Read Online Blood Line by Alanna Knight - Free Book Online

him tidied away and the case closed.'
    'Tidied away' was the Superintendent's delicate way of saying that the unclaimed body would be given to the Medical College for dissection.
    'And if someone claims him?'
    'I would imagine they'd want him underground as soon as possible. They don't keep well in this weather. Nor do I imagine they'll want to be involved in any scandal about what he might have been doing on Castle Rock. Elderly relatives can be embarrassing, they get odd ideas.'
    And as Faro rose from the chair with some effort, Mackintosh added, 'McQuinn was just going off duty. I asked him to stay. You won't be much use if it comes to a chase and he's a good man to have along with you if Clavers turns nasty or makes a bolt for it.'
    Remembering that Glencorse bordered Piperlees, Faro collected the dead man's jacket and ordered a police carriage. While waiting, Faro stood at the window of his room and considered the Queen Mary cameo now reposing in his pocket in a new light.
    Could it have any connection with Claver's robberies? Had they been planning a grand coup on the royal apartments, and was the unknown man a member of the gang?
    No. Much as the tidiness of the theory appealed to him, Faro decided that this was a case of imagination and wishful thinking gaining precedence over common sense. Years of experience had lent him an ability to recognise instantly the habitual criminal and house-breaker. Whatever had led to that clumsy attempt on the Castle Rock, the dead man's age and air of genteel poverty did not fit the pattern of Clavers's highly organised and successful gang, most of whom were under thirty-five and extremely agile.
    There was only one way to make certain. Make a drawing of the jewel he had found and have the police show it at each of the houses where the robberies had taken place.
    No mean draughtsman, Faro was quite pleased with his effort when a short time afterwards he emerged from his office to find McQuinn waiting impatiently.
    Half an hour later, the carriage turned into the leafy drive of Lord Wylie's estate, admirably situated for concealment of the police reinforcements.
    With McQuinn unhampered by a walking stick in the lead, Faro cautiously approached the folly, using the natural screen of vegetation to give as much cover as possible. McQuinn leaped up the steps and at his touch the door flew open without the least effort. Even before he could issue his stern warning, Faro knew that they were too late.
    Clavers had eluded the net once again.
    With a raging, frustrated McQuinn cursing at his side, he limped back along the drive. The sustained effort of walking quickly was still painful and he was glad to take a seat in the waiting carriage.
    'Seeing we have come this far,' he told McQuinn, 'we might as well continue to Piperlees and try to find out something about the jacket here while there's still light.'
    A look of annoyance crossed McQuinn's face. He knew he could not refuse this extra duty much as it irked and inconvenienced him. 'I was wondering about that. Could it possibly be one of yours, I thought. A bit shabby for a Detective Inspector.' He laughed. 'But men who are getting on seem to prefer old clothes, more comfortable, they tell me...'
    Another splendid chance of indicating that his superior was old and decrepit, thought Faro, biting back his anger and resolving to cheat McQuinn of the satisfaction of seeing him rise to the bait.
    Truth to be told, Faro would have vastly preferred to have Vince with him at Piperlees, but when they were so near it seemed an opportunity not to be missed. Especially with a police carriage at their disposal, for it would be a dismal and wearying journey on his own from Edinburgh and back again in his present crippled condition.
    Turning into the drive of Piperlees, Faro decided that his mission would appear more casual if he visited Sir James alone. The presence of the police could be intimidating. An almost unfailing reaction which Faro had witnessed