no idea what size they needed.
Lana returned with pen and paper and began to draw a stylised tree with an animal and a child beneath it. The tree could have been any type, the child any sex, and the animal anything from a mouse to a horse.
‘That’s perfect,’ said Bree. ‘How much will that cost?’
Toby looked at them and named a price. He had learned a lot about ‘asking’ prices since starting his own business and was surprised when Sam immediately produced his wallet and paid the ten per cent deposit there and then in cash. They hadn’t even tried to talk him down.
Mrs Green escorted Sam and Bree back into the gallery where she wrote down their address and promised the completed plaque would be delivered.
As Bree and Sam left the building, Lana turned to Toby and Mrs Green. ‘I’ve never heard of that group before, but they certainly appear to be well funded.’
‘I thought they would have wanted me to do it for nothing as my contribution to the ecology.’
‘A very strange fund,’ opined Mrs Green.
Chapter Four
Bree and Sam were more than pleased with their efforts. They had successfully been able to scrutinise their target from very close quarters and had met two of her closest friends. Plus all the photos – not only inside and outside the gallery but also Toby Brown’s private workshop and living quarters. It couldn’t have gone better.
In his bedroom back at the pub, Sam downloaded the photos on to his laptop, storing a further copy on disc for safe keeping.
While he worked on the photos, Bree was at work on her own computer, recording the conversations and any observations that might be of relevance to the investigation. She also read further into the backgrounds of the people who were close to Jade Green.
After tea, they returned to Sam’s room where Bree studied Sam’s photos while he reviewed her notes, amending and adding from his own observances.
‘We’re going to have to be extremely careful who we talk to in this village,’ said Bree.
‘Lots of gossiping,’ commented Sam.
‘Even worse than that, I’ve reviewed some of the files. Although it looks like Toby Brown spends a lot of his time at the gallery, his latest address on official documents is Jade Green’s home address. So he lives with her and works with her. On top of that, Lana Reynolds, who we just met and who displays her paintings at Toby Brown’s gallery, lives next door to Jade Green.’
‘So they’re all one big happy family.’
‘You haven’t heard the best bit yet. Lana’s husband, Brian Reynolds, is a new junior partner at Grant and Associates and his office is above the gallery.’
Bree brought up the relevant photo on his laptop and turned the screen towards him.
‘Ye gods,’ exclaimed Sam, ‘they’re never out of one another’s sight. At work or home. I just hope they like one another.’
‘It seems they do.’
‘What about Brown’s fiancée? What does she think about their relationship?’
‘From what the barman told me, she’s as thick as thieves with them. She’s taken over the running of the local real estate agency on behalf of the owner, who’s incapacitated at the moment, and it was she who sold the factory to Brown in the first place. Her name is Susan Ryan and she now spends much of her spare time down there with him. The barman says she sleeps over.’
‘It looks like trying to get Jade Green by herself will be a very difficult thing. It would have to be planned well in advance.’
‘We’d need some sort of pretext to separate her from the rest.’
‘Well that’s not on the cards for the present.’
‘What’s our next move?’ asked Bree.
‘Tomorrow I’d like to get a look at the house she lives in. It’s out of town, in an isolated spot, so it might mean crawling around in the dirt to try to get a good shot of the place. Do you want to join me?’
‘Crawling is a last resort for me. I think I’ll stay close to the village and try to pick up some background information on the Jade Green gang,’
Next morning Sam rose before dawn so that he could be in position before the sun came up.
Bree slept in and had a leisurely shower and a full breakfast before wandering out of the pub and along the main street.
Several shops along she saw Lana emerge from a supermarket on the opposite side of the road with a grocery bag in each hand.
Sensing an opportunity, Bree crossed the road and wandered slowly towards Lana while pretending to look in the shop windows. Moving quickly, she ‘accidentally’ collided with Lana, nearly sending her bags flying.
‘Oh shit! I’m sorry,’ Bree exclaimed, as she grabbed Lana to save her from dropping her groceries.
‘Here. Let me give you a hand with that.’
‘That’s OK. I’m fine,’ said Lana.
Bree almost grabbed the bag out of Lana’s hand.
‘No. Let me give you a hand. It’s the least I can do, especially after your help yesterday.’
‘Oh. All right. I’m parked just over there.’
Lana pointed to a small Japanese sedan.
‘Ah, a luxury limousine.’
‘Yes,’ laughed Lana. ‘But it’s all I need to get me around the
village,’ She opened the boot and placed the bags inside.
‘Can I buy you a cup of coffee?’ asked Bree. ‘The distance I carried the bag hardly repays the artistic debt my partner and I owe you.’
‘Well, I was about to have coffee with friends. I suppose they won’t mind a fourth at the table. It might be interesting to get another viewpoint on things.’
‘There’s nothing I like more than to give my opinion.’
‘We won’t have you engaging in environmental brainwashing,’ warned Lana.
‘You have my word on it,’ Bree replied with a cheeky grin.
Lana led Bree to a small coffee shop on the high street. Several tables and chairs were set up beneath umbrellas on the path outside. Lana made her way to one where a woman was already seated, tending to a baby in a pram.
‘Hi Jane,’ called Lana as she approached. The woman turned and gave Lana a welcoming grin.
‘I think he just smiled at me,’ she said excitedly.
‘Probably just wind,’ Lana smiled back at her.
The two women sat and Lana performed the introductions. ‘Jane, this is Bree, she’s from the Save the Country Fund. Toby is creating a logo for them. Bree, this is Jane Taylor. Jane’s hus band Rodney is in charge of our local police station.’
‘Shit,’ thought Bree. ‘I’ve walked right into it this time.’
Lana made the final introduction. ‘And this is the new Master Tobias Taylor. Just six weeks and a couple of days old. The light of Jane’s life.’
Jane beamed as Bree did the obligatory cooing and aahing that meeting a new-born required. Bree was not the mothering type, which was why she still lived alone.
‘Shall we order now or wait