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

that next quarter it would be fine. There wasn’t a next quarter because he was dead before the time came around.’

‘And now you’ve lost that money and you’re left having to pay back a loan for which you having nothing to show.’

He nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘When was the last time you saw Donald?’

‘We met up in early January, when he came to see me about borrowing the money.’

‘After you’d agreed to invest, did you meet up again?’

‘No, because we were both too busy. We conducted our business electronically.’

‘What were you doing on Saturday, 10 April? We know he’d gone to Foxton Locks pub with a client, and I wondered if that was you?’

Yates didn’t match the vague description the pub manager had given, but Seb sensed something going on and he wanted to check.

‘I told you only moments ago that I hadn’t seen him since January. What are you implying?’

‘I’m not implying anything. Just trying to get an idea of Donald’s life recently. I thought you could help.’

‘I have nothing further to say and have work to do.’

He was being dismissed.

‘Thank you for speaking to me. Do you mind if I get in touch again if I have further questions?’

‘If you must.’

Chapter 15

11 May

‘It’s me,’ Birdie said, when Seb answered the phone.

He’d just finished his lunch and was intending to give Sarah a call to update her on his meeting with Tony Yates. He didn’t have much to tell her, but he wanted to keep in touch to check on how she was doing. Someone had to.

‘What have you got?’

‘I’ve been at it for hours.’ She paused. ‘In between my proper work, obviously. You’ll be so impressed. I even arrived early this morning to get cracking. Sarge nearly had heart failure when he turned up for the morning briefing and found me sitting at my desk, head down. Don’t worry, he didn’t see what I was doing. I just told him I was planning a new filing system. Maybe he’ll let me out of the office soon.’

‘You never know your luck.’

‘I haven’t been through the whole list of his investors, but this is what I’ve got so far. One of them is Andrea Wood.’

‘She invested one hundred and fifty thousand with Donald, what’s so special about her?’

‘She’s Andrea Wood the TV star.’

‘You’ll have to enlighten me.’

‘She presents the morning breakfast show, Monday to Friday, and has a home locally that she mainly uses at the weekend.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘One of the girls I play cricket with told me. Her mum cleans for Andrea.’

‘Does she come back here every weekend?’

‘I’ve no idea. I’ve seen her wandering round the Harborough antique shops in the past on a Saturday. Her name was Ann Smith until she changed it. Why wouldn’t you, it’s hardly a celeb’s name is it? Anyway, I did a bit of research on her and found nothing on her at all for either name. Not even a speeding fine. Can you really get to almost thirty-nine without doing anything? She’s way too perfect if you ask me.’

‘Not everyone’s committed a misdemeanour, even an inconsequential one.’

‘That aside, I think she’s a person worth interviewing. I also checked out Witherspoon’s friend, Tony Yates. He had a drink-driving charge from when he was a student. Other than that, there’s nothing to report …’ She paused.

‘I’m sensing a but coming.’

‘This might be nothing, but one of the investors was very interesting. He’s Grant Truss, who also goes by Grant Dixon, a fellow financier who was involved in some dodgy dealings fifteen years ago. What I want to know is, why would he be investing with Donald when he’s a financier himself? He was the director of Victory Finance, a company which went into administration causing many people to lose their savings. It wasn’t a Ponzi scheme like Donald’s but the FCA got involved because the company had misled clients into thinking they were buying into a safe scheme as well as promising them a ten per cent return on their investment.’

‘That’s an excellent find. See if you can find out where he is so we can interview him.’

‘Already done. I’ll text you his details.’

‘I remember his name and know he invested forty thousand pounds on 6 February 2004, and he also invested a further twenty thousand on 30 May the following year. With the initial amount he reinvested the dividends, and the second he opted to be paid annually.’

‘You’ve got that all written down in front of you, have you? How could you find him so quickly?’

‘No, it’s not in front of me. I remember.’

There was a few seconds’ silence. He knew exactly what she was going to say next.

‘You’ve got a photographic memory?’

And now he had to explain it.

‘No, that’s a misconception. I have a very rare condition known as Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, or HSAM for short. It means I can recall past events in detail, and the exact day and time they happened. Ask me what I had for dinner three years ago yesterday and I’ll tell you.’

‘Whoa. That’s amazing.’

‘That’s what everyone thinks. But it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s like having a search engine in your head the whole time, only unlike Google or whatever, it can’t be switched off. It can get extremely tiring at times.’

‘It must have helped during exams.’

‘In a way it did. I remembered the facts I’d read, but they still had to be applied. Studying wasn’t plain sailing for me. I wasn’t a straight A student.’

‘Got it. But I still think it’s awesome.’

That’s what most people thought. They should only walk a mile in his shoes and then see if they had the same opinion.

‘I’ll contact Grant Truss and arrange to see him.’

‘Do you think Truss investing with Witherspoon was something to do with his company going to the wall?’

‘That’s what we need to find out. Whether it’s related to Donald’s death, however, is a different matter. When did Truss’s company go into administration?’

‘After he began investing with Witherspoon. Maybe Truss knew