Swindled (14 page)

Chapter 26

*

David stood staring at his phone. Again? He was amused and vaguely shocked. Somehow even in the course of the most normal and riveting, he had to admit, conversation she had managed to once again turn it into a fiasco. She really needed help David decided, just to get through life peacefully from the sounds of it.

Actually he thought after a minute, what she really needed was a keeper. David stopped what he was doing and stood stunned. What was he thinking? He barely knew this woman and now he was thinking of taking care of her as in long term? Surely he should get to know her a little better before planning a life together? Thinking about it a bit more David had to admit to himself that he actually would be more then happy to have something more long term with Beth. They had just spent nearly an hour on the phone talking about everything. He felt free to say what he wanted to her and knew that she wouldn’t judge him for it. Honesty, trust. That was the basis of something. Wasn’t it?

*

“We have some follow up questions which have come up in the course of the investigation,” Joseph said. He looked uncomfortable and ill at ease. Beth could understand why. She, Vickie and Scott were sitting solemn and staring unimpressed back at the detectives.

“What do you want to know?” Scott said quietly without inviting any further conversation.

“We are specifically keen to understand how involved any of you are in Brian’s business dealings,” Joseph said watching the unresponsive faces sitting on the couch opposite him. He offered an understanding smile but none of them responded. The other detective gave a wary glance to them and then back at his colleague.

“There is a feeling that the business was pivotal in regards to the murder. There were rumours that his business was in bad shape financially. Could you substantiate any of the rumours that are circulating?” Joseph continued prompted trying again to get them to respond. The room was quiet for minute. Joseph cleared his throat and asked directly watching Beth, “Do any of you know anything about it Brian’s financial and business difficulties?”

“Our business is distinct from Brian’s company. We had a separate partnership agreement,” Beth replied calmly. These detectives had better get the message soon; this family had nothing to do with Brian’s murder. She found herself sort of wishing that Joseph had a toupee that she could stomp on. Beth wished she had done it to their accountant when they had the chance because without him they wouldn’t be in this mess. She sighed.

Joseph asked a few more questions and the three of them answered the best they could. Most of the time he was asking for details Scott, Vickie and Beth just couldn’t provide, none of them knew much about what Brian did. The detectives didn’t look too convinced by the end of the questioning.

“With this link to the business you can’t really suspect any of us any more can you?’ Vickie asked hopefully. She was no doubt hoping that this would be the last visit of the terrible two.

“I’m afraid its not that clear cut,” Joseph said. An uncomfortable silence filled the room. He couldn’t be serious Beth thought. She looked back at his face. He was. It looked like Joseph despite all evidence to the contrary was determined to involve Beth and even her friends in the murder.

“Look none of us were near Brian the night he was killed. How can you still think its us?” Beth asked pleading the detective to try and explain his warped logic.

“Vickie and Scott do have an iron clad alibi,” Joseph admitted. The neighbour across the street was a nosey biddy-body who, when a policeman interviewed her, was irate that Scott and Vickie liked to sit in the family room in the evening without drawing the curtains. She had watched them from her house all evening.

‘Can you imagine?’ she had asked the policeman, ‘the nerve of youngsters today’. Beth and Vickie could well imagine. That particular neighbour was well known for ‘knowing’ everything. Still on this occasion it gave Vickie and Scott an alibi. The detective looked almost disappointed when he told them but he wasn’t convinced that Beth wasn’t involved in some way.

“We spoke to the bar manager who corroborated your story Ms. Grant and David Andrews confirmed you were with him from approximately 19:30 pm,” Joseph forged on oblivious to the obvious growing displeasure being aimed his way. “On further questioning, despite his claims that you were with him the entire evening, he can not completely vouch for your whereabouts.” Beth gasped. What? Joseph continued, “I am aware that he has been prescribed serious painkillers for a shoulder injury. The doctor has confirmed that these would render him near unconscious. You must appreciate that for the hours that Brian was murdered we have no alibi that can be corroborated for your location. Hotel staff did see you depart yesterday morning. However with a conference taking up most of their attention, no one was able to confirm or deny that you may have left in the late evening and returned later,” he sounded serious and very formal. He had the grace to look a little uncomfortable.

Beth felt a jolt at the news. The detective was still seriously considering her. She felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Beth wouldn’t hurt a fly, in fact often let flies out when caught in the house, and here the detective thought she was guilty. She was being considered a real suspect! A headache began to pound behind her eyes and her shoulders felt tense. Vickie reached an arm around her somehow knowing that she needed the comfort of another’s touch. She sat trembling as the detectives stood.

