The Bloodline Cipher Read Online Free PDF Page A

been acquired in secret, illegally – so he needed someone to steal it for him. Morell contacted several people – myself included, naturally – to get quotes for the job. I gave him a most reasonable estimate.’
    Con smiled. ‘Because if he accepted and told you where the grimoire was, you could steal it yourself, yes?’
    Coldhardt returned the smile without warmth. ‘My dear Con, how well you know me.’
    â€˜I still don’t get why anyone should twig he had the info on his laptop,’ Patch complained.
    â€˜From the moment he contacted me, I arranged for him to be watched – and it seems others had him under observation too.’ Coldhardt steepled his fingers. ‘Morell was concerned about sending such compromising emails from his home address for fear they could be traced – either by the police or by … other authorities.’ Again, that wintry smile. ‘He double-encrypted the messages, drove to a hotel with Wi-Fi access and sent them from the car park so they couldn’t be traced back to him.’
    Jonah tutted. ‘Piggybacking on someone else’s wireless connection without consent?’
    â€˜Gee, that’s, like, breaking the law,’ Motti dead-panned, and Patch sniggered.
    Tye turned to Coldhardt. ‘So was Morell going to give us the job of stealing this grim-thing or not?’
    â€˜No.’ Coldhardt’s eyes narrowed. ‘He intended to take his custom to one of my competitors – Karl Saitou, a competent if unimaginative criminal.’
    â€˜How d’you know what Morell
intended
to do?’ Tye pressed him.
    â€˜Because Coldhardt got hold of the keys to decrypt the guy’s mail,’ Jonah explained. ‘That’s how come I knew the encrypted files were really from Morell and not tampered with.’
    â€˜And those I have read so far make for very interesting reading,’ said Coldhardt. ‘In any case, before he could give the go-ahead to Saitou and arrange payment, Morell died. His body was too badly charred by the fire that consumed his house to be sure of exactly what killed him.’ Abruptly he slammed his gnarled old fist down on the table, making them all jump. ‘Such a waste.’
    Jonah cleared his throat. ‘I suppose you must have known him a long time.’
    The old man gave him a withering look. ‘I was referring to his collection.’
    Figures
, thought Jonah, looking down at his cold coffee. ‘So Saitou won’t steal the grimoire ’cause there’s no cash coming.’
    â€˜Bit of a coincidence that Morell was killed and his house ripped off by kids who happened to torch the place, isn’t it?’ Tye looked around at the others. ‘I mean, nothing suspicious there.’
    â€˜He was into black magic and stuff …’ Patch had lowered his voice. ‘And that creepy manuscript was meant to have burned. Maybe it cursed him.’
    â€˜And maybe your real name is Ass,’ Motti suggested.
    â€˜It must be kids,’ said Con uneasily. ‘That’s why they left all the really valuable things in his house and took the electrical stuff they could sell on quickly, yes?’
    â€˜Some youths have been arrested and charged,’ Coldhardt agreed. ‘But one of them claims they were coerced into committing the crime.’
    â€˜They would, wouldn’t they?’ said Patch. ‘Everyone falls back on that old sob story when they get in bother.’
    â€˜Well, in any case,’ said Jonah, ‘I checked all Morell’s secure files on the flight back, and none of them had been opened or tampered with since composition or sending. So it couldn’t have been one of your competitors who robbed his place, could it?’
    Coldhardt waved his hand impatiently. ‘Such speculation is ultimately pointless – we have the laptop, and as Jonah has pointed out its information has not been accessed by anyone