Part 5 (1/2)

'No, but I wasn't here all morning. I had to fix a leak under the sink in the studio.'

'What time was that?' Ben reached for his notebook and pen.

'After Mrs Barnes left, because I was at my desk when she walked out.'

'Time?' Amy prompted.

'I went up after the post had been delivered at half past eleven and came down about quarter past twelve.'

'That's when you found the box on the desk?'

'Yes.'

'You didn't see who left it there?'

'I knew it had to be someone in the building. I locked the doors when I went up to the artists' studio, as I always do whenever I leave the desk.'

'What if anyone wants to come in?' Amy looked up from her notebook.

'The residents have their own key codes. Visitors can press the intercom.'

'You would have answered them?'

Ted produced a small box from under the desk. 'This is a receiver for the transmitter in the intercom. I always take it with me whenever I leave the foyer.

'If an officer comes looking for us, Mr Levett, we'll be interviewing Michael Barnes and Anni Jones,' Amy informed him.

'The sergeant wouldn't allow them into their studio or apartment. They're in the conference suite.'

'Are Michael Barnes and Anni Jones the only two residents in there?' Amy checked.

Before Ted could answer, a piercing scream came from the conference centre.

The door crashed back on its hinges.

'You'll have to kill me first.' A young woman rushed out, pursued by a young man and a constable.

Chapter Thirteen.

The constable and young man managed to subdue the woman. They escorted her back into the conference suite. Amy and Ben followed.

'Please, Miss Jones, calm yourself.' The constable blocked the doorway.

'You're threatening to destroy five years of my work and you're asking me to keep calm ...'

'Are you senior officers?' The man demanded.

'Inspector Amy Stuart and Sergeant Ben Miller,' Amy introduced herself and Ben.

'Your constables are threatening to smash my girlfriend's sculptures. They're preventing us from entering our studio. We have to deliver artwork to an exhibition. If we don't, it could cost us our reputations, as well as a great deal of money,' he raged.

'You are Mr Michael Barnes and Miss Anni Jones?'

'We are,' Michael retorted. 'Just what the h.e.l.l is going on?' Michael was a younger version of his brother slimmer, with sharper features. There was a suspicious expression in his eyes. Annoyance at being kept from his apartment and studio? Or something more sinister? Amy wondered.

'Please don't damage my sculptures,' Anni begged. 'I promised to deliver them to a Knightsbridge gallery today. If I don't, they could cancel my exhibition.'

'Have you any idea how compet.i.tive the art world is? Or how much work Anni has put in-'

Amy interrupted Michael. 'Have you seen your sister-in-law, or Mr Bruno Gambrini, or Mr Adrian Wills today?'

'No,' Michael snarled.

'You're sure?' Amy pressed.

'Of course I'm sure.' Michael raised his voice. 'We've only seen Jack today ...'

'When?'

'He gave us a hand to move one of our sculptures into the lift first thing ...'

'What time was ”first thing”?'

Michael looked to Anni. 'Eight, eight thirty?'

'About then,' she agreed.

'Then what did you do?' Amy asked.

'We loaded our van ...'

'Is it kept in the garage here?' Ben looked up from his notebook.

'Yes.'

'Registration number?'

Michael rattled it off.

'Big van?'

'A transit. We need it to transport Anni's sculptures. They're life size.'

'How long did it take you to load up?' Amy continued the interview.