Crowns and Codebreakers Read Online Free PDF Page B

stood by the second-hand book stall. She was flicking through a plastic crate of spy thrillers when Andrew said hello.
    ‘I’ve been thinking,’ Flora said, without bothering with hello. ‘We could try the art school to see if anyone recognises the description of the photographer. Except that it’s the holidays there too, so that might not work. But maybe there’ll be a caretaker or school secretary there. It’s the best plan I could think of.’
    Andrew shook his head. ‘I’ve seen him before somewhere, I know it.’
    ‘Where?’ Flora asked.
    Andrew shrugged. He’d been deliberately not thinking about it all night. He’d hoped the answer would come while he was not thinking about it, the way that sometimes the perfect comeback would pop into his head two hours after he needed it. But, despite his best efforts, the answer hadn’t come.
    ‘You need to be distracted,’ Flora said, once he’d explained. She put the tattered paperback she was holding back in the box and turned to the market. ‘You should recite the twelve times table, or describe the water cycle – something to keep your mind occupied while your subconscious works.’
    ‘One times twelve is twelve,’ Andrew began, ‘two times twelve is twenty-four, three times twelve is … er …’
    ‘Thirty-six.’
    ‘I was about to say that.’ They walked aimlessly, wandering past the fruit and veg stall with its smells of citrus and sunshine, past the phone stall with its bright covers in jewel colours and glitter. ‘Four times twelve is forty-eight, five times twelve is … steak on rye!’
    They were next to a burger van that smelled of sweet roast onions and sizzling meat.
    ‘You can’t even concentrate on being distracted,’ Flora said sadly.
    ‘No! Steak on rye! I remember where I’ve seen the photographer!’ Andrew grabbed Flora’s arm with glee. ‘Remember when I trailed Albie in the theatre mystery? Well, he went to buy lunch and he walked past a gallery! I saw the man inside.’
    ‘Are you sure? It was ages ago now.’
    ‘I’m sure! It was just a glimpse, but I’m sure it was the photographer.’
    ‘What should we do?’
    Andrew laughed. ‘We go and investigate, of course!’
    He practically ran all the way to the gallery. It was opposite the Theatre Grand, where Hollywood actress, Betty Massino, had had her necklace stolen. There was a steak grill house on the street, with some metal tables outside. It was too early for lunch customers yet, so the tables were empty. The gallery was near the grill house, beside a dry cleaner’s. Its facade was painted bright white, with the name painted in a matt white above the door – Ikonik . You could only see the name from certain angles. There was a big glass window at the front of the shop with a … Andrew wasn’t at all sure what it was: a something made of brown clumps of metal in pride of place.
    ‘Is it meant to be a dog maybe?’ Flora asked, looking at the window display.
    Andrew shrugged. ‘I thought it was meant to be a table.’
    ‘Definitely something with four legs,’ Flora agreed.
    Andrew opened the door carefully. A tiny bell jangled above his head.
    More white. White walls, white ceiling, white tiled floor. At the back was a white counter which blended into the walls.
    It wasn’t the sort of shop that felt like a shop.
    ‘I’ll be right there!’ a man’s voice called from somewhere out back.
    Flora stepped over to look at the art on the walls. Some of it was paintings, swirls of colour in thick brush-strokes, red and gold and orange. But some of it was sculpture, like the something in the window. Flora had been to a big gallery and museum with school once, and there had been huge paintings of ships at sea, and people in pouffy dresses and frilly coats standing by trees. The school had had to fill in a worksheet about perspective.
    The art here was nothing like that.
    There was a sheet made of hammered gold ingots hanging on the wall, but when she looked closer