Read Online Solomons Seal by Hammond Innes - Free Book Online Page B

up to his blue jowls and the high dome of his forehead catching the light. The hand came away, the head thrust forward. ‘You have this offer in writing?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜Show me. I don’t believe it.’
    I started to tell him that I wasn’t accustomed to having my word doubted, but I checked myself. The figure was so preposterous that in his shoes I would have been equally incredulous. ‘All right,’ I said, and I took Tubby’s letter from the drawer in my desk and handed it to him.
    He picked it up, holding it close to his face. ‘
C’est incroyable
!’ he breathed. ‘Who is this?’ He peered closely at the signature. ‘J. L. Sawyer. A dealer?’ he asked. ‘Yes. I remember now. I have met him. An amateur.’ He said it half in contempt, half in wonder. And then he looked at me over the top of the letter. ‘Have you had any other offers?’
    I shook my head.
    â€˜Then why does he go directly to this very high figure of twenty-five hundred pounds? It cannot be for the “Lady McLeod” Trinidad stamp; that is in too poor condition.’
    â€˜I’ve no idea,’ I said. ‘He just seems fascinated by the collection as a whole, and by the proofs, of course.’
    â€˜Why? What is his interest?’
    â€˜He seems to think it has great curiosity value.’
    â€˜He wants it for himself then, not for a client?’
    â€˜Yes, for himself.’
    He shook his head as though in wonderment at the stupidity of it. ‘Well, I’m not sure now. For myself I could not go beyond fifteen hundred pounds, maybe a little more. But above his figure, no – not on my own responsibility, you understand.’ He had been speaking slowly, more to himself than to me. Then abruptly he put the bid letter down on the desk. ‘You must give me a little time. I have to consult my client about this.’
    â€˜Miss Holland needs the money,’ I said. ‘If you would like to use my phone.’
    But he shook his head. ‘My client is not in England any more. He is somewhere in Europe, I think. You must wait a little, until I can contact him.’
    â€˜How long?’
    â€˜A fortnight, three weeks – I’m not sure. Shall we say a month? I expect him to be in England again sometime next month.’
    I hesitated. A month would take us to July 23. That would be running it fine if she was leaving the ship at Callao or Valparaiso. ‘I’ll give you three weeks.’
    He seemed about to argue, but then abruptly he nodded. ‘Three weeks then. Meantime, I have your word that you do not sell to this man Sawyer before I contact you again.’
    â€˜You have until July sixteenth,’ I told him. ‘If I haven’t heard from you by then—’
    â€˜You will hear from me. That I promise you.’ And he got to his feet. ‘It’s very strange,’ he said, shaking his head and frowning again. ‘I don’t understand why Sawyer is making this bid. It can only be that he hopesto twist my client’s elbow.’ He suddenly spun round on me. ‘You think he knows who my client is?’
    â€˜I’ve no idea.’
    He seemed puzzled and uneasy as I showed him to the door. I, too, was beginning to wonder about that client of his. I was wondering about a lot of things, particularly the sheets Tubby had talked about. If the proofs were worth this sort of money, what would a whole sheet be worth, a solid block of 120 or 240 of the printed stamps?
    Though Packer was back by then, I decided to deal with the sale preliminaries myself. I could then have a look at that loft. A lot of papers and records are usually left behind by the occupants when the house and its contents are up for sale. There was sure to be something there, and a closer look at those old photographs might help. But first I needed more information about the family’s background. I rang Chandler and asked