Bloody Valentine - James Patterson [14]
Amy studied the list of residents. ‘How many people are in the building now?’
‘The penthouse is empty. Mr Michael Barnes and his girlfriend Miss Anni Jones came in shortly after Sergeant Reece and the police constables arrived. Their apartment is below Mr and Mrs Barnes’s. The next floor down is Michael Barnes’s and Miss Jones’s studio – they’re artists. The misses Leila and Mamie Barnes, Mr Barnes’s sisters, occupy the apartment on the third floor. Mamie’s in a special school; she has Down’s syndrome. Miss Leila is at one of her charity committee meetings. Then there are the chefs. The next floor down, the one above this, is the communal gym and swimming pool. As you see,’ Ted indicated a screen above the desk, ‘no one’s using it at present.’
‘What time did Leila Barnes leave?’ Amy took her notebook from her pocket.
‘About twenty to one. She told me about the committee meeting on her way out.’
‘You chat to the residents?’ Ben continued to monitor the screens above the desk.
‘We exchange friendly words. They’re nice people.’ Ted pointed to the roses in a glass on his desk. ‘Mrs Barnes gave me those. She left roses and Valentine cards for everyone outside their doors before she went out.’
‘She gave you two?’ Ben smelled them.
‘One’s for the night porter, Damian. He spends his days sleeping and writing books.’
‘You said you have an apartment here?’ Ben asked.
‘Damian and I have basement studio apartments,’ Ted confirmed.
‘There’s an underground garage?’
‘Below our studio apartments, for the family’s vehicles and Mr Barnes’s business vehicles.’
‘Why does a restaurant owner need vehicles?’ Ben frowned.
‘He has a central kitchen that bakes cakes and desserts. They’re frozen and shipped out to his own and other restaurants, and to gourmet food shops.’
‘Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary on the CCTV today?’ Amy moved alongside Ben.
‘No, but I wasn’t here all morning. I had to fix a leak under the sink in the studio.’
‘What time was that?’ Ben reached for his notebook and pen.
‘After Mrs Barnes left, because I was at my desk when she walked out.’
‘Time?’ Amy prompted.
‘I went up after the post had been delivered at half past eleven and came down about quarter past twelve.’
‘That’s when you found the box on the desk?’
‘Yes.’
‘You didn’t see who left it there?’
‘I knew it had to be someone in the building. I locked the doors when I went up to the artists’ studio, as I always do whenever I leave the desk.’
‘What if anyone wants to come in?’ Amy looked up from her notebook.
‘The residents have their own key codes. Visitors can press the intercom.’
‘You would have answered them?’
Ted produced a small box from under the desk. ‘This is a receiver for the transmitter in the intercom. I always take it with me whenever I leave the foyer.
‘If an officer comes looking for us, Mr Levett, we’ll be interviewing Michael Barnes and Anni Jones,’ Amy informed him.
‘The sergeant wouldn’t allow them into their studio or apartment. They’re in the conference suite.’
‘Are Michael Barnes and Anni Jones the only two residents in there?’ Amy checked.
Before Ted could answer, a piercing scream came from the conference centre.
The door crashed back on its hinges.
‘You’ll have to kill me first.’ A young woman rushed out, pursued by a young man and a constable.
Chapter Thirteen
The constable and young man managed to subdue the woman. They escorted her back into the conference suite. Amy and Ben followed.
‘Please, Miss Jones, calm yourself.’ The constable blocked the doorway.
‘You’re threatening to destroy five years of my work and you’re asking me to keep calm …’
‘Are you senior officers?’ The man demanded.
‘Inspector Amy Stuart and Sergeant Ben Miller,’ Amy introduced herself and Ben.
‘Your constables are threatening to smash my girlfriend’s sculptures. They’re preventing us from entering our studio. We have to deliver artwork