Liars All by Jo Bannister Page B

will always be recognisable. You couldn’t alter it without making it worthless. So the stone at least still looks today the way it looked when that picture was taken. It can be found.’

    Brodie didn’t know how to put this politely so she just came out and said it. ‘By you?’
    He smiled at her lack of confidence. His smile lit up his whole rather ordinary face, and Brodie’s heart as well. ‘We won’t know that till I’ve tried.’

Chapter Seven
    Brodie suggested he talk to Deacon first; then she told Deacon to talk to Daniel. Deacon had a regrettable habit of dividing the world into those who could help him and those who weren’t worth his time.
    â€˜Of course we tried to recover the stolen goods,’ growled Deacon. It was lunchtime on Monday and they were in The Belted Galloway, the nearest hostelry to Battle Alley and Deacon’s second office. It wasn’t that he was much of a drinker – he was too conscious of the danger of being outsmarted even when sober, not just by old lags but also by young policemen. But he liked the atmosphere here. It was dark going on gloomy, which both suited his demeanour and encouraged the trading of confidences in a way that the well-lit interview rooms around the corner did not. And the publican didn’t believe in canned music. Deacon hated canned music with a passion.
    He took a moody bite out of his weak shandy. ‘We were too slow. By the time we caught up with Carson he’d fenced them. They probably went through three or four different handlers in the first seventy-two hours. The only one I found was Paul Sinclair at Top of the Hill Antiques’
– his sour-lemon expression attested to his dislike of clever names – ‘and he said he bought the necklace in good faith from someone who claimed to be clearing out his late mother’s house. He sold it on the same day. Cash, both times.
    â€˜Which is enough to make you wonder,’ he added dourly, ‘but not proof of anything. It’s a cash trade. People dealing in antiques really do wander round with a few thousand pounds in their back pockets in case they spot something that’s worth a little bit more. I might have my suspicions about Sinclair’s honesty, but I can’t prove he did anything wrong.’
    â€˜Did the insurers conduct their own investigation?’
    â€˜Of a kind. That necklace was a valuable piece. The ring was worth a bit too, so was the boy’s watch – but they were modern, there’ll be others like them around, they were always going to be easier to disappear. But the star sapphire was distinctive, much harder to cash in. The insurers offered a reward for information leading to its return but no one took the bait. Of course, Sanger was dead – it was a murder inquiry, and no one wants to be associated with that. The insurers paid out when it started to look like the cheaper option.’
    Already Daniel was starting to feel he was boxing above his weight. He frowned earnestly into his glass. It contained even less alcohol than Deacon’s shandy. ‘So how do I go about finding them?’
    Deacon barked an incredulous laugh at him. Even after four years Daniel Hood retained the ability to surprise him. ‘Daniel, you don’t. They’re gone. I couldn’t
find them, and I’m paid to. The insurers paid out because they couldn’t find them. No one’s talking. No one’s going to talk – it’s not in their interests to. All the people who had a hand in the deal took their cut and kept their mouths shut. When Carson went down without involving anyone else, they heaved a sigh of relief. They’re not going to put their hands up now just because you ask nicely.’
    Daniel looked disconsolate. ‘They wouldn’t get greedy? My client’s willing to pay…’
    â€˜There’s greedy,’ said Deacon deliberately, ‘and there’s