“Yes.” Phillip opened the bottom drawer of one of the antique-looking cabinets at the back of my room and took my handbag from it. He held it out to me. “Time to go.”
I glanced back at the monitors in front of me. Today had been extremely taxing. Seeing the brutality that Camille Vastine and Martin Gayot had suffered and then being chased by two vehicles that we still hadn’t identified had put immense strain on my mind. Taking a break and spending time with Eric might very well be what my mind needed to bring to the fore the connection I felt lingering.
It took less than ten minutes to close down our computers and get Francine to join us. Manny gave us a feeble reason for not coming for dinner, but I could see his lie. The tension around his mouth and eyes led me to believe that he needed a short while on his own, without observant and concerned glances aimed his way.
Dinner was uneventful and quick. Vinnie wanted to join Pink and Daniel making sure all the members of the geocaching community were safe. He also wanted to check on Jace. No sooner had Nikki taken Eric to bed and Phillip had gone home than I sat down at the table with my laptop.
“Working?” Francine sat down next to me, holding a refilled glass of red wine.
I opened the folder with photos of the labels and clicked on the first one. “There is something here.”
“Okey-dokey.” She interlaced her fingers and stretched them out in front of her, then shook out her hands. “Let’s make these photos our bitches.”
I looked at her. “I don’t know what that means.”
She laughed and lifted her tablet from the table. “It means we two ladies are going to figure this out.”
We didn’t. Hours later, I had looked at each photo, but had not yet made the connection.
“I’m hungry.” Francine stretched her arms high above her head and yawned loudly. “Vinnie’s fettuccini is all burned up now.” She looked at her empty wine glass. “And I need more wine.”
“Alcohol produces detectable impairments in memory after only a few drinks.”
“Hah. Yeah, but it does taste good.” She got up and sighed. “I suppose I’ll make us some coffee then.”
I returned my attention to the labels. The photos Pink had sent were of superb quality. I could see the smallest detail, including the lines in the background that formed a watermark. I enjoyed working at home, but at this moment, I wished I was in my viewing room. Being able to put fifteen different labels next to each other would’ve helped me get a better visual perspective. I flipped through the photos again, each time zooming in on the background.
“The men need to get back now.” Francine put a steaming coffee mug next to my left hand. “Including your man.”
I frowned. Colin wasn’t with Vinnie and the others. He’d made sure that Daniel ordered a second patrol car to protect our building. Then he’d kissed me on the forehead and told me he’d be back soon. I’d known not to ask. Colin was doing something that was in the gray area of legal.
“You’re no fun, girlfriend. You’re not even chatting to me tonight.”
“I never chat.”
She lifted her coffee mug as if to toast me. “Very true.”
“The chart doesn’t reflect Adèle’s business.”
“Huh?” She put down her mug and looked at my computer monitor. “You’re looking at the labels. Does that have anything to do with Adèle’s chart?”
I thought about it. “I don’t know yet.”
She picked up the mug again and sat back in her chair. “Well, the labels are not helping us at all. There’s nothing funky on them. They all have the same wording, same name, same logo, same everything.”
“They’re not exactly the same.” I split the monitor and put two photos next to each other, both zoomed to see the background better. “The watermark is different on this one than on the other.”
“What?” She drew out the word as she moved closer to me. Then she looked at me until I nodded, allowing her to pull my laptop closer. She studied the monitor. “Huh. What do you know? They really look very much the same, but the lines are a bit off.”
I pulled my computer back and zoomed in even more. “The lines are not solid. If we magnify it, you’ll see that they are broken. The difference between the labels are the breaks in the lines.”
“You think it’s code? Like Morse code or something?”
“It’s not Morse code.” I’d already eliminated that option. “But it means something. There are nineteen different labels with different broken lines. All ninety-six bottles have one of the nineteen labels.”
She closed her eyes, then opened them again. “Well, my brain is fried. I’ll look at it tomorrow. If Manny doesn’t come—”
The sound of keys turning in the front door caught her attention. Her eyes widened and a smile lifted her cheeks as Vinnie stormed into my apartment.
“Fuck you, old man!” He looked at Francine, who was now standing, her smile gone, her expression concerned. Then he looked at me, his anger not diminishing at all. “I can’t deal with this asswipe. Do something.”
Manny stomped into my apartment, his shoulders hunched, his lips thinned. Behind him Pink and Daniel followed, both men looking uncomfortable.
Francine walked to Manny and pulled him towards the sitting area. “What’s cookin’, good-lookin’?”
Manny grunted, but allowed Francine to drag him to the sofa under the window. He sat down hard, his lips thinned. Francine glanced at me, her eyebrows drawn tightly together.
“I’m going to my room. If you guys want food, there’s the kitchen.” Vinnie glared at Pink. “Just clean the fuck up after yourself.”
“Once, Vin. Only once did I leave three crumbs on your precious kitchen counter.” Pink chuckled, his attempt at humour failing.
Vinnie sneered and walked to the connected apartment, the side he shared with Pink and Nikki. Pink shrugged and walked into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and took ingredients to make sandwiches.
I looked at Daniel as he sat down next to me. “Are all the young people safe?”
“Yes.” He rubbed his neck and winced. “It’s been a long day, but we have everyone on the list Caelan gave to us. They are all in safe houses, under police protection for the night.”
“What about tomorrow?”
He smiled. “Tomorrow too. They will be protected until we stop this killer.” He looked at the photos on my laptop monitor. “Did you have any luck with the photos?”
“Nothing actionable.” I briefed him on the broken lines that made up the watermarks and the nineteen different labels.
“What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know yet.” I zoomed out until I could see the entire bottle. “Are all the bottles filled with liquid heroin?”
“So far the lab has tested more than half the bottles and yes, they are all filled with thousands of euros’ worth of heroin.” He shook his head. “The potential street value in each of these bottles is staggering. I wonder if Jace knew what he’d stumbled onto.”
Once again, the sound of keys in the front door drew our attention. Manny got up and reached for his gun holstered under his arm.
The door opened and he dropped his hand, but his expression hardened. “Where the bleeding hell have you been?”
Colin winced, then sighed. The relaxed triumph that I’d seen on his face when he’d first opened the door was replaced with resignation. “Good evening, Millard.”
“What the blazes have you been up to, Frey?” Manny walked closer and glared at Colin’s black outfit, his flexible sneakers and the black gloves still covering his hands. “And what the bleeding hell do you have in those bags?”
Colin walked to the table, put the two large sports bags on the floor and leaned over to kiss me. He nodded at Daniel and turned back to Manny, pointing to the bags. “In there you will find a few artefacts that are reportedly part of the Oxus treasure. There are also two small paintings, a marble statue and three beautiful bronze works that I’m sure the British Museum would love to have back. They were quite worried when they received an anonymous call and then discovered a few of their prize artefacts on display had been replaced by brilliant 3D facsimiles.”