Read Online The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown by Vaseem Khan - Free Book Online Page A

Reducing the number of entrances into the gallery allowed the Force One guards to concentrate their vigilance on a single one. In hindsight, it seemed an unforgiveable error to have left the rear door completely unguarded. The hole in that door – just large enough for a man to squeeze through – now served as a chastening rebuke.
    â€˜And exactly who might you be when you’re at home?’
    He turned to see a tall, thin figure bearing down on him. The man pulled off the white hood of his forensic boiler suit to reveal a head of spiked orange hair and a pink freckled face in which green eyes sat below red eyebrows and above a large, sunburnt nose. Chopra couldn’t place the man’s accent. It was English but not quite English.
    â€˜Inspector Chopra. Retired. Special Advisor to the Mumbai Police. I am investigating the theft of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.’
    â€˜Och, are ye now?’ the man said, giving him an appraising look. ‘Well, that would be grand, except that as far as I’ve been told it’s a crown we’re looking for.’
    Chopra coloured. But the ginger-headed man broke into a grin. ‘Semantics. Never had much time for them myself.’ He stuck out a gloved hand. ‘Duncan McTavish. I work for the Met Polis. Forensics. What can I do for you, Chopra? And where’s that oaf Bomberton?’
    â€˜I am not with Detective Chief Inspector Bomberton.’
    â€˜Detective Chief Inspector. Hell’s bells, Chopra, you make him sound like the Second Coming. Between you and me the man is a complete buffoon.’
    â€˜Why have they sent him here, then?’
    McTavish tapped the side of his freckled nose. ‘Connections, Chopra. It seems our DCI Bomberton is distantly related to the royal family. Five hundredth in line to the throne or some such guff. Pardon me for not bowing and scraping in the presence of His Majesty.’
    â€˜What about you?’
    â€˜Och, I’m a Scot, Chopra. The day they make a Scot King of England is the day I’ll dance naked on the Windsor Castle lawn.’
    â€˜I meant, what are you doing here?’
    McTavish waved a hand at the activity behind him. ‘Can ye no’ see, man? We’re going over the place with a fine-tooth comb. I’ve brought the whole kit and caboodle with me. By the time I’ve finished in here I’ll be able to tell you what the old professor had for breakfast last week.’
    Chopra wondered which professor McTavish meant, but then guessed that the Scot was referring to the learned historian who ran the museum.
    â€˜Have you discovered anything useful to the investigation?’
    â€˜Depends what you mean by useful. Here, put these on.’ McTavish pulled a pair of plastic overshoes and latex gloves from the pocket of his boiler suit. Chopra slipped them on then followed the man across the room.
    McTavish led him past the shattered display case to the rear of the chamber. They stopped in front of the eight-foot-tall sandstone sculpture of Kali that Chopra had noticed the previous evening. The sculpture, which had probably been torn from the façade of one of India’s numerous ancient temples, resembled a figurehead from the bowsprit of an old wooden sailing ship.
    McTavish beckoned Chopra around to the side of the sculpture. ‘Take a look.’
    Chopra’s eyes followed the curve of Kali’s back as it flowed down to the gallery wall… and then he spotted the hole.
    â€˜My guess is they chiselled that cavity out months ago,’ said McTavish matter-of-factly. ‘Then they put the gas canisters inside and cemented a thin sandstone shell back over.’
    â€˜How do you know the canisters were in there?’
    â€˜Microscopic paint chips from the canisters. We found them inside the cavity.’ McTavish patted Kali on the shoulder. ‘Our thieves knew she wasn’t going anywhere. On the day of the robbery all they had to do was break