Revenge by Joanne Clancy Read Free Book Online

gone," Penelope announced.
    "The Sony laptop's missing too," Shona said.
    "Rebecca's favourite Jack Yeats' painting has been stolen too. She'll be ups et when she finds out they're gone. Her father gave them to her before he passed away ."
    "I'm calling the police," Shona announced. She picked up the telephone and rang the number to their local police station.
     
     
    Detective James Leary went to investigate. Burglaries were not an unus ual occurrence in Dublin, which , like other cities and big towns in Ireland, had been plagued by burglaries in recent years, especially in the aftermath of the economic downturn. Greedy criminals were even more anxious than ever to get their hands on valuables and make some quick money. He arrived at M&R Photography expecting to find a typical break-in scenario awaiting h im but he quickly realised that it was no t a random burglary. Immediately, his suspicions were aroused.
    "There are no signs of a break-in," he said, carefully watching the reactions of Penelope and Shona.
    "It seems the person who entered your office had keys and knew the alarm code, which was deactivated at 9.24 p.m . last night. Where were you both at the time?" He flipped open a blank page in his notebook and began to write.
    "What is this? !" Penelope cried. "Don't tell me you think that WE were involved?"
    "I don't know what to think until I carry out further investigations," the detective replied. "Can you tell me where you were at 9.24 p.m . last night?"
    "We were together," Shona piped up quickly before Penelope had a chance to fly completely off the handle. "We sh are an apartment together i n Ballsbridge. We have the pent house at Riverside Towers. "
    "Can anyone verify that?"
    "Yes, Mr. Evans, the concierge saw us arriving. "
    "I see," the detective continued his note-taking. "Has anything been taken?"
    Shona gave him a list of the stolen items. 
    "I'll dispatch our Crime Scene Unit who'll further investigate the closed circuit television footage," Detective Leary advised. "I'm assuming you'll be here until this evening?"
    "Yes," Penelope agreed. "We usually close at six o' clock, but we pl anned on finishing earlier this afternoon, maybe around half past four. We were going to drive to Wes t port for the weekend. Is it okay if we continue our business as usual?"
    "Yes, that's absolutely fine. The team should be here by lunch time. If you think of anything else please don't hesitate to contact me."
    "Thank you," Penelope smiled weakly and walked him out.
    Shona surveyed the mess. The usually pristine office was in total disarray. Paperwork and photographs were strewn everywhere and the contents of drawers and cupboards had been flung unceremoniously all over the floor. She didn't even know where to begin, so she decided to make herself an extra strong coffee instead.
    "Well, a burglary is the last thing I expected on a Friday morning," Penelope groaned.
    "It certainly is n’t a great start to the weekend," Sh ona sighed and stirred more sugar into her coffee. “You know what they say; bad luck comes in threes, so I wonder what else is going to happen today.”
    “That’s just ridiculous superstition.”
    “We’ll see,” Shona said ominously.
    "I don't know how you drink such strong coffee. It looks like treacle!" Penelope decided to change the subject.
    "I need it, tr ust me." Shona took a loud sip of her drink, as if to prove her point.
    "I don't understand who would be interested in b urgling a photography business,” Penelope mused .
    "You're joking, right? The burglars probably assumed we had expensive equipment and cameras here. Luckily Mark locked all his gear in the safe before he left for France. Besides, they did quite well; collectors would pay a lot for the paintings."
    "Are you certain you set the alarm last night before we left?"
    "I'm one hundred per cent positive," Shona insisted.
    "I don't understand. There were n o obvious signs of a break-in; w hoever did the job must have had a key