LITMIR.BIZ

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car in the first place. It could have been the simple whim of an old lady. But now that it has disappeared the car takes on a whole new significance. I think we should go back to the start. Why would she buy it?’

      Bree nodded. ‘I think the fact that it wasn’t just any sort of car is important.’

      ‘There can’t be too many bulletproof Rollers out there. She had to have taken that into account when she selected this car to buy. Why would she need it? Did she think someone would try to shoot her?’ asked Sam.

      ‘No,’ nodded Sloane. ‘As you said before. She never laid eyes on it. She had to have had something else in mind for it.’

      ‘So, if it wasn’t to protect her then it had to be to protect someone or something else,’ offered Sam.

      ‘She had it parked in the same storage complex as her infamous videos. It had to be the videos,’ said Bree.

      ‘Those videos in the lockup were dummies. Where were the real ones? In the Roller of course!’ said Sam.

      ‘And the partners escaped the gunfight between our agents and the terrorists in the Roller, taking the real videos with them,’ added Bree.

      Sloane concluded, ‘If your agents searched everywhere for the videos and couldn’t find them and they couldn’t find the Roller either, then it’s a fair chance that the Roller and the videos are still together.’

      Sam and Bree looked at one another. They had been all through the files so many times and missed this completely. Now it was as clear as the noses on their faces. The Roller and the videos were together. Find one and you’d find the other.

      ‘So where do we start looking?’ asked Bree excitedly.

      ‘First we confirm our suspicions,’ replied Sloane, ‘just in case we’ve made the wrong assumption.’

      ‘How?’ asked Sam.

      ‘We have a missing Rolls Royce. Let’s see if our friends at The Fund have realised that its gone,’ said Sloane.

      * * *

      Bree and Sam entered the office of The Fund and presented their credentials to the receptionist.

      ‘We’d like to speak to Brian Reynolds or Toby Brown,’ said Sam officiously. ‘If they’re not available we’ll talk to Lana Reynolds or Suzie Brown and if we can’t speak to them we’ll talk to Ali or Nori Akuba. In fact, we’ll even talk to Justine Small or Eliza Strang.’

      ‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like to talk to Ron Tomkins? He’s the cleaner around here and about the only person’s name that you haven’t dropped so far,’ replied the girl with a cheeky grin.

      ‘Just get someone on the blower and tell them we’re here.’

      Stifling a further caustic comment the girl rang through to Brian’s office and announced their presence.

      Brian looked around at the files spread all over his desk. ‘Give me five minutes and I’ll be down.’

      ‘Mr Reynolds will be right with you,’ announced the receptionist. ‘Would you care to check out our eco-shop while you wait?’

      Bree gave the girl an innocent smile. ‘I don’t think so. Perhaps on the way out?’

      Brian appeared a few minutes later and welcomed them both with a hearty handshake before conducting the pair to his office.

      He settled them in seats across from his desk and regained his usual spot on the other side of a desk that now contained nothing more than a blank pad and pen.

      ‘Now then,’ he said with a hearty smile, ‘what can I do for you?’

      Bree began. ‘Sam has an interest in cars. He’d like to have a look at Jade Green’s famous bulletproof Rolls Royce.’

      ‘Would you now!’ said Brian as he tried to think of a way to fob them off. After this space of time he had hoped that the question of Jade’s car would have disappeared. ‘I’m afraid I don’t have it.’

      ‘Who does have it?’ asked Sam.

      ‘I’m not sure. I’d really have to ask.’

      ‘You mean you don’t know if someone around here is driving around in a bulletproof Rolls Royce?’ asked Bree.

      ‘Is it all that important that you see it?’ asked Brian as he sought to not answer Bree’s question.

      ‘Are you trying to avoid the question, Brian?’ asked Bree. ‘I thought all it needed was a straightforward answer, especially for a very sharp lawyer like you.’

      Brian decided that the best way forward was to continue on the offensive. ‘So, this is not just some idle whim on Sam’s part? This is official.’

      Bree regarded Brian. He was very good at this sort of thing. By avoiding having to answer their questions he was keeping himself from lying. ‘You still haven’t answered my original question, Brian. Do you know where to find Jade Green’s Roller?’

      ‘And I haven’t received a reply as to the exact nature of your questions,’ countered Brian.

      Sam joined in. ‘Will you answer our question, or do we assume that you have something to hide? It was only a simple question after all.’

      ‘Perhaps I don’t know the answer to your question.’

      Bree doubted that very much. He was trying just altogether too hard to avoid answering. Sloane had been right. There was something very significant about the Roller. ‘So, we can assume that your avoidance of our question means that you know where the car is and that its location is significant.’

      ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ replied Brian, hoping that they weren’t thinking what he was thinking.

      ‘We’ve decided that our search of these premises was exhaustive and that our agents didn’t miss anything. Therefore, Jade Green’s infamous videos are not here. We believe that you and your friends removed them from this building and have them hidden somewhere.

      We have also concluded from our conversation that Jade Green’s Rolls Royce has been hidden and that you also know where it is hidden. We have now formed the opinion that the Rolls Royce was the vehicle used to transport the videos to their new location, and that the missing videos and the now missing Rolls Royce are, in fact, to be found at the same mysterious location.’

      Brian smiled at them. ‘I applaud your deductive reasoning. In fact, I would love to get you both to express your opinions in court. I believe that my cross-examination of your theory would show you just how faulty your reasoning is. I’m afraid you’ve been clutching at straws to make your theories work. Every part of your line of reasoning is faulty. Each and every assumption can readily be explained away.’

      ‘So, you’re going to give us a rational explanation as to why we can’t have a look at Jade Green’s car?’ asked Bree.

      Brian smiled. ‘Not at this time.’

      ‘And you won’t answer our simple question?’ asked Sam.

      ‘Would you believe me if I gave you a simple explanation?’

      ‘Would that simple explanation enable us to locate the car?’

      ‘No, I’m afraid not.’

      ‘Then you’re right. We would find any explanation given by you at this time to be questionable at best.’

      ‘Well, then, I think our little chat is concluded. Unless of course you wish to make a contribution to one of our projects?’

      Sam stood. ‘Not on my wages.’

      As Brian was accompanying the agents to the door, Bree noticed Sloane leaning against the reception desk, deep in conversation with the cheeky receptionist. At their approach he said goodbye to the girl and exited the building ahead of Bree and Sam.

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