Inspector Stone Mysteries Volume 1

15

15

Unlike his partner, Stone found it hard to sit and wait patiently; instead he paced up and down the lobby of Griffin Games, looking at the magazines, posters and other displays that made it clear Owen Keating’s company was a leader in the European computer games market.

After an interminable wait, a young woman approached from the lifts. “Inspector Stone?” she queried.

Stone nodded after turning away from a poster, which showed the company’s newest franchise – Luke Kane: Treasure Hunter.

“If you’ll follow me, inspector.” She turned on her heel and strode briskly back to the lifts.

“You are?” Stone asked as he, Burke and the mystery lady ascended.

“Sally Bryant, Mr Keating’s assistant.”

Stone filed the name away in case it should be important, and then followed Sally Bryant along the corridor after leaving the lift on the top floor. They entered a spacious outer office, where they were acknowledged by a middle-aged woman seated at a desk to one side of the double doors that led, Stone assumed, to Owen Keating’s office. “Mr Keating will see you momentarily,” she said the moment she saw them; her demeanour was professional, but there was a look in her eyes that made it all too plain she did not approve of her employer’s day being disrupted, especially by the police.

Stone only had time to look around quickly before a buzz sounded from the phone on the secretary’s desk.

The secretary listened for a moment, said, “Yes, sir,” and then hung up the phone.” Mr Keating will see you now,” she told the two detectives.

The first thing Stone noticed when he entered Owen Keating’s office was the gigantic screen on the wall – he estimated it was about one hundred and fifty inches, far bigger than anything he had seen before. As he watched, a man, vaguely reminiscent of Indiana Jones in appearance, leaped across a crevasse, scrambled up a wall and dropped down to hide while an armed thug searched the darkness with a torch. The scene shifted then to show the ground collapse under the Indiana Jones figure, leaving him to fall a significant distance before hitting the ground. When he got to his feet and looked around, he was in a dimly lit chamber whose walls were decorated with intricate carvings.

“It’s going to be a huge hit.”

The statement drew Stone’s attention away from the screen. “It certainly looks good,” he remarked, though he wasn’t sure looking good was enough to make the game a success.

“I’ll be getting a copy,” Burke said, his eyes still on the screen, where he watched Luke Kane – presumably – burst into the middle of a group of thugs to rescue a young woman tied to an altar, over which loomed a multi-armed idol. “I’ve enjoyed everything you’ve produced so far, even Undead Evil 4, and it took me forever to figure out how to kill Carter Weyland.”

Owen Keating’s mouth lifted at the corners. “There’s a trick to it; if you shoot the environment instead of Carter, you bring it down on him, injuring him; killing him’s a lot easier then. Plus, there’s a few little bonuses to be found.”

Burke nodded. “I figured that out, but not until my fourth run through, when I already had all the achievements.”

“Wait till you play Legacy; if you think Undead Evil 4 is tough, you’re going to find 5 a nightmare,” Keating told him; he seemed amused by the idea of people struggling with his game. Pressing a button on the remote control on his desk he changed the images on the screen – they now showed a female, dressed in military style clothing, fighting a group of undead monsters.

“Is that Jasmine MacNally?” Burke asked as he watched the woman chop off an arm and then cave in the head of another monster. “I thought she died in UE2.”

“You’ll have to play the game to see how she’s back.”

Though he was amused to see his usually reserved partner so animated, Stone knew he had to bring conversation around to their reason for being there. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr Keating, but we are here on a matter of the utmost importance and urgency.”

“Yes, of course, sorry,” Keating apologised. “I tend to get a little over-excited when I’m talking about our games. So, inspector, what can I help you with?”

“I’m afraid we’re here with bad news,” Stone said. “And there’s no way to sugar-coat it. Approximately an hour and a quarter ago, after leaving school, your daughter, Alice, was kidnapped.”

The colour drained from Keating’s features and, white-faced, he sagged in his chair. His breath came in short sharp gasps, and Stone feared he was having a heart-attack. It was several long moments before he recovered, enough at least to straighten up a little, though he still looked as if he had just survived an encounter with a phantom. “What happened?” he asked hesitantly. “Who took my little girl?”

“We don’t know at this time,” Burke answered before Stone could say anything. “We have some witnesses who were able to tell us that your daughter was taken by three people in a white van; we have the license number, and are confident we will catch your daughter’s kidnappers and have her home safe, soon.”

Stone wished Burke hadn’t said that. He could understand wanting to reassure the upset father, but unfounded confidence was not the way to go about it. “I realise this will be of little comfort to you right now, Mr Keating,” he said in his most compassionate and professional voice. “But based on what we know at this time; we believe your daughter was kidnapped for financial reasons. Not...not for any other reasons.”

If it was possible, Owen Keating went whiter than he had before – his face took on the sickly pallor of someone nearing the end of a long-term and fatal illness. Both Stone and Burke started round the desk, but Keating waved them away, indicating that he was alright.

“Do you have any enemies who might be responsible for taking your daughter?” Stone asked, once Keating no longer looked as though he needed medical attention.

Puzzled, Keating shook his head. “No, I have no enemies, I just run a computer games company. Why would you think I have enemies?”

“It’s a possible line of enquiry, Mr Keating; after all, you are rich, and becoming rich can involve making enemies. Then there’s the recent attempted takeover of your company by Feliks International; as I understand it, the owner has been linked to the Russian mafia. It’s possible that he has resorted to extreme measures to get his hands on your company.”

A quick bark of laughter escaped Keating, surprising him as much as it did the two detectives. It was enough to bring a touch of colour back to his face, making him look less unhealthy. “Grigori Feliks is not connected with organised crime, in Russia, or anywhere else, at least not as far as I’m aware. He’s a tough businessman, and used to getting what he wants, I can certainly vouch for that, but that’s all.

“His interest in buying this company, other than it being a good asset for anyone, stemmed from his favourite grandson’s interest in the Undead Evil series. I wasn’t prepared to sell the company, but we were able to make a deal which we are both happy with.”

“Can I ask the nature of that deal? It might have a bearing on your daughter’s kidnapping?” Stone said when he saw that Keating was about to say something.

After a moment, during which he appeared to be trying to work out what the inspector was thinking, Keating shrugged. “It’s not public knowledge yet, and the agreement allows Grigori to make the announcement, but as long as you keep it to yourself it should be okay. Grigori owns a lot of companies, among them a production company and a publishing company; the agreement allows Grigori’s companies to produce films, television series and books using characters from the Undead Evil series and set in the UE universe. We also agreed to include a character named after Grigori’s grandson in the next game.

“I can’t go into any more detail at this time but, given the agreement, I can’t imagine that Grigori would have had anything to do with Alice being taken.”

Stone nodded. “I think you’re right, we can rule Mr Feliks out. To be honest, Mr Keating, I didn’t consider it very likely, but I had to ask.”

Keating nodded understandingly.

“Whoever has kidnapped your daughter, we will catch them and bring Alice home safely,” Stone said, projecting as much confidence as he could. “My superior has requested a technical expert from Scotland Yard,” he continued. “They should be here in a couple of hours, and will help us with tracing the kidnappers when they get in touch. We’ll need to set ourselves up at your home, and speak to your family and your household staff; we might even need to speak to some of your employees here.” When it became clear that Owen Keating was having difficulty taking things in, Stone signalled his partner to fetch the man a drink from the bar that sat discreetly in the corner of the office.