Part Six
"And you have no idea who this man was?" asked Jonathan, pacing up and down. This had been his perpetual show of his concern since they had arrived back. Evelyn had point blankly rebuffed his fussing, insisting it was all nowhere near as bad as it appeared to be. Unconvinced, but knowing that arguing with his stubborn sister would only make him hoarse, he found that wearing his shoe leather thin over the length of the lounge was an easy alternative. Not comparable, but easy.
"No", O'Connell replied, sitting in the armchair, a shotgun lying across his lap. Just in case.
He'd taken Evelyn back to the reasonable apartment that she was renting with Jonathan. Courtesy of Hart's money, of course. Evelyn had gone straight to take a bath and relax a little, while Jonathan got agitated. O'Connell had decided to stay on sentry duty until he was sure she was safe. Which, after what had happened tonight, may take some convincing. God only knows what might have happened if he hadn't have shown.
"Well, just thank heavens you were there", Jonathan said, mirroring his thoughts as he paced back the other way.
"She shouldn't have been there on her own at night", he said, quietly, irritated by Jonathan's inability to stand still, but not wanting to show it. It was his own feelings of having somehow let her down by allowing that guy to escape that were really bugging him. Jonathan's pacing was somewhere to focus the anger on, but he knew how unfair it would be to actually vent it on the guy.
"Well, they've never had a break in before", Jonathan reasoned, "It's coming to something when even our museums aren't safe from the damn thieves".
O'Connell's mind deemed a museum full of priceless artefacts the prime candidate for a break in, but he said nothing. Again, it wasn't worth getting into an argument over.
"I don't think he was a simple thief", he settled on, running a cloth over his gun barrel.
The statement had the desired effect because Jonathan stopped moving, "What do you mean?" he asked with a frown.
"Think about it", O'Connell said simply, "All the treasures, all the gold in there. Evelyn had just set up an exhibit of ancient jewellery. And he takes the book. Asks specifically for it".
"So, you're saying he came there especially to get it?"
"Exactly".
"But why?"
O'Connell looked grave, "There's only one use that book could have".
Jonathan's face was blank for a moment before he realized what O'Connell was implying. Then a look of horror spread in replacement.
"And you have no idea who this man was?" asked Jonathan, pacing up and down. This had been his perpetual show of his concern since they had arrived back. Evelyn had point blankly rebuffed his fussing, insisting it was all nowhere near as bad as it appeared to be. Unconvinced, but knowing that arguing with his stubborn sister would only make him hoarse, he found that wearing his shoe leather thin over the length of the lounge was an easy alternative. Not comparable, but easy.
"No", O'Connell replied, sitting in the armchair, a shotgun lying across his lap. Just in case.
He'd taken Evelyn back to the reasonable apartment that she was renting with Jonathan. Courtesy of Hart's money, of course. Evelyn had gone straight to take a bath and relax a little, while Jonathan got agitated. O'Connell had decided to stay on sentry duty until he was sure she was safe. Which, after what had happened tonight, may take some convincing. God only knows what might have happened if he hadn't have shown.
"Well, just thank heavens you were there", Jonathan said, mirroring his thoughts as he paced back the other way.
"She shouldn't have been there on her own at night", he said, quietly, irritated by Jonathan's inability to stand still, but not wanting to show it. It was his own feelings of having somehow let her down by allowing that guy to escape that were really bugging him. Jonathan's pacing was somewhere to focus the anger on, but he knew how unfair it would be to actually vent it on the guy.
"Well, they've never had a break in before", Jonathan reasoned, "It's coming to something when even our museums aren't safe from the damn thieves".
O'Connell's mind deemed a museum full of priceless artefacts the prime candidate for a break in, but he said nothing. Again, it wasn't worth getting into an argument over.
"I don't think he was a simple thief", he settled on, running a cloth over his gun barrel.
The statement had the desired effect because Jonathan stopped moving, "What do you mean?" he asked with a frown.
"Think about it", O'Connell said simply, "All the treasures, all the gold in there. Evelyn had just set up an exhibit of ancient jewellery. And he takes the book. Asks specifically for it".
"So, you're saying he came there especially to get it?"
"Exactly".
"But why?"
O'Connell looked grave, "There's only one use that book could have".
Jonathan's face was blank for a moment before he realized what O'Connell was implying. Then a look of horror spread in replacement.