Page 48 of Mann Hunt
“And what shade do you wear?”
“It only comes in red.” She knew it was the only lipstick Ian wore, but she didn’t saythatout loud.
After the viewing was over, Luke escorted them back to the parking lot. Katherine had agreed to Deirdre’s request to drive her home.
Before getting in the car, Simon turned to Luke. “What’s the next step?”
“For us? We’ll find the location where this all happened. We’ll start where Mr Mann’s body was found, and work upstream.”
Katherine turned to the constable and asked, “What happened to him?”
Luke replied, “They’re still not sure. The results of the post-mortem will shed some light on that.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Don’t you worry. We’ll figure out what happened to your husband. I promise you.”
Katherine frowned. That was the second time today she’d heard the same sentence, and she wasn’t convinced that the promise would truly be kept.
Chapter Sixteen
After Declan and Charlie left Katherine’s, they headed towards Sheldon Prescott’s home. They drove west, past the towering ski jumps and serpentine bobsleigh tracks built on the former Paskapoo Ski Hill for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games. Fifteen minutes later, they turned towards Mountain River Estates, an area known for large mansions with impressive views of the nearby Rocky Mountains.
As they made their way down the drive to Sheldon Prescott’s house, they were met by a closed gate set into a tall brick wall that surrounded the property.
“Holy… This place must be worth a fortune. It makes Katherine’s place look small,” Charlie said.
Declan nodded as he buzzed the intercom.
“Can I help you?” a scratchy voice said over the speaker.
“It’s Declan Hunt. I’m a friend of Katherine Mann. I have an appointment with Sheldon Prescott.”
The gates swung open and they proceeded up the long drive to the house.
“Should I bring the camera with me?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah. We probably won’t need it inside, but I’m hoping we’ll be allowed to do a search of the grounds.”
Declan did a quick scan of the nearby property, noting the presence of several CCTV cameras. He also took in the placement of trees and bushes which might offer cover to someone who wanted to remain unseen.
As they left the van, the front door of the house opened and a heavy-set man in his mid-sixties stepped out onto the stone portico. He was dressed in casual slacks and a colourful print shirt. His hair was obviously dyed jet black and his teeth were a little too white.He tries to look young, but the face-lift and hair plugs are a bit too obvious, Declan mused.
“Mr Prescott? I’m Declan Hunt, and this is my assistant Charlie Watts.”
“Ah. Like the drummer,” Sheldon quipped.
“Yeah.” Charlie feigned a weak laugh. “Just like the drummer.”
“As you know, we’re here about Ian Mann. Can we come in and talk?”
“Please,” Sheldon answered, motioning for them to enter. He looked uncomfortable.
Sheldon ushered them into a sitting room to the left of the entrance hall, which was the size of Declan’s entire apartment. An orange tabby cat lay on a couch by the window. Sheldon swatted at it. “Scat!”
It wandered away, unfussed.
They sat on what Declan thought of as ‘old-lady’ furniture—frilly, but very comfortable.
