The Carlswick Treasure (The Carlswick Mysteries Book 2)

by SL Beaumont

  She shrugged. “Let me know if you find anything. You can show James and Andy—they’ve seen it, but no one else.”

  “Of course. I’m sorry, Steph,” he said again.

  She squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

  Chapter 29

  Monday 2nd January

  The flight to Barcelona was uneventful. Stephanie sat sandwiched between her father and Vince, neither of whom had much to say.

  Vince spent most of the flight scribbling in a notebook, making lists, from what Stephanie could see. His bulky, muscular frame filled his seat and under his baseball cap, his dark hair was clipped, military style, close to his head. Max was deep in thought and only offered single word answers to her questions. Stephanie eventually gave up and pulled out her Kindle and tried to read, but she was too distracted going over and over the events of the previous couple of days in her head. She let out a long breath, which got her father’s attention. He glanced in her direction and seeing the emotion on her face and the tears welling at her eyes, he reached over and took her hand and squeezed it.

  “We will get them out to visit again in the summer, Steph,” he murmured. She smiled. “Thanks, Dad. I’m just feeling drained after the last few days. Saying goodbye to Mum and Toby was really hard. It doesn’t seem right that they had to leave so soon after everything that’s happened. I mean what if Toby blames me?”

  “He won’t and your mum certainly doesn’t. Kids are really resilient,” Max reassured her.

  “Have you talked to Marks again?”

  “Yes,” Max replied. “It’s difficult, because he has no jurisdiction in Spain.”

  Stephanie raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to ask another question, but stopped when Max shook his head. Stephanie frowned.

  “Best I don’t know, right?” she said.

  “Something like that, sweetheart,” Max agreed.

  “Dad, is it okay if I call James when we get there? I am feeling bad about how I left things with him. There has been so much misunderstanding and distrust between us over these last few weeks, but he isn’t Alex and I was wrong to hold that against him.”

  “Sure, but perhaps don’t tell him where you are for a few days. We don’t know if Alex has bugged his mobile. He seems to be getting his information from somewhere,” Max said.

  “I know where he was getting some of his intel,” Stephanie said. Vince’s head snapped around to look at her. “Ah, Victoria was keeping up with what we were doing through Michael and relaying it back to Alex. Poor Michael thought she was interested in him, I think.”

  “Huh,” Max said. “Did he take that hard?”

  “Dunno. It was him who worked it out and then everything happened with Toby and Matt. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it. But, yeah, I guess he’s hurting right now, too.”

  Vince scribbled something else onto his list.

  “It would be worth pointing Marks in her direction,” Vince suggested. Max nodded.

  * * *

  The arrivals hall was crowded with sun seekers, mostly British, escaping the English winter. Stephanie could already feel the change in temperature from London. She pulled her jacket off and laid it across the top of her wheelie bag. Max had indicated that they would only be in Barcelona for a couple of days, so she was travelling light.

  As soon as they had cleared customs with their luggage, Vince went to hire a rental car. He returned dangling car keys.

  “This way,” he said. Max and Stephanie followed him out of the terminal and into the bright sunshine. Stephanie pulled her sunglasses out of her hair and over her eyes and tilted her head back. She sighed as she felt the sun seep into her skin.

  “Oh, that feels so good. I didn’t realise how much I was missing the feel of sunshine,” she said.

  Max laughed and nudged her. “My little Kiwi girl,” he said.

  The drive in from the airport could only be described as hair-raising. Stephanie was relieved to be sitting in the back seat as yet another taxi cut in front of them and the driver let out a torrent of abuse through the open window. Vince slammed on the brakes more than once to avoid a collision.

  “You okay back there?” Max asked over his shoulder.

  “Not sure,” Stephanie replied, hanging on for dear life as they took a corner at speed and turned into a long wide avenue, with three lanes of traffic in each direction. No one kept to their lanes, or indicated when changing, and most drivers made liberal use of their horns. Stephanie was relieved when they finally came to a stop in front of a row of six-storey brick buildings. At street level stores such as Gucci, Apple and Zara exuded glamour and appeal, and above them offices and apartments filled the floors. Despite everything, Stephanie felt her inner shopaholic sit up and take notice.

  “We have an apartment on the top floor of this building,” Max announced. “We’ll take the bags up while you park the car, Vince.”

  As Stephanie stepped out of the car her attention was taken away from the clothing stores by the most unusual building that she had ever seen, directly across the street from where she stood. It looked as though a giant fossil had risen out of the sea. On the roof the colourful scales of a stone dragon glistened in the sun as the spikes on its back undulated across the gable. She stood open mouthed.

  “That is the Casa Batllo, one of Anton Gaudi’s masterpieces,” Max said, coming to stand beside her.

  “I have never seen anything like it,” Stephanie exclaimed. “It’s so beautiful.”

  “Yes, I think so too, but it was a shock to many Spaniards when he constructed it in 1906,” Max replied.

  “Really, it’s that old? Can we go inside?” Stephanie asked.

