I have a wild theory but knowing the expats like I do now maybe it’s not that wild after all. ‘Gus really did steal a bunch of money and took a speedboat to Mahé, didn’t he?’
Lucy frowns. ‘We didn’t exactly keep it a secret, Harper. A number of us confirmed this with you.’
I huff. ‘Well, this might shock you, ladies, but I thought you were joking because it’s so outlandish.’
All three shake their heads as if they’re disappointed in me. These are the card-cheating hustlers, I remind myself. ‘We never lie.’
‘That’s a lie.’
‘When do we lie?’
‘When you cheat at cards. When you con guests to bet on a game you’ve already rigged. When you?—’
Lucy holds up a hand to shush me. ‘That’s not lying, Harper. That’s sport. Just a bit of innocent fun.’
‘Is it?’
They confer with a glance at each other, and something silent passes between them. When they turn back, Lucy says, ‘Fine, we’ll level with you since it appears you’re trustworthy and have passed all the tests that have been set for you.’
‘What tests?’
‘Do you want to hear the truth or not?’
‘I do. I’ll zip my lips.’
She lets out a weary sigh as if I’m testing her patience. ‘Gus did steal a bunch of money, but he didn’t mean to.’
‘Well, he definitely did,’ Lucia corrects.
Lucy acknowledges that with a nod. ‘You’re right, Lucia. He didn’t mean to get caught, is what I should have said. Anyone facing the same plight would have done the same as him.’
Lucia takes a deep breath. ‘His wife got sick and none of the treatment worked. There was an experimental trial, a last chance situation.’ They let that sink in for a moment. Haven’t we all found our way here in the hopes of a last chance? And there is none bigger than a last chance to live. The mood grows heavy.
‘Gus got her into the trial, but as you can imagine the cost was exorbitant. They had some great success with the first trial, but she needed more. When the chance came to join the second trial, Gus was all out of funds. Desperate, he began pilfering money from the bookshop to pay each month. Fiddling with the accounts, so Xavier wouldn’t find out, but of course, you can’t hide losses that big, not in this day and age where figures are a click of a button away.’ So this explains why the turnover was so small for a bookshop of its size. Even now, by slowly building sales and trying new initiatives, the figures are much higher. It’s because the profit and loss statements were being manipulated. What a desperate state Gus must have been in to do such a thing.
Lucy Lou interjects. ‘Gus planned to pay it all back!’
Lucy nods. ‘He had no other option. I’d have done the very same.’
‘He panicked. He couldn’t miss paying an instalment, especially as her condition worsened and he was also needed by her side.’
‘And he didn’t tell any of us she was sick. We thought she was visiting her daughter. We only found out the truth much later.’
I blink. ‘And Xavier fired him once he found out?’
‘Yeah. Fired him over voicemail because Gus had already gone by then. The speedboat bit wasn’t a lie either.’ They give me a slight smirk.
I remember back to the phone interview with Gus, the abrupt voice of Xavier demanding an urgent meeting. Xavier must have found out by then, but Gus had hired me so at least the bookshop could continue on and he could make his great speedboat escape.
‘Did Xavier know about Gus’s reasons why when he fired him?’
They shake their heads sadly. ‘No, he didn’t. So Xavier’s reaction was understandable. He’d thought this great man, a man who inspired his love of reading, a man who was a father figure to him growing up, who was a safe harbour, did the wrong thing by him. You can imagine how that would feel? Like all that trust had been displaced.’
‘Yes, I can.’ What a mess. ‘But Xavier knows the truth now? Why Gus did what he did.’
They nod. ‘Xavier has tried to make peace but it’s Gus who has to forgive – himself. Gus loves Xavier like a son, and to break that trust hurt him just as much.’
‘Why didn’t Gus just ask Xavier for help with the medical costs?’
