Bloody Valentine - James Patterson [10]
‘The heart’s real.’
‘Human or animal?’
‘The lab’s checking. The message that came with it suggested it belonged to Jack’s wife Zee. Her mobile’s switched off. The last signal came from the apartment building they live in.’
‘How do you want to proceed, ma’am?’ Amy reached for her notebook.
‘I’ve sent Sergeant Reece and a team to Barnes Building. Jack and Zee Barnes live in the penthouse. Sergeant Reece has orders to interview the residents and begin a search. He’ll report to you. I suggest you begin by interviewing Mr Barnes.’
‘We’re on our way.’ Amy grabbed her bag.
‘Jack Barnes is high profile. The tabloids will make this front page, so avoid journalists. Here’s what little paperwork I have.’ Barbara handed Amy a thin file.
‘Inspector Amy Stuart and Sergeant Ben Miller to see you, sir.’ Alice showed them into Jack’s office.
Jack was at his desk but he’d turned his chair to the window. His face was grey, his eyes unnaturally bright.
Amy spoke first. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Barnes, we’ve no news. We were only assigned to the case twenty minutes ago.’
‘Zee … my wife …’
‘Officers are searching for her,’ Ben assured him.
Jack glanced at his watch. ‘The parcel arrived three-quarters of an hour ago. I wanted to go to the apartment but the porter said she’d left the building … We were meeting here for lunch. Her phone’s switched off. She never switches it off …’
‘Are there any friends she might have visited?’ Amy interrupted.
‘My brother and sisters live in the building. The porter said Zee left around twenty past eleven. I feel so useless. The heart? The constable took it away for tests …’
‘We haven’t had the results yet, sir.’ Amy changed the subject. ‘What about shops? Are there any between your apartment and here that your wife might have visited?’
‘Dozens.’ Jack looked at his watch again. ‘But it’s ten to one. Even if she went shopping, she’d be here by now. We lunch at one o’clock and she’s always early.’ He stared at the tiny figures walking on the street below. ‘I don’t know what to do …’
‘We agreed it would be best for you to wait here, Jack,’ Alice said softly.
‘The officer who took the heart said it could be just a sick joke. He thought it could be the heart of a pig or a sheep?’ The look in Jack’s eyes said what he couldn’t put into words. He wanted it to be a hoax.
Amy’s mobile rang. She answered it.
‘Sergeant Reece here, ma’am. We’ve found a body in Barnes Building. The murderer was next to it. Holding a knife.’
Chapter Ten
‘I’ve been expecting you two.’ Patrick O’Kelly, the most eccentric of the Home Office pathologists who worked with the police was drinking coffee from a specimen beaker. A heart was on a slab in front of him.
‘This is a quick stop. Sergeant Reece found a body in Barnes Building and a man next to it holding a knife.’
‘The body—’
‘Has a heart.’ Amy referred to the notes Barbara had given her and looked around. There was no sign of the box the heart had been packed in, or the wrapping.
‘Is this heart human?’ Ben asked.
‘Without a doubt.’ Patrick pulled off his gloves, opened a body drawer in the bank behind him and removed a packet of biscuits.
‘Fresh?’ Amy asked.
‘Yes.’
‘How fresh?’ Amy pressed.
‘On the basis of the blood in the arteries, I’d say it was taken from the body of an adult less than an hour before Jack Barnes received it. It’s the heart of a young person. There’s no sign of disease or aging. Biscuit?’ He thrust the packet of chocolate digestives at Amy.
‘No thank you.’
Patrick offered them to Ben, who shook his head.
‘Coffee? Tea? Jenny can rinse out a couple of specimen beakers.’
‘We had a large breakfast.’ Amy knew Patrick tried to shock officers by drinking coffee out of beakers used to store body parts. She’d never asked, but hoped he kept a separate set for his and his assistants’ use.
Patrick bit into his biscuit. ‘The blood group matches that of the missing woman.’
‘That was quick work.’ Amy was surprised.
‘Jack Barnes’s secretary had Jack and Zee Barnes’s medical records on file. They honeymooned on safari