Apparently having asked all they needed to, the detectives took their leave but not before requesting that Beth not take any trips away. From Beth’s point of view, they seemed far too sure that she was someway involved. Even more frightening they seemed determined to gather the proof they needed to arrest her. Beth slid down on the couch feeling drained. What was she going to do? One thing was for sure though was that it seemed her bad luck was holding.

“Beth, he has nothing concrete to link you into Brian’s death.” Scott said in his ever sensible voice. “He’s just speculating. If he had anything on you, we would be on our way to the station for questioning. He can’t take it that far because there is nothing to pin on you.” Scott looked relax and calm in jeans and a sweater. He looked believable and not fazed by the fact that he had come downstairs to be greeted by accusations and policemen.

“Why me?” Beth wailed “Why does he think I did it? Why not someone from work? Why not Vickie as well even with an alibi? I’m surprised that he isn’t accusing me of hiring a hit man!” she said. Okay this was pitiful but Beth felt like the centre of a target in a national darts competition. A competition scheduled to last at least a week with really sharp darts.

Vickie laughed at her sister’s pitiful outcry. She looked soft and sweet in her pink sweatshirt and loose white cotton trousers. There was no way anyone looking at her could even consider she might be involved in anything untoward. “It can’t be me, Beth” she explained. “Heavily pregnant women can’t be suspects in murder cases. It’s just not politically correct. He has to pin all his hopes and fears on you.” Vickie sounded positively cheerful when she finished. Proudly she patted her rounded stomach with a look satisfaction; Scott laughing quietly next to her.

“Of course,” Beth said smiling through her misery. “The poor detective. He really has no choice but to suspect me. After all, Brian didn’t have a butler and the only other family member who might want to kill him is a poor defenceless pregnant mum-to-be. What was I thinking?” The light-hearted banter made Beth feel a lot more secure. The detective was doing his job. In the face of no big leads, he was trying to shake loose a murderer. He needed to put the pressure on everyone linked to Brian. No doubt he had planned to put both sisters on the spot when he first started investigating.

“The theory of course was no doubt easier then the practice. He met the obviously pregnant Vickie,” Scott continued with a nod toward his wife, “with a protective husband and an iron clad alibi. When push came to shove, upsetting the pregnant sister was just not something even Joseph had the nerve to do.” Scott gave a grin and Beth smiled back.

“Upsetting the sister of said pregnant woman, however, would put everyone on edge without him having to play the bad guy,” Beth had to agree as she thought about it. Beth wondered if the detective was really that clever or if she had been watching too many mysteries on television.

Sitting together, Beth, Vickie and Scott talked through the murder. They still didn’t have enough details to know what happened. What they did know was that it was going to be okay. There was no evidence linking Beth to the murder. Both Vickie and Scott were determined to calm Beth down. By the time they finished with her the headache had lessened and she was feeling a great deal more like facing the rest of the day.

It was inconceivable that she could be linked to Brian’s murder in any way. There was no way the detectives would be able to find any evidence to prove otherwise. Anything they might find would have to be circumstantial and even that would be hard to find. Having set Beth’s mind at ease over the detective’s suspicions, they faced the next big problem. What to do about the company. They sat chatting for hours just playing through the options. It was a great morning for reflection. By lunchtime they had figured out a plan of action for both their best and worst case scenario. It was a relief to have an end game in sight.

“The long and the short of it is that we have the collateral to pay off the loan from the bank. We own the house free and clear. If we take out a mortgage or a loan against the house we can make all the main financial worries behind us,” Beth summarised as she pushed back from the papers on the coffee table.

“It’s heartbreaking but we can do it.” Vickie agreed with a smile.

‘Look I can cover the majority of the monthly payments with my salary” Scott said with a nod when he sat back from his figures.

“If I can get a job, even a secretarial position I can cover the rest. We’ll be fine,” Beth agreed grinning. It was actually true they would be okay with Vickie receiving maternity benefits from her job and although she wasn’t planning on returning that option was still open to them as well. They had no idea how crippling the repayments might be but if they put the business on hold they would be able to live comfortably enough.

Chapter 27

The next two days sped by in a blur. Before they knew it, Beth was heading to the last meeting hoping to find a last minute reprieve or out for the business. By the end of it only one company was interested but they had already bought their new season’s range. A new order wouldn’t be placed for at least another six months. The net result of all the meeting and running around was that their worst case scenario plan became their next course of action.

