We came to a stop. I put my face up to the baking sun and felt it warm my skin. “So … they’ve been skimming off the top?”
Sonia nodded. “It looks it. Money going missing here and there. Payment amounts that don’t quite match up. But …”
“But?”
“I can’t be sure.”
“How could you find out?”
“Go through the books with a fine-toothed comb.”
“Can you do that without raising suspicion?” I asked.
She shook her head and yanked a piece of grass from the side of the path and fiddled with it between her fingers.
I looked out and watched Kennedy chasing bugs in the long grass. “Okay, well, a) you need definitive evidence of what is happening and b) that they’re the ones who are doing it.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“Do you want my help?”
She nodded again. “It’s been going on for months, Arden. I don’t think they’re planning on stopping anytime soon. And it’s small amounts. Small enough that the business isn’t noticing it – I mean, business is good, the company is doing well.”
It was my turn to nod. “In a way, that’s better. Gives us time to plan.”
She gave me a smile. “I knew you’d help.” She gripped my arm, and we started walking again. “Why are we going to Nigella’s?”
“Oh, you know, just a catch-up.”
“Her and her fella are having problems, innit?”
“Yeah— wait, what, how’d you know?”
“I’m very intuitive, I am.”
I glared. “Okay, but in reality, how do you know? Also, I don’t think she particularly wants it broadcasted.”
“I haven’t told a soul! Arden, how little you think of me. They’ve kids, for God’s sake. I wouldn’t go around blabbing about her private life. It’s against the code of ethics for a responsible estate agent. But, yeah, I read between the lines when she was giving updates about you when you was all AWOL. I thought to myself, there’s a woman with a lot of free time in the evenings for drinking wine and sitting in her big kitchen sending very long texts.”
“Bloody hell,” I said.
“I’ll pretend to be ignorant to her marital strife. Like I am with Dhaps and Trev.”
I pursed my lips and said nothing. We entered the village and walked to Nigella’s house in time to see her emerging from her car outside.
“Hello! Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes. You’ll never guess where I’ve been?”
“A branch of LK Bennett?” I said.
“Yoga for the over sixties?” Sonia said.
Nigella glared. “I am not over sixty,” she hissed. Her smile returned. “No, I’ve been to see Jed. His mum rang last night and said he could have visitors, so I popped over first thing this morning and spoke to him.”
I perked right up. “Really? How is he?”
Nigella beckoned us into her house and walked as she talked. “Groggy. Confused, but improving every day. He’s spoken to the police and said he can’t remember much, but between you and me, his doctors have said it’s likely he’ll remember more as he starts to improve.”
That was going to be my next question, so, instead, I nodded sagely. Not that I needed to say anything; Sonia and Nigella kept up a verbal volley that was, frankly, staggering to behold, as the two of them could talk for England. We’d been there twenty minutes before Nigella had finished telling us about Jed, and Sonia had gushed about Ade and asked for more details about how Guy was.
