The Devil's Triangle (A Brit in the FBI 4)

“Yes, the day before she died. The maid found the hamper on the front step, all decked out with a big bow. But St. Germaine didn’t have any sort of security cameras, so there’s nothing to hunt there. By the maid’s account, St. Germaine was delighted by the gift, had some biscuits and a cup of their tea. And that is why we ran the prints on the contents and sent them for analysis. Nothing’s back yet.

“And, Drummond, don’t pass this along to Melinda St. Germaine. I don’t need her breathing down my neck.”

“Right. Where’s the gift hamper now?”

“Evidence unit. As I said, the previous tests showed it was nothing more sinister than several packets of biscuits and a few exotic tins of tea. Tracing it has been a bust as well. Do you have any idea how many of these they sell in a week?”

“I’ll assume hundreds.”

“Right you are. Tell me, Nicholas, have you gotten yourself into trouble with the Kohaths?”

In a manner of speaking. “Are you familiar with them at all, sir?”

“I only have a passing acquaintance with David Maynes, the husband of the late Helen Kohath, rest their souls. Maynes keeled over during a squash match a few weeks ago.”

Nicholas went on red alert. “Really? Heart attack, was it?”

“That’s right. Shame, he’s so young. Of course, after his wife went missing, obviously dead, he went a bit loopy. Well, he was always on the loopy side, but it intensified, problems with his children and such.

“Do you remember hearing about her disappearance in the Gobi? She was in the headlines for a few weeks. They never found a trace of her. The whole crew disappeared, twelve people, I think it was. Desert swallowed them whole.”

“Sir, are you certain David Maynes died of a heart attack?”

“Nothing to say otherwise, there were witnesses. As I said, he was in the middle of a squash match.”

“Still, what are the odds that the two people at the center of a lawsuit suddenly drop dead of heart attacks within days of each other?”

Penderley groaned. “I didn’t connect that until right this minute. Do you really think there’s a conspiracy afoot?”

“Maybe. You have to admit the timing’s strange.”

“Yes, it is. I’ll check on Maynes’s death. I’ll let you know if we find anything.”

“Thank you. And let me know about the tox screen on Elizabeth St. Germaine.”

“You know, Drummond, if you’d only stuck around—”

“I know, I could do the work myself. Take care of yourself, sir.”

He hung up and called Gray, not Adam. “I know you’ve got a lot of irons in the fire, Gray, but could you run something for me?”

“Sure.”

“Lilith Forrester-Clarke’s passport and credit cards for the past month.”

“Easy enough. Am I looking for anything in particular?”

“Travel to England from Italy, and the purchase of a gift hamper from Fortnum and Mason. Make that two gift hampers for two different people.”

“I’ll let you know. Mike okay? Yeah, Louisa called me. You guys are butt-deep in alligators.”

“Nearly to the neck. Mike’s asleep. She’ll be okay, I promise. Thanks, Gray.”

Nicholas called Adam. “Kitsune still flying?”

“Hello to you, too, Nicholas. Yes, they’re over the Atlantic now. Based on the trajectory, if I had to bet, I’d say they’re heading for the Caribbean. Depending on the plane, they’ll have to refuel there if they plan to go any farther. Clancy and Trident will be waiting for you in an hour, on the runway in Perugia.”

“Excellent. Thank you.”