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

done with a beer. Not that he’d expected there to be one on offer. He hoped lunch would be served soon as he really didn’t want to stay too long. It wasn’t fair on Elsa, especially as she was in unfamiliar surroundings. He wandered over to the rear window and stared out at the manicured lawns and immaculate flowerbeds, which were surrounded by fields and a small wooded area, also belonging to the hall. Elsa would have loved rummaging through there.

He glanced to the side and saw one of the twins standing alone, a pained expression on his face.

He headed over to him. ‘Hello, Benedict, I’m Sebastian, your mother’s cousin.’

‘I know who you are. How do you know I’m not Caspian?’

He wasn’t prepared to go into details about his special gift, as his mother had called it his entire life.

‘We’ve met before, at your grandfather’s funeral several years ago. I’m very sorry for your loss. It must have been very difficult for you and your brother, under the circumstances.’

‘Yes, it is, and now we don’t know what’s going to happen. I can’t believe that my father would do this to us. He left my mother with all these problems.’ He turned his head, but not before Seb witnessed the tears fill his eyes and him blinking them away. ‘I’ve got to go,’ Benedict said, walking away without giving Seb time to answer.

More people arrived until Seb counted thirty. Not all of them had been at the church, so maybe they’d decided to pay their respects in a more private venue. Could he get away without staying for lunch? Sarah might not notice, except she had said she wished to speak to him. Could it wait? He’d no idea what it was about. Perhaps she wanted him to approach his father for help. Whether the viscount would was another matter. Maybe discreetly he could provide some support, after all he wouldn’t want to see Sarah struggling at a time like this, considering she was a member of the family.

Where was she? If he attracted her attention now, they could have a quick chat. He scanned the room and saw her engrossed in conversation with an elderly couple. She happened to glance up and smile in his direction. It didn’t look like she had time for him just yet so he turned and resumed staring out at the garden.

‘Seb.’ Sarah’s voice startled him as he’d been miles away. ‘Let’s talk now, before lunch, as I might not have time otherwise. We’ll go outside, where no one can hear us.’ She opened one of the French doors which led into the garden and they walked out together.

‘How can I help you, Sarah?’

‘I read about what happened with your job, it can’t have been easy. Were you in a lot of trouble?’

The media had reported on the incident and even listed the officers’ names in the squad.

‘I wasn’t directly involved, so didn’t get reprimanded, but my squad was disbanded.’

‘I knew it couldn’t be you. What’s going to happen now?’

Should he tell her?

‘Between you and me, I’ve resigned as there wasn’t another position available that I was prepared to take. Please keep this to yourself, as I haven’t yet told the family. They knew about the incident because it had been reported but as yet they don’t know my decision to leave the force. Although I suspect they won’t be too upset about me no longer being there. They were never happy about my career choice.’

If he’d have chosen to go into one of the armed forces, then that would have been acceptable, but the police force hadn’t been viewed in the same way. After he’d finished university, he’d got accepted at the Metropolitan Police, in their fast track scheme, and had ended up in the fraud squad. From there he transferred to the special squad, and he’d enjoyed the role immensely.

‘I wouldn’t dream of mentioning it to them, but it does mean that what I’m going to ask you has come along at the right time.’

He frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’ How could him leaving his job affect her?

‘Donald’s behaviour was inexcusable, and I was appalled that so many people lost their life savings thanks to him. I wish I could make amends on his behalf, but how can I? That aside, I don’t believe he committed suicide. The reports were wrong.’

He hadn’t been expecting that. ‘What makes you say this?’

‘I’m sure you know that he was found beside a car park at Foxton Locks having been shot in the head. The gun was close to him and he’d left a handwritten note addressed to me.’

‘Yes, I had heard about the circumstances, and I’d have thought that to be conclusive evidence. Presumably, so did the coroner.’

It wasn’t unusual for families to reject suicide verdicts and do what they could to overturn them. Sometimes for religious reasons, or simply because of any financial implications.

‘Please hear me out. First of all, why did he choose to kill himself at Foxton Locks and not here?’

‘Maybe he didn’t want you to be the person to find his body. That often happens in suicide cases.’

‘So instead, two young children found him and they’ll most likely be scarred for life. There’s no way he’d have risked that happening.’

‘If he hadn’t been thinking straight then he might not have considered his body would have been found by children.’

‘At a place like the locks where families go all the time? That’s ridiculous. And even if what you’re saying is true, where did he get the gun? He didn’t own one like that. He has several shotguns for when he goes shooting on the land. But not a handgun, which is illegal, anyway. Why didn’t he use one of his own guns? When I mentioned this discrepancy to the police, they said he could have easily accessed one.’

‘I’m sorry, Sarah, but what you were told is plausible, and using a different gun, illegal or otherwise, is not, in itself, a cause for concern.’

She folded