Page 23 of The Impossible Fortune
Elizabeth scans the room. ‘Look for signs of a struggle.’
‘There’s a broken lamp,’ says Joyce.
Elizabeth considers the lamp. ‘That might have been disturbed by flying files and drawers.’
Joyce tries again. ‘The rug? It’s covered in glass?’
‘That comes from the skylight,’ says Bogdan, looking up.
‘Presumably where someone entered the room,’ says Elizabeth.
‘Can I ask what’s going on?’ says Donna.
‘Oh, goodness,’ says Elizabeth. ‘You’re so impatient.’
Donna looks at Bogdan.
‘Don’t speak to Donna like that,’ says Bogdan, apologetically.
‘Stop simpering, Bogdan,’ says Elizabeth. ‘It doesn’t suit you.’
‘This feels like something the police should be getting involved with,’ says Donna, looking around her.
‘No police,’ says Elizabeth. ‘You’re lucky you’re here at all. If I’d thought about it, I would have just called Bogdan directly, so don’t push it.’
‘Surely she can tell Chris?’ Joyce says.
‘Yes, Chris is fine,’ says Elizabeth. ‘Just not normal police – we’ve got too much thinking to do. Two possiblescenarios present themselves. Either a simple burglary, perhaps looking for the code. Or someone was following Nick Silver, he led them here, and they took their shot, killing or kidnapping him? Annoyed that their bomb had somehow failed to go off?’
‘You would be annoyed,’ nods Joyce. ‘I had to send my air fryer back because of the thermostat. They were very good about it.’
Donna says, ‘May I just ask three questions?’
‘You may ask one question, dear,’ says Elizabeth. ‘I don’t need to hear endless bleating from police officers.’
‘Don’t speak t–’ starts Bogdan, before Donna lets him know it’s okay to leave this one.
‘Okay, well, I’m going to ask three but very quickly,’ says Donna.
‘That’s clever,’ says Bogdan.
‘What code?’ says Donna, counting the questions down on her fingers. ‘What bomb? And who’s Nick Silver?’
‘And also is he dead?’ Bogdan asks.
‘Codes are codes, and bombs are bombs,’ says Elizabeth.
‘And Nick Silver was my son-in-law Paul’s best man,’ says Joyce.
‘The puker?’ says Donna.
‘And perhaps he is dead, Bogdan, yes,’ says Elizabeth. ‘Who’s to say?’
‘He did say he’d be here to meet you,’ says Joyce. ‘And he wasn’t.’
Precisely what Elizabeth is thinking.
‘What does he do, this guy?’ asks Donna.
