Page 127 of Worth Every Penny

“I’m urging caution,” I say. “We don’t want to spook her.”

Matt grits out, “Fine.”

He sits as Elliot begins the rundown. “His name is Daniel Hunter. At least that’s who the van is registered with, and that’s the name on the title deeds of the house where your son was arrested. Absolutely no social media or online presence. He appears to run a removals company. He has a couple of vans, and a few men working for him. A small outfit. Casual. Not particularly professional. His accounts aren’t in order, and I suspect he takes a lot of payments in cash. Two priors. Theft and domestic burglary.”

“He’s a fucking criminal?” Matt raises both hands as though he wants to crush the man’s head between them, and his gaze flits from me to Elliot, like he’s hoping one of us might contradict him. When we don’t, he lets his hands fall, and continues more resignedly, “How did he meet Gemma? How did she even get to know him?”

Elliot rolls his lips inwards, thrusting his chin out further. “Can’t be sure. I haven’t had enough time to observe theirpatterns of behaviour, but so far it looks like he comes to her. She doesn’t travel to see him. She may not even know where he lives. We don’t know how truthful he’s been with her.”

“And the van,” I ask. “The one with the graffiti?”

“It’s been scrubbed.”

“Kate Lansen had a picture of it on her phone,” I tell them.

They both look at me in mute surprise for a few seconds.

“Why?” Matt asks.

“I don’t know. I meant to ask, but I didn’t get a chance.”

Matt’s eyes narrow, and I can see by the way he’s looking at me he’s trying to piece this shit together, but can’t quite make it fit.

“What did it look like? Was it a random photo she took on the street?” Matt probes further.

“I don’t know. I didn’t see it. Charlie did.”

Matt winces at the mention of his son, then wipes his expression clear. “Ring her. Ask her why the hell she had a photo of the van my son scrawled all over. The van that belongs to the bloke Gemma’s fucking.”

Elliot’s face is immovable. His repeated throat clearing is the only suggestion that he has any thoughts about this scenario. “Did she have any removals recently?” he asks. “Any cause to hire a van?”

“Yes. Her mother’s boyfriend had all their paintings put into storage.”

“Call Kate and ask her about it then,” Matt snaps.

I grimace. “I can’t do that. I can’t call her.”

Matt looks at me, baffled. “Eh? Why the fuck not?”

“It doesn’t matter, but they’re gone. All the paintings. Everything that supposedly went to storage didn’t go to storage at all.”

“What do you mean?” Elliot leans toward me like this is crucial information. “Where did they go?”

“We don’t know. The boyfriend disappeared, along with all the art. Supposedly jewellery too. Anything of value is gone.”

Suddenly an idea bursts into existence, burgeoning with so much hope it’s almost painful. Maybe there’s a connection between Daniel and Curtis. I direct my focus to Elliot. “Find him. The guy with the removals company. Daniel. If he’s involved in some scam like this, we need to know. Dig out what he knows about a man called Curtis Bellamy. That’s Mrs. Lansen’s boyfriend. It’s possible this guy with the van is connected with him in some way... maybe they’re even working together. If we move fast, we might be able to locate the paintings. We might even be able to return all their stolen belongings.” I turn to Matt. “And at the same time, get Gemma’s man locked up. And whoever else is involved.”

“You sure it’s the old lady’s boyfriend?” Elliot asks. “That makes this sound like a targeted and planned scam.”

I nearly laugh at Elliot calling Debbie Lansen ‘the old lady’. She’d die if she knew.

“As far as I’m aware, Curtis arranged to have the artwork removed,” I confirm. “Never told Mrs. Lansen where it was being stored. She trusted him to deal with it, and now the house is empty and he’s vanished. I’d say the chances of it all being connected are high.”

“To pose as a boyfriend and let Mrs. Lansen believe he cares about her… That’s bleak,” Matt adds. “Who’d want to punish the Lansens like that?”

“These scams aren’t necessarily emotional,” Elliot says. “But when someone is particularly vulnerable, it’s the easiest way in.”

I hardly hear him because Matt’s question has the back of my neck prickling. There’s one man who does want to target the Lansens. “If you can find any link to Martin Brooks, I want to know about it,” I tell him.

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