knew this one and had no intention of spoiling their fun.
‘Anyone else in the room?’
‘No.’
‘Doors and windows open or closed?’
‘All closed.’
‘John and Samantha … a married couple?’
‘Maybe.’
‘What do you mean, maybe?’ Rob Grant snapped. ‘Either they’re married or they’re not. You can’t be a bit married.’
Turner shrugged. ‘They live together.’
‘Are they old or young?’ Mackleby asked.
‘Middle-aged.’
‘How did they die?’
‘Suffocated.’
‘They were strangled?’
‘No.’
Grant turned to Inspector Towers. ‘What about the glass and the water, Ken? Someone must’ve broken in.’
‘Yeah. Broken windows?’ Towers asked.
‘Nope.’
Jimmy Thatcher took a long gulp of his lager and his face brightened. He peered over the glass. ‘Ah!’ he said as he brought his glass down on the table. ‘John and Samantha … they ain’t human, are they?’
Turner tried to look blank, but he would have made a useless poker player. ‘Not human?’ he bluffed.
‘Nah. They’re fish.’ Thatcher took another drink as the others looked at him, and Turner let out a sigh. ‘They’re goldfish. The cat knocked the bowl off the dresser. It smashed … glass everywhere. John and Samantha suffocated.’
Mackleby clapped her hands together and laughed. ‘Brilliant!’ Thatcher bowed theatrically and Jez Turner shook his head. ‘You’ve heard it before.’
‘Nah,’ Thatcher said with a smirk. ‘Just a bloody genius, that’s all.’ And he tapped the side of his head to emphasise the point.
‘Well done, smart arse,’ Turner retorted. ‘Your round, I believe.’ The smile slid from Thatcher’s face as he stood up and strode dutifully over to the bar.
‘If it’s any consolation,’ Pendragon said quietly to Turner, ‘I’ve already heard that one, and a tableful of Oxford undergraduates took a hell of a lot longer to get the answer.’
‘Makes me feel a whole lot better, sir,’ Turner said, draining his glass.
‘So, did you manage to get the SIM card from Middleton?’
‘I was trying his mobile all morning. He had it switched off. I finally reached him about an hour ago. He promised he’d drop it off at the station this afternoon. Said he was on his way to a company function.’
Pendragon was about to reply when his phone rang.
‘Yes?’ He stared off into the middle distance, expressionless. ‘When? … Yes, I know it. I’ll be there in five minutes.’ He stood up and pulled on his jacket.
‘Another incident,’ he announced to the policemen around the table. Turning towards Mackleby and Grant, he added, ‘I’ll need you two with us. We’ve got another dead body at a place called La Dolce Vita, a restaurant a few doors down from Jangles.’
Paris, February 1589
‘You have doubted my intent,’ Agrippa said. ‘But it was not until I saw this ring that I knew for sure you were indeed who you claimed to be.’
‘How so?’ Sebastian asked.
‘Because I have seen the ring before. I knew the one who owned it, and I know that it has been in the safekeeping of the Holy Office for almost a century since. I was a young man in the court of the Borgia Pope, Alexander VI, employed as the personal alchemist of his daughter, Lucrezia Borgia. That surprises you both?’ Agrippa added with a wan smile. ‘It should not. When I was young I needed patrons to survive and Lucrezia Borgia was then the most powerful woman in the world. She was also corrupt, some would say evil beyond redemption, but then, so were her entire family. She was not the worst of them, but perhaps her behaviour seems more shocking simply because she was of the gentler sex.’
‘But I don’t understand,’ I said. ‘What has all this to do with our mission?’
He sighed and looked at us wearily. ‘You really don’t understand very much, do you?’
I bridled at that and sensed Sebastian’s ire. But Agrippa merely smiled one of his knowing smiles. ‘Come with me,’ he
‘Anyone else in the room?’
‘No.’
‘Doors and windows open or closed?’
‘All closed.’
‘John and Samantha … a married couple?’
‘Maybe.’
‘What do you mean, maybe?’ Rob Grant snapped. ‘Either they’re married or they’re not. You can’t be a bit married.’
Turner shrugged. ‘They live together.’
‘Are they old or young?’ Mackleby asked.
‘Middle-aged.’
‘How did they die?’
‘Suffocated.’
‘They were strangled?’
‘No.’
Grant turned to Inspector Towers. ‘What about the glass and the water, Ken? Someone must’ve broken in.’
‘Yeah. Broken windows?’ Towers asked.
‘Nope.’
Jimmy Thatcher took a long gulp of his lager and his face brightened. He peered over the glass. ‘Ah!’ he said as he brought his glass down on the table. ‘John and Samantha … they ain’t human, are they?’
Turner tried to look blank, but he would have made a useless poker player. ‘Not human?’ he bluffed.
‘Nah. They’re fish.’ Thatcher took another drink as the others looked at him, and Turner let out a sigh. ‘They’re goldfish. The cat knocked the bowl off the dresser. It smashed … glass everywhere. John and Samantha suffocated.’
Mackleby clapped her hands together and laughed. ‘Brilliant!’ Thatcher bowed theatrically and Jez Turner shook his head. ‘You’ve heard it before.’
‘Nah,’ Thatcher said with a smirk. ‘Just a bloody genius, that’s all.’ And he tapped the side of his head to emphasise the point.
‘Well done, smart arse,’ Turner retorted. ‘Your round, I believe.’ The smile slid from Thatcher’s face as he stood up and strode dutifully over to the bar.
‘If it’s any consolation,’ Pendragon said quietly to Turner, ‘I’ve already heard that one, and a tableful of Oxford undergraduates took a hell of a lot longer to get the answer.’
‘Makes me feel a whole lot better, sir,’ Turner said, draining his glass.
‘So, did you manage to get the SIM card from Middleton?’
‘I was trying his mobile all morning. He had it switched off. I finally reached him about an hour ago. He promised he’d drop it off at the station this afternoon. Said he was on his way to a company function.’
Pendragon was about to reply when his phone rang.
‘Yes?’ He stared off into the middle distance, expressionless. ‘When? … Yes, I know it. I’ll be there in five minutes.’ He stood up and pulled on his jacket.
‘Another incident,’ he announced to the policemen around the table. Turning towards Mackleby and Grant, he added, ‘I’ll need you two with us. We’ve got another dead body at a place called La Dolce Vita, a restaurant a few doors down from Jangles.’
Paris, February 1589
‘You have doubted my intent,’ Agrippa said. ‘But it was not until I saw this ring that I knew for sure you were indeed who you claimed to be.’
‘How so?’ Sebastian asked.
‘Because I have seen the ring before. I knew the one who owned it, and I know that it has been in the safekeeping of the Holy Office for almost a century since. I was a young man in the court of the Borgia Pope, Alexander VI, employed as the personal alchemist of his daughter, Lucrezia Borgia. That surprises you both?’ Agrippa added with a wan smile. ‘It should not. When I was young I needed patrons to survive and Lucrezia Borgia was then the most powerful woman in the world. She was also corrupt, some would say evil beyond redemption, but then, so were her entire family. She was not the worst of them, but perhaps her behaviour seems more shocking simply because she was of the gentler sex.’
‘But I don’t understand,’ I said. ‘What has all this to do with our mission?’
He sighed and looked at us wearily. ‘You really don’t understand very much, do you?’
I bridled at that and sensed Sebastian’s ire. But Agrippa merely smiled one of his knowing smiles. ‘Come with me,’ he
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