‘What?’
He opened a Corona for her as she told him about the ear tunnels guy on the security footage, who she’d seen in Hartwell with Hugh Thorburn.
‘Bloody hell,’ he said when she finished the story.
‘Do you think Mum committed some sort of crime when she worked for the Ashworths?’ She’d told him all about Anna and Chrissy and the box of belongings with the locket and the pen after her disastrous Christmas Day.
He frowned, trying to make sense of it. ‘How would they know you have any connection to Anna?’
‘I don’t know.’ Meg sighed. ‘And even if they did, why would they care about something that happened so long ago? It makes no sense.’
Meg thought of all those years her mum had spent uprooting their lives every six months or so, paranoid, running from something. ‘Maybe Mumthinksit has something to do with her own past, but really it doesn’t. Maybe it’s about us, Pete. A way to scare us off the story.’
‘You think they know you’ve been poking around at the industrial estate? They could be trying to scare you off so they can get on with their dodgy deals.’ Pete rubbed his stubbly chin. ‘It’s a classic standover man tactic, I guess. Threaten a vulnerable family member—’
Maggie sat up suddenly and let out a low growl.
‘What’s up, girl?’ Meg stroked her, calming her again. ‘You’re okay.’ She looked back at Pete. ‘Did you find out anything more about the factory?’
Pete nodded. ‘I was just working on that. The industrial estate changed hands a couple of years ago, on the quiet. It was purchased in a trust—’
‘Any of the same names as the Barton Drive properties?’
‘No, I was hoping that too. It’s called Argus Investments.’
‘So we don’t know who bought it?’
‘Not at this stage, but it turns out that the Argus trust was set up by our friends at Purcell Partners.’
‘You’re kidding—’
There was a loud smash.
‘What the hell?’ Pete exclaimed.
Maggie ran down the hall, barking incessantly. They followed. Pete turned on the light as they went into his bedroom.
‘Oh my God.’ His voice was a low whisper.
The front window was smashed, jagged glass revealing the dark night outside. A brick sat on the carpet beneath the window, surrounded by shards of glass. He rushed to the window, head whipping one way then the other, looking up and down the street.
Meg’s heart raced. ‘It’s them, Pete.’
Maggie paced, whining.
Meg pulled her back so she didn’t step on the glass. ‘It’s them.’ Her heart hammered in her chest. ‘They must know we’re on to them, Pete. We need to drop the story.’
‘No.’ He turned to face her, shaking his head. ‘This means they’re rattled, Meg. This must be bigger than we thought. This means we need to go harder.’
Chapter 42
‘Did you know about this?’ Issy asked, when her mother answered the door.
‘Hello, darling, how lovely to see you again,’ Heather said.
Issy pushed past her and charged up the hall to the kitchen. She turned to face her mother, who looked entirely unflustered. ‘Well? Did you?’
‘I assume you’re talking about your father’s email?’
