Page 33 of The Collector
“Yes.”
“Are you sure your valuables are actually missing?”
“Quite sure. The cash as well.”
“How much cash are we talking about?”
“A hundred thousand euros.”
“I see. And the valuables?”
“About four million euros’ worth of diamond jewelry.”
“The plot thickens.” She tapped the rim of her wineglass thoughtfully. “Have you considered the possibility that the thief was trying to send you a message?”
“An interesting theory. What sort of message?”
“Could be anything, really. But it might have something to do with this painting you’re looking for.”
“Do you think she knows where it is?”
“I’m quite certain she doesn’t. But she knows who had it last Friday evening.”
“Who?”
“A man named Peter Nielsen.”
“The rare book dealer who was murdered in Copenhagen?”
She nodded slowly.
“Does she know who killed him?”
“She has a hunch. She has a couple of decent video stills as well.”
“What else does she have?”
“It’s possible she has Peter Nielsen’s phone.”
“Why?”
She smiled sadly. “He said she had lost her touch, and she couldn’t help herself.”
20
Kandestederne
Dinner was a candlelit buffet of traditional Danish fare, served in her formal dining room. The jewelry and cash lay between them like a centerpiece, along with a dormant mobile phone, a slumbering laptop, and Gabriel’s handwritten offer of immunity.
“How did you break in?” he asked.
“I bumped the lock.”
Lock bumping was a technique that involved inserting a specially crafted key into a lock and tapping it with a small hammer or the grip of a screwdriver.
“That hardly seems sporting,” said Gabriel. “Why didn’t you just shoot off the lock instead?”
“Is that how you do it?”