  “Yes, maybe tomorrow. Let’s get settled into the apartment. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  Max picked up two bags and led the way through the small, but heavy wooden door into the apartment building. Stephanie followed, allowing herself a final glimpse over her shoulder at the incredible architecture across the road, before the front door closed behind her with a loud thud. They were standing in a gloomy tiled foyer, with a small reception desk to one side. A man in his late twenties stood from a chair behind the desk and greeted them. He handed Max a set of keys and explained the apartment rules, while Stephanie stepped into the atrium. Coloured light filtered down onto an ancient looking metal cage lift, around which wound the staircase, like spirals inside a sea shell. Stephanie let her head drop back and tracked its journey up five floors. The roof above the sixth floor level was composed of a multi-coloured glass dome.

  “This way, please,” the receptionist said, stepping past Stephanie and sliding the concertina double doors of the lift across and holding it open for them. They squeezed into the lift with their bags. The receptionist closed the outer door first, then the inner door and pressed the button for the sixth floor. The lift rose gracefully. Stephanie watched as they passed the landing of each floor in turn. She had only ever been in fully enclosed lifts. It was such a novelty to ride in an old fashioned one, such as this. She grinned at her father.

  The apartment was huge. Three double bedrooms, each with ensuite, a large dining room, separate kitchen and a small library with two comfortable armchairs, which looked out through floor to ceiling windows on a pretty inner courtyard below.

  * * *

  Over dinner, eaten outdoors at one of the many restaurants on a popular street called La Rambla, Stephanie learned of Max and Vince’s plan. Heat lamps burned nearby, warding off the slight evening chill. Delicious paella, golden and fragrant with small slices of chorizo, prawns, mussels and succulent pieces of chicken, was washed down with a glass each of a full bodied Rioja.

  “We believe that Alex is staying with acquaintances in the El Born area of the city. I drove past the address this afternoon and it appears to be in a luxury apartment block with heavy, but discreet, security out front,” Vince said, between mouthfuls. “So we need to entice him out, and that’s where you come in, Stephanie.”

>   “But only if you are comfortable and you won’t be in any danger, because we will be with you the whole time,” Max assured her, whilst shooting a stern glance at Vince.

  “Okay,” Stephanie replied, looking from Vince to her father. “But if we know where he is, why don’t we just tell the police and let them pick him up?”

  “Well, Marks is having a little difficulty getting anyone interested at this end. Alex hasn’t committed any crimes in Spain and extradition has proved near impossible in the past. We think that we have a better chance if we actually have him and then Marks can officially get involved,” Max explained.

  “I’m not sure I completely understand, but what do you need me to do?”

  “Call him. Let him know that there was something else in that tin, other than the jewellery, that you didn’t give him. Arrange a meeting and we’ll pick him up,” Vince said.

  “You make it sound so simple. How do I explain the fact that I have tracked him down to Barcelona? Won’t he smell a trap?” Stephanie asked.

  “Maybe he will, but if I have read him correctly, he will take a risk to obtain whatever it is you lead him to believe that you have,” Vince replied.

  Stephanie took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Do you agree with this approach?” she asked her father. Max nodded. “Okay then,” she acquiesced.

  On the walk back to the apartment they discussed other things including Stephanie’s next term at Oxford. The streets were busy. The Spanish tended to eat later than their British counterparts and families were just arriving at many of the restaurants. A group of boys had begun an impromptu football game in a square with several of their fathers joining in. In the distance car horns could be heard along with sirens which appeared to be getting closer. Rounding the corner to their apartment building something seemed amiss to Stephanie, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She saw her father and Vince exchange glances and felt her father’s hand on her back, hurrying her along. It was then that she realised. There were no cars at all. The wide tree lined avenue was completely empty in both directions.

  The sound of a crowd in the distance reached her and she instinctively turned in the direction of the noise.

  “What’s going on, Dad?” she asked.

  “It’s a protest of some sort,” he said, stopping beside her. “Look.”

  Stephanie strained her eyes to see. Several blocks to the north, police had set up a roadblock and people with placards were moving around behind it. She looked in the opposite direction and saw that the police had formed a barricade across the avenue two blocks south of their position and were diverting the traffic.

  “What’s it about?” she asked.

  “They’re probably protesting about Spain’s financial crisis and the austerity measures that the government has been forced to impose,” Max explained. “Let’s get inside. Sometimes these things can turn ugly.” Max pulled the key card to the apartment building from his pocket.

  Once settled in their apartment, Vince reminded Stephanie that it was time to call Alex. “Keep it short. Don’t offer him any explanation as to why you are here, just arrange to meet,” he said.

  “Okay. I hope you know what you’re doing. I don’t want to screw this up,” she replied.

  Max put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Just do your best.”

  Vince handed her a phone number which she keyed into her mobile. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Hands shaking, she tapped the green telephone symbol, followed by the speaker on icon.

  The phone rang twice before it connected.

  “Hola,” a female voice at the other end answered.

  “Hola. Alex Knox?” Stephanie asked.

  There was a moments silence on the other end of the line, followed by muffled voices. Stephanie shrugged her shoulders at Max and Vince. Max gave her an encouraging smile.

  “Hola.”

  “Alex. It’s Stephanie.”

  “Stephanie. This is a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you,” Alex said.

