Page 125 of The Scene of the Crime

‘What if it does turn out to be Sam and his uncle?’

‘Then you’ll have to tell Anderson, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Do you mind if I speak to DI Chapman about it?’

‘I’d rather you didn’t. He’ll just tell Anderson.’

‘I can assure you he won’t. Chapman will support you, and I also think Anderson will be quite understanding. You’re not the first police officer who’s spoken to their partners about their work. For now, try to patch things up with Sam. Tell him you’ve been under a lot of pressure and you’re sorry for doubting him. If we find out he lied to you, then my advice would be to dump him. I’ll even come round and help you throw him and his belongings out the door.’

Dawn let out a little laugh. ‘Thank you so much. You’ve made me feel a lot better.’

Jessica saw Anderson enter the canteen. ‘I’ve got to go now, but let me know how it goes with Sam, and I’ll call you when I find out more. Take care and chin up.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

DS Wood and Mike Chapman were sitting at a table in Mottingham’s Prince of Wales pub. They both had pints of lager in front of them. ‘What was Wheeler’s cause of death?’ Wood asked.

‘Ruptured spleen.’

‘Any idea who killed him?’

‘Probably Johan De Klerk.’

Wood laughed. ‘Right . . . a man at death’s door has a miraculous recovery, nips out to Wheeler’s flat to seek revenge and beats him to death. You’re on the same planet as Anderson.’ Chapman explained what they believed had happened. ‘A bit of summary justice then,’ Wood said.

‘I’d have preferred it if Wheeler was still alive. We might have got him to tell us who else was involved and who the diamonds belonged to.’

‘I might be able to help you with that,’ Wood smiled.

‘Just get to the point. I’ve had a fucking long day, and I’m knackered.’

‘I had an interesting meeting with Stubbings last night, which led to an even more interesting one with a lady called Chandice Bramston.’ He took out his notebook and put it down on the table.

‘Who’s she?’

‘Michelle De Klerk’s best friend – or at least she was. They’re not on speaking terms due to a mix-up over a very expensive sapphire ring and a dodgy jeweller.’

Chapman’s eyes lit up. ‘You got a name?’

‘Nathan Cole. He owns a shop in Hatton Garden.’

‘And . . . ?’ Wood told Chapman how Michelle De Klerk had introduced Chandice to Nathan Cole to get her engagement ring resized.

‘Cole swapped the sapphire for a fake one, but Chandice twigged a few months later.’

‘How did Stubbings get involved?’ Chapman asked.

Wood grinned. ‘You’re going to like this. Michelle De Klerk hired him under her married name, but he recognised her as Belsham, the barrister. She made him sign a non-disclosure agreement before telling him why she wanted his services as a PI.’

‘And why did she?’

‘She suspected Cole was swapping diamonds and other gemstones for lab-made ones.’

‘What exactly did she want Stubbings to do?’

‘Find out as much as he could about Cole’s activities. She never gave him Chandice’s name. All she said was that Cole had ripped off a close friend with a fake sapphire ring, but as the real one had been returned, her friend didn’t want to pursue the matter.’

‘How did Stubbings find out this friend was Chandice?’

‘Good detective work is his forte, but I’ll tell you more after you get a round in.’