In a last ditch effort to see what they could salvage, Beth decided to go through the box of papers from Brian’s house. There was a chance that they could prove how Brian had siphoned the funds away. If they could get that they could try just try to claim it back from his estate. If it worked and within the timeframe. Given her luck of course it was a long shot but worth looking through a few papers for the potential chance of saving the business.

Beth poured through the business plan, the projected finances and the action plan. Everything was on target and looked sound. The only thing that was really destroying them was the fact that the money was no longer in the bank account. Brian must have stashed it somewhere but it wasn’t here. Beth opened another file from the box. The bank statements, the crucial missing link they had been looking for. It should show how much Brian had taken and when. If they could find evidence that Brian withdrew the money from the account, surely there would be a way to claim it back from his estate.

Beth flipped through the pages. Just lists of numbers, dates and references. There was nothing duller she decided then bank statements. At first the activity seemed normal. There were withdrawals for stock, debits to suppliers and the usual sundries. Beth kept looking. There was no lump sum withdrawal. There was no direct debit to Brian’s account. There was nothing to explain where all the money had gone. Beth looked back at the figures again.

Hang on. She had purchased materials for the line they were working over the last three months. All the payments she had made were there and accounted for. She looked at the next month. Similar payments were made in addition to her own orders. That wasn’t right. The next month showed the same again. Beth pulled out her order book and studied the costs against the stock purchased. There it was. She had found out how he did it. Brian had been skimming them from the beginning. He had taken legitimate spending figures and echoed them with slight variations month after month. There were cash withdrawals and direct debits with replica descriptions of the legitimate expenditure. That sneak! No wonder they hadn’t noticed. It all looked legit.

While it was a plus to know exactly how he had done it, the draw back was that they probably wouldn’t be able to claim against the estate. So much for saving the business. Beth ran a hand through her hair. At least they knew. She looked through the papers over and over again but there was no way she could see that would show the legitimate spending vs. the illegitimate spending. All the illegitimate expenses went into one of three separate accounts. Nothing linked the spend with Brian or the accounts as his. She put all the business paperwork to the side and went back to the box from Brian’s flat. The family papers would need to be put in the safe. Anything that didn’t relate to them needed to be returned to Brian’s office. Neatly Beth sorted everything into piles of keep, file and return.

Beth looked at the return pile. They would have to go back to Brian’s office. All she had to do was figure out how to get the papers back again without anyone asking how Beth got them in the first place. Although the paperwork they retrieved belonged to them, Beth realised she still felt guilty about sneaking into Brian’s flat. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but now, well it hadn’t been the most mature response even if it had worked.

Beth put the other papers away, family documents went into the safe and the business bank statements were piled with the rest of their paperwork. She headed down the hall to talk to Scott and Vickie in the kitchen. Vickie was busy putting the finishing touches on dinner so as the three of them sat down to eat, Beth explained about the bank accounts.

“It’s clever,” Scott said. “None of his withdrawals would have flagged a problem. After you made your payments to the suppliers, you wouldn’t check the accounts again until the next order. Brian just made dummy orders for the times the two of you weren’t ordering. Then he just pocketed the cash. The bank that loaned the business the money would see it as an legitimate expenditure. They wouldn’t raise the alarm. Basically the only thing that would have caught Brian out was time. Once the next order was placed and one of you looked at the account again, it would have been clear there was an issue.”

“Which must be why he dissolved his partnership when he did,” Beth mused. “He knew that the range we were working on was nearly finished and that I was looking at new materials.”

“One of us could have placed an order any day. That’s why he had to get out quickly.” Vickie agreed nodding. No doubt about it, in a scam like this Brian would have been in his element.

While Beth and Scott were cleaning up after dinner, someone came to the front door.

Beth’s heart had jumped when the bell first rang. For a brief second she thought it had been the telephone. David had called her every day this week and the two of them had fallen into a routine of talking to one another. She was hoping he would call again soon because she wanted to hear his voice again. They talked about everything together. It felt good to share and know that someone was there for her. Okay if she was honest, Beth thought, deep down she wanted to beg him to take her away everything. All the suspicions, the financial stresses and just the loneliness of having to face it day in and day out were starting to wear on her. In the face of it Beth thought she had been dealing with the situation but deep down she dreamt of being swept away from it all.

