Web of Lies by Sally Rigby (classic novels for teens txt) 📗

would be no trouble. It’s the least I can do after you’re being so generous with your time.’

It would be nice to have someone around, especially as the boys were going back to uni tomorrow. It would force her into preparing meals and keeping the house looking nice. At the moment, those things were an effort, and often she didn’t bother.

‘Thanks for the kind offer, but I like being in walking distance to the town centre. I’ve already paid until Thursday morning and I’ll check with the owner of the property to see if I can stay a while longer.’

‘The offer’s there if you change your mind, or if the property owner can’t fit you in.’

‘Much appreciated, thank you. I’ll let you know what she says. My plan is to continue in Donald’s office after lunch, as I haven’t yet looked in his filing cabinet and then tomorrow start to investigate in earnest. I can’t stress enough, though, please don’t get your hopes up.’

‘I understand, and promise not to. Will you be giving me regular updates on how the investigation is going or do I have to wait until you’ve completed it?’ She bit down on her bottom lip.

‘I’ll keep you informed of my progress as I go.’ His stomach rumbled. ‘Excuse me.’

‘Come on, let’s eat.’

She took the plates of meat and bowl of salad over to the table and brought out some warm crusty rolls from the oven.

After they’d eaten, he placed his napkin on the table. ‘I’ll go back to the office now. Do you mind if I take Donald’s laptop away with me, and anything I find in the filing cabinet which might be of use?’

‘Help yourself to whatever you’d like to take. I know it’s in safe hands.’

What would Donald have thought, if he’d known that everything he’d done while in business was being put under scrutiny? Her husband had been well liked, prior to it all imploding, and it was something he’d worked hard at. He would’ve known that once his fraud had been found out everyone would turn their back on him. It would have destroyed him.

But was that enough for him to take his own life?

Seb returned to the study and opened the French doors, letting Elsa out into the garden. ‘Go and have a run, you’ve been a very good girl.’ His dog didn’t need telling more than once and she charged outside, into the garden, sniffing everything she came across. He left the door open, letting in the warmth of the sun.

It was kind of Sarah to offer he stayed at the house, but that wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t investigate with her knowing his every move all the time, however much she tried to keep out of his way. He needed to keep some distance between them, especially if he was led down a path that put Donald in an even worse light. If that was possible.

Thanks to his super memory as his mother referred to it, he already knew every electronic bank statement and client record belonging to Donald. His next job was the filing cabinet. He began his search in the top drawer. It contained personal documents relating to the family and the house. After a quick flick through, he left them alone. It was Donald’s business he was concerned with initially.

The second and third drawers contained hard copies of the signed agreements Donald had in place with his investors. That was either very brave or stupid. A paper trail showing all the dealings he’d made over the years would have been ample evidence if he’d ever been found out. Seb assumed he’d done it in case his laptop broke, or was compromised, and he hadn’t trusted the cloud.

Elsa came bounding in, holding a chewed tennis ball in her mouth. She wagged her tail proudly, dropping it at his feet.

‘You do know this isn’t yours, don’t you? What’s Sarah going to say when she discovers you’ve ruined her ball?’

Elsa continued wagging her tail, totally oblivious to his fake reprimand.

‘Come on, I’ve seen enough. Time to go.’ He picked up the laptop and left the study.

Sarah was sitting at the kitchen table when he walked into the room, her hands wrapped around a mug, staring into space.

‘Are you okay?’ he said.

She started. ‘Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. My mind was on other things, in particular whether I should look for a job. The problem is I’m not qualified for anything. After Donald and I got married I stayed at home and took care of the children and house. Not the modern way, I know. But it was different in my day.’

‘You could go back to working in an art gallery, like you did before you settled down,’ Seb suggested.

‘You remembered that,’ she said, jerking her head back. ‘Of course you did,’ she added before he had time to answer. ‘I forgot about your memory. There aren’t many galleries around here, but it’s something to consider. Have you finished in Donald’s study already?’

‘Yes, I’ve seen as much as I need to for the moment. Can you remember the name of the person at the FCA who you dealt with?’

‘FCA?’ she frowned.

‘The Financial Conduct Authority,’ he reminded her.

‘Oh, sorry. I didn’t recognise the acronym. Yes, it was a nice woman called Linda Stallion. I’ve got her card somewhere.’ Sarah went over to one of the kitchen drawers and rummaged through. ‘Here it is.’ She passed it to him and he placed it in his pocket.

‘Thanks. One last question. Do you, by any chance, have Donald’s phone? I’d like to check it his text messages and any apps he used.’

‘His phone?’ She bit down on her bottom lip. ‘He had it on the day when he ... he … It might be in the bag of things the police gave to me after the post-mortem. I put it in his bedroom, because I couldn’t bring myself to open it. I haven’t been in there since he died.