‘Good idea,’ said Grace, her mind still boggling. A million pounds. That was even more than the paintings were worth. Maybe they should call Betty first and let her explain gently to Larry. But then the jewels had been perfectly secure in unit 28 for all these years so no need to panic them just yet, another half an hour or so would be fine. But then, what on earth was Connie thinking, leaving them in the unit with just an ordinary padlock on the door? And without a will to pass them on to anyone? And yet again, as she had done a hundred times or so since opening unit 28, Grace tried to work it all out. Why would Connie do such a thing? Why did she return to London? And why didn’t she sell some of her vast material wealth to make her end of life a little more comfortable? Would she really have had no idea of the value of all the items in unit 28? Surely, she must have done, if she had been with Giovanni to choose the jewels. Or maybe not. Maybe she genuinely had no idea … Grace wasn’t sure, but she was going to have a very good go at finding out. There had to be more to it. And there had to be a living relative somewhere …

She turned her attention back to Marco, who was still scrolling through the pictures and making comments about each of the items that he remembered. When he paused, she asked,

‘Marco, can you tell me about Connie, please? Do you remember her? Did she ever accompany Giovanni when he came to buy the jewels for Connie?’

‘Oh, yes. I remember her well because she was the English lady. So very glamorous and so beautiful,’ he said. ‘Fresh white skin and dots, how do you say in English? Brown dots on her arms? Like you have.’ He pointed at Grace.

‘Freckles?’ she smiled, intrigued on hearing this snippet of personal detail about Connie.

‘Yes, like an English rose, is how you say, yes?’ Marco checked, and Grace nodded. ‘And so happy. Always smiling when she came to the shop. But then every lady is happy when they come here with their husband to buy a new ring. Or a necklace or a brooch, yes?’ he laughed. ‘But she tell him off too. She say he must not spoil her. Connie was a very gracious lady.’ So Grace had her answer … Connie definitely knew the value of the jewels in the leather case that she had carefully placed on the vintage dressing table.