Clean Break Read Free

looking, how can you expect to succeed?”
    â€œPeople have a tendency to tell me things they don’t necessarily want to share with the police. And that includes insurance companies. I also have more unorthodox sources of information. I’m sure I can develop leads the police will never encounter.” It was all true. Well, all except the last sentence.
    â€œI don’t know, Kate. These are professional thieves. Looking at the state of the porch door, they’re clearly quite comfortable with a considerable degree of violence. I’m not sure I’m entirely happy about you pursuing them,” he said dubiously.
    â€œHenry, I might only be five foot three, but I can look after myself,” I said, trying not to think about the last occasion where I’d told the men in my life the same damn lie. The scar on my head was just a distant twinge when I brushed my hair now, but the scar inside went a lot deeper. I hadn’t exactly lost my bottle; I’d just acquired an overdose of wariness.
    â€œBesides,” I carried on, seeing his look of frank disbelief, “you’re entitled to the first thirty hours of my time for free, according to your contract.”
    â€œAh. Yes. Of course.” His reserve was nailed firmly in place again, the eyes locked on the middle distance.
    â€œApart from anything else, me nosing around will convince your insurance company that you’re not trying it on,” I added.
    His eyes narrowed, like a man who’s seen a bloody great wave heading straight for his bows. “Why should they think that?” he said sharply.
    â€œIt wouldn’t be the first time somebody’s set up their own burglary for the insurance,” I said. “It happens all the time round where I live.” A frown flickered across Henry’s face. “There’s nothing you want to tell me, Henry, is there?” I added apprehensively.
    â€œThere’s no earthly reason why I should arrange this,” he said stiffly. “The police and the insurance company are welcome to check the books. We’re making a profit here. House admissions are up on last year, the gift shop has increased its turnover by
twenty-five percent and the Great Hall is booked for banquets almost every Saturday between now and February. The only thing I’m concerned about is that I’m due to leave for Australia in three weeks and I’d like the matter resolved by then.”
    â€œI’d better get weaving, in that case,” I said mildly.
    I drove back to Manchester with a lot on my mind. I don’t like secrets. It’s one of the reasons I became a private eye in the first place. I especially don’t like them when they’re ones my client is keeping from me.

2
    The atrium of Fortissimus Insurance told me all I needed to know about where Henry’s massive premiums were going. The company had relocated in Manchester from the City, doubtless tempted by the wodges of cash being handed out by various inner city initiative programers. They’d opted for a site five minutes’ walk down Oxford Road from the rather less palatial offices of Mortensen and Brannigan. Handy, we’d thought, if they ever needed any freelance investigating, though if they had done, it hadn’t been our door they’d come knocking on. They probably preferred firms with the same steel-and-glass taste in interior decor, and prices to match.
    Like a lot of new office complexes in Manchester, Fortissimus had smacked a brand new modern building behind a grandiose Victorian façade. In their case, they’d acquired the front of what had been a rather grand hotel, its marble and granite buffed to a shine more sparkling than its native century had ever seen. The entrance hall retained some of the original character, but the glassed-in atrium beyond the security desk was one hundred percent fin de quite another siècle . The pair of receptionists had clearly