The Boathouse Read Online Free PDF

modern apartment. The walls were light oak panels and the shelves were filled with old books, artefacts and sculptures. The art on the walls was also classical, more Canaletto’s Venice than Picasso’s Cubism downstairs. Sinclair sat down wearily at the desk and Archer sat in the green leather armchair opposite.
    â€œThere has to be an insider,” Archer said.
    â€œHow do you know that?”
    â€œThe kidnappers have inside information. First, they know you can get hold of substantial amounts of cash in sterling and dollars.”
    â€œSo can plenty of other people in London,” he said, with disdain.
    â€œPlus they know you can quickly get your hands on cut diamonds.”
    â€œOkay, less common than cash, but still not unique. Carry on.”
    â€œSpecifically, they know you have some illicit diamonds from Botswana.”
    â€œAll right, not so common, but I still can’t form a shortlist on that basis alone.”
    â€œHow much does your wife know about your business dealings?”
    â€œToo much,” Sinclair blurted out quickly, before his face reddened. “I mean too much for her own good.” The recovery failed to mask his apparent discomfort at this revelation. But if his wife did know too much and he wanted to bump her off, there were far easier ways than faking her kidnapping and putting on a complex show like this. The same would be true if she was running away from him.
    Sinclair turned and looked out of the window.
    Archer thought through his potential suspect list: Sinclair, Becky, Relatives, Staff, Friends, Enemies and Opportunists.
    The phone vibrated twice in his hand with an incoming text from Zoe. He made an excuse to call the office about the trace and Sinclair walked back downstairs in a trance. Archer stayed seated in the study and speed-dialled his office.
    â€œHey, what’s up?” “Sinclair hides a lot of his deals. He’s careful, but I’ll find a hole in his armour somewhere, don’t worry. There has to be one. There always is.”
    â€œWhat are the signs?” Archer said.
    â€œThe usual stuff when something bad is being covered up by immoral lawyers and bankers on massive fees. It takes a poor moralistic hacker like me to find them.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œLayers of offshore shell companies with transactions through numbered bank accounts in Switzerland, Aruba and the Cayman Islands. He’s well connected in several countries via lobbyists and agents. And I just found a trail of property deals leading back to Washington D.C. and the CEO of a major defence contractor. Be careful, Sean.”
    Sinclair was definitely connected to cold-blooded killers. But was he connected to the cold-blooded killers behind the Boathouse?

CHAPTER SEVEN

    Sinclair sat bolt upright at the desk. His stare switched between the phone and his solid gold Rolex with occasional glances towards the large portrait on the wall. At five p.m. the phone rang as promised. Sinclair pressed the speaker button after the third ring and listened carefully to the instructions to drive around the circuit. At the end of the call he quietly said, “Okay, so when do we do the exchange?” The line went dead.
    As he stood up he took a deep breath and addressed his team. “Load the money and the diamonds into the car and drive around the circuit again, like before. Start in an hour. Who wants to make the drop?”
    â€œI’ll do it,” Jones said.
    â€œI’ll go with him,” Archer said.
    The other four men at the table started talking quietly and then one walked towards Sinclair.
    â€œShall we follow them, sir?” asked the biggest one.
    â€œNo, not yet,” Sinclair said.
    â€œWhat’s the circuit?” Archer asked.
    â€œBasically it’s a clockwise route around Hyde Park,” Sinclair said.
    He walked off towards the master bedroom. It was on the same floor as the living room, across the entrance hall.