Surprisingly I was woken by rain against my window .
Yawning , I picked up my alarm clock from the bedside table expecting it to read about 7am.
0845 , bloody hell , I thought throwing back the duvet . Suzannah is coming round at nine .
Putting my bathrobe on I glanced out of the window no sign of her yet , good . I must have been exhausted I thought , but today I felt upbeat and certainly not tired . Lets hope today brings some good news .
Cleaning my teeth , I glanced around on the floor for my jeans and a shirt as the door bell rang . Hearing the door bell ring , I pulled my bath robe together tightening the belt .
" Good morning Suzannah , I'm sorry I over layed , pretty exhausted I guess "
" Not a problem " She replied " Shall I make us some coffee "
" Yes , sure you know where it is , I'm gonna grab a shower , get changed and be back down in a few minutes . Put your raincoat over that chair and I'll grab a hanger for it from upstairs , two minutes "
" Ok " she replied
I turned onto the stairs " Kitchen that door if you remember " pointing
"That coffee smells bloody good " I said as I walked into the kitchen
She turned pouring a cup for me " Do you take milk "
" Bloody hell " I exclaimed " you look different
She laughed " good or bad ? I was just happy to get out of my Library uniform "
She was dressed in tight black jeans . I didn't realise how slim she was , long legs into black strappy sandals and in a tight white blouse a few buttons undone . A few other buttons strained open a little testament to her extremely large breasts . Her hair falling around her face and shoulders .
I hope she didn't catch me staring " Err good definitely good " I coughed the words out
" That's Ok then " She said " After you "
She followed me into the study . I'd managed to collect the papers into two large piles placing them on the coffee table .
" How do you think we should start " I asked
" Why dont't I go through Gideon's stuff you go through Joshua's , a plan ? " I replied
" Suzanna nodded " If we concentrate on their own findings and make notes of all relevant things , see if we have any common ground , oh I took the liberty of bringing two note pads " She passed one to me "
We scoured through the notes and sheets of paper and cuttings for the rest of the morning only pausing to make further pots of coffee . The mantle clock struck 12 . With a sigh I leaned back into my chair .
" Fancy a sandwich , I have some cheese or ham and maybe some pickle if you're lucky " I suggested
" Ham be great" she replied , her head still buried in piles of notes .
I got up to walk to the kitchen,
" John"
" Yes"
I turned at the doorway ,
" You know " she said still looking partly into her notes " so much of mine refers to the bible "
" Yes , mine too " I replied turning into the kitchen .
" Do you think we should cross reference the Bible stuff " She replied As I looked for some butter and a knife .
I made the sandwiches bringing them back into the study .
" You think he found it John " she asked taking a bite
" I don't know , I really don't " I replied
Suzannah picked up one of the ledgers " Look here , Gideons notes say he didn't "
She pointed at the note halfway down a page
'Star not in 5 Acres Never was ' it read
" Maybe " he was just frustrated " I said
" Maybe " she replied " Or maybe , he had it somewhere else other than 5 Acres "
" That's a point " I placed my plate down
" Have you seen this " I showed her Joshua's diary " These are entries in the last months of his life , in his business diary "
She leaned in towards me
I pointed , continuing
" Four entries of Chinese visitors , four entries of Indian , I guess that was pretty normal as he traded out there "
" Yes " she nodded
" But look " I pointed further down " These meetings were each of one hour , almost on the dot , but this one Francois Pitan From France "
" Who's he " Suzannah asked
" Not sure , but he spent ten minutes that's all , it also cross references with Joshua visiting him two months earlier . Look at the letter , very formal ' I request the pleasure of etc' I passed the letter over
She looked at it
" He even hand signed it " I said trying to emphasise my find " He never hand signed any letters "
" That's right , not sure the significance though just yet " She replied
I pushed the point further " The meeting in France only lasted ten minutes , long way to go for ten minutes "
Suzannah agreed " Maybe Joshua got what he wanted "
" Maybe , oh hows your sandwich "
Suzannah stretched " Very nice , I will do the honours tomorrow , oh and that reminds me , I might be a bit later tomorrow , I've got my disciplinary meeting at 0930 .
" Oh ok , come after that " I suggested , " Do you want picking up "
" No thanks , I'm probably going to have to get used to being unemployed , so I will walk , it will clear my head . Anyway enough of this lets crack on " She pointed at my files in a school teacher way
" Yes maam " I jokingly replied
At that moment my cell phone rang
fumbling around in my jeans I found it
" Hello "
It was Krey
" Just checking in Tutbury , how is your search going , come up with anything "
" Not yet " I replied . I found his attempt to speak with a cut glass English accent annoying as he was clearly American . " I'm just ploughing through stuff at the moment , but getting nearer "
" Good" he replied " I will call later "
" They checking up on you " Suzannah asked
" Yes , Looks that way "
Suzannah looked up " They must be very concerned or very annoyed " she replied
I didn't answer just mumbledand started looking at another piece
" You know , I think we will find the answer in Joshua's lot " I suggested " cross referencing common denominators with Gideons work may help"
" Good idea " She replied " You know how on television they always overlook the obvious "
I laughed " Yeah , but that's TV , always looks easier there , and we haven't got Columbo with us on this "
Suzannah looked at her watch as I glanced at the clock
" John crikey me it's half past six , would you mind if I got along now , I have got a bit of prep to do before I'm hauled in front of the Gestapo in the morning "
" No , of course not , you've been great , a great help "
She got up picking up the coffee cups as if by habit and taking them into the kitchen.
Putting on her raincoat she turned the latch on the door , she paused for a moment
" John you don't think you could pick me up tomorrow do you , you know from the disciplinary "
" Yes of course I will " I replied " What time "
She turned her collar up to face the evening
" Well around eleven would be about right I'd think "
" where is it being held " I asked as she opened her brolly
" If you wait some place near the Library that would be great "
With that I closed the door as she walked towards the gates and walked back into the study.For the first time that day I felt suddenly lost , a bit scared and a lot out of my depth . Should I just call the Police .
I perched on the edge of the chair Suzannah had been sitting on and started flicking through the files again . Page after page I turned
It must be in here , for God's sake it must be