Vickie, who had answered the door, walked back into the kitchen looking stunned. Beth turned to look at her. Vickie was pale and even more enormous then ever. In the last few days it seemed that the baby had grown. It certainly had shifted and Vickie was finding it incredibly hard to get comfortable. Beth had a feeling that any day now the baby would arrive. She and Scott had been trying to keep Vickie as relaxed as possible in the light of the impending birth. At the moment though, Vickie was looking anything but calm. She was shaking gently.

“Is it that detective again?” Scott asked looking angry as he rushed over to his wife. This would be the last straw, Beth thought, if the detective was once again on their doorstep causing upset. She knew he had a job to do but this was getting ridiculous. Just how many times was he going to come and harass them?

“No, it’s the funeral home,” Vickie answered faintly as Scott moved to pull out a chair and help her sit down. For a minute Beth felt relief. At least it wasn’t the detective. She could see that a problem with the funeral would throw Vickie although she was surprised how much her sister was reacting. Beth figured it would be something they could fix and went back to finishing up the dishes quickly.

“They’re delivering Brian’s body,” Vickie said quietly as if she couldn’t believe it. She was still shivered in her seat.

“What?” Scott asked frowning thinking he misheard. Beth swung around to look at her sister and repeated the question. The forgotten pot in her hand dripped bubbles and water onto the terracotta tiled floor. The sleeves of her top were rolled up to the elbows and she tried to tuck an errant hair behind her ear without getting her entire face wet. She wasn’t very successful.

“Apparently there was a miscommunication,” Vickie said looking wide eyed at her family. Both Scott and Beth looked astonished. What was going on here? “They assumed that the memorial service would include the body.” Huh?

“But we’re having the memorial service here,” Beth said stunned. She tossed the scrub brush and pot back into the sink, grabbing a dish towel. “Tomorrow,” she squeaked. Vickie couldn’t be serious. Someone had brought a dead body to their house? Here? She shared a glance at Scott. So much for keeping Vickie relaxed.

“That’s why they’re delivering the body,” Vickie explained. Her skin had taken on the slightly green tinge of someone who is about to be physically ill. She shifted slightly in her chair as Scott propped an extra seat cushion under her.

Leaving her sitting as comfortably as possible, Scott and Beth rushed to the front room where, in fact, Brian’s body had already been installed. The funeral director was a small Italian man who was beside himself with the pleasure of having done his job so well. He was wearing a black formal suit which set off his silvered hair and black moustache. His ultra efficient team of young twenty something’s had eagerly moved the settee from the windows and placed Brian’s coffin on a specially designed table. Luckily the curtains were pulled shut so at the very least none of their noisy neighbours would be having heart palpitations. Beth was incredibly thankful for both that small piece of luck and for the fact that the lid of the coffin was still sealed shut.

When she ventured to say that the guests had planned to go to the funeral home to pay their last respects, the funeral director waved Beth away.

“So much better this way,” he said gesturing with his hands. “Everyone would be able to spend some real quality time saying their goodbyes. So few families actually did it right anymore,” he added with a tear in his eye. While he explicated on the merits of doing the funeral this way, Beth was silently cursing the funeral broker’s associate. Obviously somewhere in the mess of his paperwork something had gone wrong. Beth planned on calling him as soon as she could get her mind around what was happening. She looked over the shoulder of the funeral director as his team shuffled around putting the finishing touches together. There really was a coffin in their sitting room.

Before either Scott or Beth could muster comment in regards to the return of the body, the ever helpful funeral director lifted the lid of the coffin to show them how lifelike Brian looked. He explained that as long as they didn’t leave the lid up for longer then a few hours, the body would be fine until it was picked up again. Well that was one less thing to worry about, Beth thought. Not a huge relief but things could have been a great deal worse. With that last comment made the director and his team vacated the house, wishing Beth, Scott and Vickie their heartfelt condolences.

Beth and Scott retreated to the kitchen to sit with Vickie. There didn’t seem to be anything they could say, well at least nothing appropriate. All three of them were faintly stunned and wary of going anywhere near the formal sitting room. With no answer at the brokerage so there was nothing to be done until the next morning. Mustering the last of her energy, Vickie had made them tea and as they drank it each seemed lost in their own thoughts. There was no hope for it. After a brief attempt at talking about something else entirely, all three decided that it was a good day to retire early. There was just no way the three of them were going to be staying near the corpse any longer then necessary.

Later as Beth took stock, lying in her bed, she realised that David hadn’t called her. She missed him. She wanted to hear his voice and listen to his day. She wanted to talk to him. More importantly, she wanted to share with him the fact that at this moment was that there was a dead man lying in their front room wearing too much make-up and a dated tux.