  “Were you happy with the exchange you made for my little brother?” she said, barely controlling her anger.

  Alex laughed. “Actually, I have to say, I was a little disappointed,” he said.

  “You wouldn’t have been if I’d given you everything that was in the tin,” she replied.

  There was a pause on the other end of the line.

  “What do you want?” Alex’s voice had turned cold.

  “Meet me and you can have it,” she said.

  Alex laughed humourlessly. “Yeah, not falling for that, Stephanie.”

  “I’m in Barcelona.”

  “How did you get this number?”

  “From a friend.”

  More silence. She could almost hear Alex’s brain calculating this turn of events.

  “Why?”

  “My cousin Matt, the one you fought with on the boat, nearly drowned,” she said struggling to keep the emotion out of her voice. “I want nothing more to do with this. You can have it.”

  “And what exactly is ‘it’?” Alex asked.

  “A series of numbers and letters—means nothing to me,” she said. In front of her, Vince bristled and stared at her.

  Alex exhaled. “Okay, let’s meet. I guess that you are not alone—is my brother there?”

  “No.”

  “Pity, it’s been a while. Bar Sardina, seven pm tomorrow and sit at an outside table. Come alone this time, Stephanie. I will be watching.”

  Stephanie sat staring at her phone for several seconds, her eyes blurry with angry tears. Max leaned over and tapped the red ‘end call’ icon. “Well done, he took the bait.”

  “Can I call James now?” she asked Max.

  “Sure. But don’t mention where you are or that you’ve just talked to his brother,” Max said.

  Stephanie shut the door to her bedroom and sat down heavily on the bed, waging an internal debate whether to make the call or whether to wait until she was home again. Her desire to hear his voice won out and she speed dialled his number.

  “Steph,” James answered almost immediately. In the background, she could hear guitar strings being plucked and male voices.

  “Hi,” she replied, suddenly feeling inexplicably shy.

  “Hold on, I’ll just go to another room,” James said. She could hear a door closing and the sounds of music and voices became muffled. “There, that’s better. How are you?”

  “I’m okay. How are you doing?” she replied.

  “Alright, I guess. I’ve been thinking about you a lot. I was trying to give you space, but I’m glad you called,” he said.

  “Thanks, James,” she said.

  “Where are you, anyway?”

  “I’ve just gone away with Dad for a few days. I’ll be back later in the week. Are you still in Carlswick?” she asked.

  “Yeah, and it’s bloody freezing.”

  “It’s not…” she started and then stopped.

  “Where did you say you were?” he asked.

  “I didn’t. Don’t ask me. I can’t tell you,” she said.

  There was a pause.

  “It wouldn’t have anything to do with finding my brother, would it?” he asked in a carefully controlled voice.

  “James. Trust me. I’ll tell you everything when I get back,” she said. He didn’t reply. “Look, I have to go. Talk again in a couple of days, okay?”

  “I guess that means that your father still doesn’t trust me,” he eventually replied.

  “It’s not that,” she said.

  “Yeah,” James sounded unconvinced. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

  “I will. I miss you,” she said, her voice catching on the last word.

  “I miss you too,” he said.

  She had only just disconnected the call when her phone rang. She looked hesitantly at the caller ID and was relieved when Michael’s name flashed up.

  “Hey,” she answered, clearing her throat to rid it of emotion.

  “H
ey, yourself,” Michael replied. “I think I have worked out what the code is.” He paused for effect. “Map co-ordinates.”

  “Really?” Stephanie asked. “I was actually beginning to think that it was probably nothing, just some old cigarette packaging caught in the tin.”

  “No—it’s definitely longitude and latitude—I have narrowed it down to a town in North West France called Epernay. It’s where they make champagne, actually,” Michael replied.

  “What would be in Epernay?”

  “Not sure, but James and I are going to have a chat with old Charles in the morning. He’s having a good week, so we might get some direction from him,” Michael said.

  “Let me know if you find out anything useful,” Stephanie replied.

  “Okay. I’ll email you through what I’ve found so far. Where are you anyway?” he said.

  “Barcelona,” she replied. “I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

  Stephanie sat on her bed, staring into space. She turned her head as her door opened and Max stood leaning against the door frame.

  “How was James?” he asked.

  “Okay. I spoke to Michael too,” she replied. “With everything that has happened over the last few days, there’s something that I haven’t told you.”

  Max raised his eyebrows. “Yes? Do I need to sit down?”

  “If you want.” Stephanie slid sideways indicating that he could sit beside her. She turned side on and sat cross-legged. “The tin that I found at the castle,” she began.

  “Ah, yes, Vince just mentioned that there was obviously more to that than you had let on.”

  “Yeah. I had actually forgotten about it in all the excitement,” she replied.

  Max nodded. “Anyway, the tin,” he prompted.

  “There wasn’t just the jewellery inside. In the panic of being chased, I didn’t have time to put this back and only found it in my pocket after I’d given the tin to Alex’s guy.”

  She stood up and retrieved her jacket from the chair beside the bed. Unzipping an inside pocket, she pulled out the piece of paper containing the numbers and letters. She handed it to Max. He turned the piece of paper over in his hands.