Cherringham--Thick as Thieves by Neil Richards Read Free Book Online Page B

Baz’s direction as if about shoot a laser from her eyes right into her husband’s thick skull.
    “You and your big mouth. Letting everyone know we were going to be rich. La-de-da! And even where the prize was.”
    “Yeah, that might have been a mistake,” Jack said.
    Baz pleaded his case. “But they’re our mates! We’ve known those guys for ever. Who’d want to steal from us? Besides with it safe and sound in the professor’s safe we thought–”
    “Safe? Sound?” Abby interrupted, snorting.
    “In that group of ’mates’, Baz,” Jack carried on, ignoring Abby. “Is there anyone at all you know that might have thought about stealing the plate?”
    Baz shook his head quickly, showing that he had allotted no time to think of his answer.
    “No. All mates. Most of them.” He hesitated, thoughts catching up with tongue. “I mean, I dunno … I guess anybody could –”
    “Too right,” Abby agreed. “Anybody could have heard you two idiots, and planned the theft. Isn’t that right, Jack?”
    Jack now wondered if he had been better off having these two still address him as ’Mr Brennan’.
    Not sure I want to be chummy with them.
    The baby burped, making Jack smile.
    The moment was lost on the two parents.
    “Okay,” Jack said, “We know that a lot of people knew about the treasure and where it was being kept.” He took a breath. “Can I ask you about the rest of that night?”
    Because though Jack thought it unlikely, he couldn’t rule out Baz wanting the treasure all to himself.
    “You were — as we say — under the weather?” Jack continued.
    “We was celebrating, that’s all–”
    “I get that. Who wouldn’t?”
    Jack looked at Abby hoping she didn’t fire off another volley since that wouldn’t help this process at all.
    “What about the rest of the evening?”
    Baz shifted in his seat.
    “As you say, I was a bit wobbly. So Jerry said I could take his couch. Sleep it off. Didn’t want to disturb the missus, and little Daisy here.”
    “More like you couldn’t get your two damn feet to move in a straight line. That Jerry … he’s an enabler , that’s what he is.”
    “Best mate,” Baz added for clarification.
    The baby started squirming again, obviously in need of feeding or a change. Abby excused herself with the little girl and Jack spotted an opportunity to get in a few questions to Baz without Abby’s commentary.
    He pulled his chair closer to where Baz sat. A window of opportunity here, and he’d best jump on it …
    “That night, you remember …?”
    “Hitting Jezzer’s couch. I was flat out, mate. Next morning, woke with a massive head. I mean, you saw me in the pub. Too much damn celebrating.”
    “Yeah, I could see that. Your friend though — he seemed better.”
    “Jezzer? Yeah, I mean I guess so …”
    “And do you know what he did? After he brought you to his place?”
    Baz seemed surprised by the question.
    “Whadya mean? He went to sleep, same as me. Didn’t see him until the morning. That’s what we did. Just crashed at his place until the morning, when the museum bloke was to come.”
    Jack nodded.
    Then he felt he should point out the obvious to Baz.
    That is, if Baz didn’t already know it.
    “But since you were flat out, on the couch, then there is no way you would know what Jerry did, right?”
    “He said he went to sleep, same as me.”
    “But no way you would know for sure?”
    Baz stopped as if some distant chamber in his brain, long unused, maybe even unknown, suddenly lit up with dusty light bulbs flickering to life.
    Baz looked away. “I mean, no, but I guess … he could have–”
    Jack finished the thought: “–done anything?”
    The treasure hunter turned to him and his eyes looked sick, sunken and now more than a bit confused, and he nodded. Jack guessed that the interview was over, though he wasn’t sure that he’d learned anything of any use.
    But he also thought that speaking to Jerry next might be quite