“I haven’t actually uttered it yet.”
Knight laid the spoon upon his saucer.
“I assume the Spanish police have attempted to locate Alice’s mobile phone.”
“Without success,” replied Knight.
“What about her credit cards?”
“There’s been no activity since last Friday afternoon.”
“Anything unusual?”
“She made a five-hundred-euro purchase at the Louis Vuitton boutique near the marina.”
“I didn’t realize it was possible to spend only five hundred euros at Louis Vuitton.”
“It was a cotton ballcap.”
“And the police are certain that Alice was the one who purchased it?”
Knight nodded. “I’ve seen the surveillance video. After leaving the boutique, she walked to a nearby ATM machine and withdrew two thousand euros in cash.”
“That’s a rather large sum of money.”
“Not where Alice is concerned.”
“It might well explain why she’s missing.”
“A robbery gone wrong? The police put forward the same theory.”
“Was she wearing jewelry?”
“A wristwatch, rings, bracelets, and a necklace, all extremely valuable. Even so, she would have handed over everything to a thief without a second thought.”
“No sentimental value?”
“Alice isn’t the sentimental type.”
Edward Knight didn’t strike Gabriel as the sentimental type either. “You can’t keep her disappearance a secret forever. Someone is bound to notice she’s missing.”
“All the more reason I would like you to leave for Ibiza as soon as possible. But don’t worry about your travel arrangements. My personal assistant will see to everything. Liam Higgins is his name. You might have noticed him at dinner the other night.”
“I’m sorry,” said Gabriel, “but I haven’t the time. I promised Julian that I would finish the Bellotto by the end of the summer.”
Knight produced his phone and dialed. It took four attempts before the call finally went through. “Good afternoon, Ms. Bancroft. Edward Knight here. Listen, I just had a look at the Bellotto, and I absolutely must have it. How does twenty million sound?”
The connection failed before Sarah could reply. Knight put away his phone with a frown. “The cell service is dreadful out here. How do you possibly manage?”
Gabriel contemplated the blue sea. “Just fine, Mr. Knight.”
6
Gwennap Head
They saw to the logistics during the long walk back to Gwennap Head. Edward Knight wanted his newly minted representative to leave for Ibiza immediately, but Gabriel insisted he required twenty-four hours to put his affairs in order. With any luck, he added, the situation might resolve itself by then. Knight, while disappointed, agreed to the delay. His private executive helicopter, he said, would be waiting at Land’s End Airport at two the following afternoon. It would deliver Gabriel to Luton, where he would board the company Bombardier for the flight to Ibiza. Liam Higgins would arrange first-class lodgings at the Ibiza Gran Hotel. Knight would inform the commissioner of the Policía Nacional of Gabriel’s pending arrival.
Next they discussed communications. Knight wanted the number for Gabriel’s private mobile phone. Gabriel replied that Knight could reach him through the good offices of Isherwood Fine Arts.
