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

her arms tight across her chest and bit down on her bottom lip, staring at him. ‘What about the note? It doesn’t make sense, either,’ she said after a few seconds.

Was she clutching at straws? It appeared so.

‘It was in his own handwriting, and would have been nigh on impossible to forge it. What is it about the note that bothers you?’

Talking it through might help her come to accept the verdict.

‘It said he couldn’t go on because he felt responsible for all those people losing their money, and he hoped I’d forgive him. But he’d also lost all of our money, too. I’m left with nothing apart from the house, which is in my name and can’t be touched. Donald had life insurance, which was invalidated by the suicide. He wouldn’t want to leave me penniless. If he wanted to end his life and have it not classed as suicide, there are plenty of other means. Certainly not shooting himself. I’ve still got the boys to support while they’re at university. That’s not going to be easy. I’m going to need help and he’d have known that.’

‘Suicide is covered under most life insurance policies now, isn’t it?’

‘We changed our provider eighteen months ago and there was a twenty-four-month exclusion period. He would have known that. He was meticulous about the details in contracts.’

‘If he was depressed and not thinking rationally, he might have totally forgotten the exclusion. It’s understandable now the full facts regarding his business have been disclosed. Were you aware of what was happening?’

‘I had no idea whatsoever. Not that I’m believed. The media painted me as a willing participant, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Donald always kept details of his business away from me. It was how we’d always been from when we first got married. I’ll admit that he’d been a little more distracted than usual, but business sometimes did that to him. I wasn’t unduly concerned.’

‘Why did you want to talk to me about this?’

It had to be more than to let off steam to a cousin she hadn’t seen for a long time.

‘I’d like you to take a look at the evidence and find out the truth. You’ll be a fresh pair of eyes. I’ll pay you, of course. I’m not expecting you to do it for free.’

‘How can you afford to pay me, when you’ve already mentioned that things are pretty desperate?’

He couldn’t take money from her, especially as so far he hadn’t heard anything which changed his view on the verdict.

‘I have a little put aside from a small inheritance from my godmother that I can use. It’s not much, but it would be money well spent. Please, it’s important to me. You’re the only person I know with the sort of expertise that’s required, and now you’re not working, it’s perfect timing.’

He couldn’t simply dismiss her out of hand as she’d already been through enough.

‘Before I make a decision, would you mind going through what happened on the day Donald died?’

‘He wasn’t himself and had been acting distant for a week or two. I’d asked him several times if there was anything wrong and he said he had a few business issues, but he’d sort them out. He wouldn’t be drawn further, and I didn’t push, because occasionally he was distracted, like I said before. I can’t tell you how much I regret that.’ Her eyes glazed over.

He touched her on the arm and she started. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

‘Yes. Sorry. It’s hard to put on a brave face all the time.’ She sucked in a breath. ‘On the Saturday of his death he told me he was meeting a prospective client in the afternoon and didn’t know what time he’d be home. He didn’t tell me where they were meeting and I didn’t ask. I had plans with a girlfriend. We were going to visit some open gardens in the next village and I didn’t mind him going out. When he didn’t come home Saturday night I worried, but he’d stayed out before, especially if he’d had too much to drink. I left a message on his phone to call me. On the Sunday lunchtime the police came around and told me he’d been found dead at Foxton Locks. Then the financial nightmare started as what he’d done came out in the open. I don’t believe it was suicide, and why go all the way out over there to do the deed? None of it makes sense.’

‘If it’s not suicide, do you think he was murdered?’

‘I don’t know. But I do think the police could have done a better job. It was as if they took the easiest route. They saw a note and a gun, and assumed straight away that he’d taken his own life. Especially as all the money issues came to light not long after his death.’

‘Do you know how that happened?’

‘One of his investors had contacted the Financial Conduct Authority, and they investigated. I let them have access to all of his records as I thought they would report me to the police if I didn’t.’

‘Did you explain your concerns about Donald’s death to the police?’

‘Yes, but they didn’t listen. Even when I mentioned discrepancies with the actual note, they just dismissed it.’

‘Could you be more specific?’

‘I’m not denying it was his handwriting, but there were issues with the wording that made it not ring true. For a start, he didn’t put an ‘h’ on the end of my name, he wrote Sara. He’s hardly going to forget how to spell my name.’

‘He could have missed that off by accident, in his hurry to write to you. It’s easily done.’

‘He also referred to the boys as the twins.’

Seb frowned. ‘But they are twins.’

What was he missing?

‘But he never called them that. He was obsessive about wanting to differentiate between the two of them and not act as if they were one person, like so many people do with twins. If he