running a hand over his scalp. “I’m not sure you can. I’m sorry if it turns out I wasted your time. It’s a bit of a long shot. I just couldn’t think of anything else.”
“Tell me about it, Niall. I don’t charge for listening.” I grinned at him, and was pleased to get an answering smile. At least his physical condition hadn’t affected his outlook on life.
“Okay.” He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs a couple of times. “About a month ago, we had a burglary.”
I looked around the room. It did look a little bare, with no stereo or expensive ornaments. Had they been cleaned out?
He saw me looking and smiled a little. “Oh, we don’t have much worth stealing. Them up there, on the top floor.” He pointed at the ceiling. “They’d be worth stealing from. Not us.”
“What was taken then?”
“Just an old medal and some jewelry,” he said quietly.
“Oh my God! Not…”
He nodded and made a big thing out of retrieving a handkerchief from his pocket and blowing his nose loudly.
I’d seen the medal once. It wasn’t just a medal any more than Arlington was just a cemetery. Niall’s grandfather had earned a posthumous Medal of Honor in the appalling Marine assaults on the Bois de Belleau in the First World War. Niall’s father had passed it to him just before he died of throat cancer. Unable to speak, his father had scrawled these words on a note which Niall kept with the medal: ‘Keep it safe. This is all I knew of him.’ Despite the pride, the medal wasn’t displayed, and it was only because my dad had been so close to Niall that I’d had the chance to see it.
I sat there in complete shock. It wasn’t a matter of value. It was the Medal of Honor. My first thought was—how could anyone care so little about what it represented as to steal it? But that was stupid. The world was all too full of people who didn’t care.
Secondly, it was inscribed and it was illegal to sell it. But I guessed a certain type of collector might ignore that.
Worst of all, it must have been someone who knew of the medal. A friend of the family.
“I thought you might understand,” Niall said after a while.
I sat up straighter. “What do you want me to do?” At first glance, this wasn’t something straightforward that I could help with.
“There are two things,” he said slowly, struggling back to his feet. He made his way over to a bureau where some letters were lying and picked up a couple of pages to hand them to me. “First off, the insurance company are bilking us on the damage.” He waved at the doors to the balcony, which were obviously repaired but not yet painted. “And when I complained, they suggested they might not renew coverage.”
I frowned. Surely, this was more Kath’s line than mine. Whatever problems my younger sister and I had with each other at the moment, she surely wouldn’t refuse to help the Quinns on a legal matter. She was a lawyer; this would be easy stuff for her. Then I scanned the letters and suddenly it all made sense.
The insurance company was claiming that the thief couldn’t have gotten in by the balcony.
“You remember,” I said, laughing despite the seriousness.
I opened the balcony doors and walked out. He joined me as I leaned over the railing and looked down.
“Easy. How do you want to do it? You could get an insurance assessor here, or you could film it.”
He considered it. “I don’t think they’d send someone. I’d rather just film you and send it to them.”
“Okay, do you have a video camera?”
“I’ll borrow one this afternoon, if that’s okay.” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“That’s fine, Niall. And I’m not going to charge you for climbing up the side of your building.”
I turned to go back in, but he caught my arm.
“Listen, spider-girl, I’m not having you do anything without payment. Just not. Get over it. Your minimum charge is an hour. I know. I asked your secretary.”
“An hour’s standard rate is a
“Tell me about it, Niall. I don’t charge for listening.” I grinned at him, and was pleased to get an answering smile. At least his physical condition hadn’t affected his outlook on life.
“Okay.” He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs a couple of times. “About a month ago, we had a burglary.”
I looked around the room. It did look a little bare, with no stereo or expensive ornaments. Had they been cleaned out?
He saw me looking and smiled a little. “Oh, we don’t have much worth stealing. Them up there, on the top floor.” He pointed at the ceiling. “They’d be worth stealing from. Not us.”
“What was taken then?”
“Just an old medal and some jewelry,” he said quietly.
“Oh my God! Not…”
He nodded and made a big thing out of retrieving a handkerchief from his pocket and blowing his nose loudly.
I’d seen the medal once. It wasn’t just a medal any more than Arlington was just a cemetery. Niall’s grandfather had earned a posthumous Medal of Honor in the appalling Marine assaults on the Bois de Belleau in the First World War. Niall’s father had passed it to him just before he died of throat cancer. Unable to speak, his father had scrawled these words on a note which Niall kept with the medal: ‘Keep it safe. This is all I knew of him.’ Despite the pride, the medal wasn’t displayed, and it was only because my dad had been so close to Niall that I’d had the chance to see it.
I sat there in complete shock. It wasn’t a matter of value. It was the Medal of Honor. My first thought was—how could anyone care so little about what it represented as to steal it? But that was stupid. The world was all too full of people who didn’t care.
Secondly, it was inscribed and it was illegal to sell it. But I guessed a certain type of collector might ignore that.
Worst of all, it must have been someone who knew of the medal. A friend of the family.
“I thought you might understand,” Niall said after a while.
I sat up straighter. “What do you want me to do?” At first glance, this wasn’t something straightforward that I could help with.
“There are two things,” he said slowly, struggling back to his feet. He made his way over to a bureau where some letters were lying and picked up a couple of pages to hand them to me. “First off, the insurance company are bilking us on the damage.” He waved at the doors to the balcony, which were obviously repaired but not yet painted. “And when I complained, they suggested they might not renew coverage.”
I frowned. Surely, this was more Kath’s line than mine. Whatever problems my younger sister and I had with each other at the moment, she surely wouldn’t refuse to help the Quinns on a legal matter. She was a lawyer; this would be easy stuff for her. Then I scanned the letters and suddenly it all made sense.
The insurance company was claiming that the thief couldn’t have gotten in by the balcony.
“You remember,” I said, laughing despite the seriousness.
I opened the balcony doors and walked out. He joined me as I leaned over the railing and looked down.
“Easy. How do you want to do it? You could get an insurance assessor here, or you could film it.”
He considered it. “I don’t think they’d send someone. I’d rather just film you and send it to them.”
“Okay, do you have a video camera?”
“I’ll borrow one this afternoon, if that’s okay.” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“That’s fine, Niall. And I’m not going to charge you for climbing up the side of your building.”
I turned to go back in, but he caught my arm.
“Listen, spider-girl, I’m not having you do anything without payment. Just not. Get over it. Your minimum charge is an hour. I know. I asked your secretary.”
“An hour’s standard rate is a
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