from the Tower with his old school tie discarded on the front seat to prove his point. He will then go on to tell them that he stood outside the Sovereign’s Entrance of the Lords carrying the crown in a Tower of London shopping bag, waiting to be arrested. I know whose side I’d be on if I was a Fleet Street editor.’

‘Or a member of the jury,’ said Rebecca.

‘But revenge implies that someone else has to be the target,’ suggested the Hawk.

‘Me,’ repeated William. ‘I should have worked that out after he’d bankrupted his ex-wife and almost destroyed Ross.’

‘What are you not telling us?’ demanded the Hawk.

‘With the help of Christina and Ross, I took something every bit as precious to him as the Crown Jewels are to us, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that after he’d taken his revenge on Christina and Ross, I’d be next in line, and should expect something even more outrageous.’

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