Every Time We Say Goodbye (34 page)

‘Great, I enjoyed myself,’ Marianne said, pleased that Rob had been proven right and she was having no problem mastering the technology.

‘When do you start?’

‘Next week. I’m teaching pensioners how to use email, Twitter and Facebook over three evenings. I’m a bit nervous to be honest.’

‘You’ll be grand. So, any idea what Matthews has to tell us?’

‘Not a clue but I don’t think it’s anything earth-shattering.’

Johnny guided the car through the heavy afternoon traffic towards Donnybrook. ‘Still, it’s good that he’s keeping in touch.’

‘Why wouldn’t he?’ Marianne couldn’t help retorting. ‘I’ve bent over backwards to help him, despite the fact that I’ll probably get nothing out of it.’

‘Hey, what has made you so pessimistic all of a sudden?’ Johnny glanced at her.

‘Sorry. I suppose I’m feeling a bit stressed.’ She pulled out a tissue and dabbed the corner of her eyes; she didn’t want to go into the office looking like a panda.

‘I’m not surprised. When you go home, have a nice hot bath and an early night and you’ll be right as rain in the morning.’

Marianne thought of Dot’s small bathroom and smaller boiler; by the time the children had been bathed, it would take at least two hours for the water to heat again and even then there would be barely enough to cover her legs and she would emerge shivering. ‘Yes, that’s what I’ll do.’ She smiled at Johnny.

He pulled into a parking spot straight across the road from Matthews and Baldwin. ‘Now, let’s go and find out what the man has to tell us.’

‘Marianne.’ Adrian Matthews walked into reception, his hand outstretched.

‘Hello.’ Marianne shook his hand and tried to hide her surprise that he’d come to greet them personally.

‘Mr Sheridan, good to see you again.’ Matthews offered him the same firm handshake.

‘Please, call me Johnny.’

‘And I’m Adrian,’ he replied.

Marianne and Johnny exchanged bemused looks as they followed him down the corridor to his office. He paused at his secretary’s desk. ‘Would you like tea or coffee?’ he asked them.

‘Tea please,’ Marianne said.

Johnny smiled. ‘Me too.’

‘Tea all round, please, Kara.’ He stood back to let Marianne precede him into his office and when she went to sit at the desk he stopped her. ‘Let’s sit over here, we’ll be more comfortable.’

Marianne glanced at Johnny who just shrugged. She figured that Matthews had either very good or very bad news to break. While they waited for the tea, Johnny and Adrian made small talk but she couldn’t bring herself to join in. Since that day in her house with Rob when Vanessa had arrived, she had found herself becoming increasingly depressed.

The few times she’d seen or talked to Rob since, he’d been pleasant. He’d said he was too busy to train her himself but she didn’t believe that. He was keeping his distance and he was probably right. She found herself wishing that Vanessa hadn’t shown up that day and that he had taken her to bed. If he had, she was sure that they would be together now, despite the fact that he was engaged to be married.

Kara brought the tea and once they all had cups in hand, Adrian got straight to the point. ‘My apologies for dragging you in here but I feel this matter is too sensitive to discuss on the phone. There has been a small development. It would appear that Dominic was not working alone.’

Marianne stared at him, too stunned to speak.

‘And do you know who else was involved?’ Johnny asked.

‘Let’s say there is a very strong case against one person but we have no hard evidence yet.’ He looked at Marianne. ‘It may help you to know though that Dominic seems to have been just a pawn in the operation. He may only have been involved because he was being blackmailed by someone aware of his drug habit.’

‘Well, that’s a turn up for the books,’ Johnny said, shaking his head in wonder. ‘No wonder the poor guy had a heart attack; he must have been under terrible pressure. Is the mastermind of the operation one of your other employees?’

Marianne finally found her voice. ‘Barbara.’

Matthews nodded. ‘You are quite right, although as I said, we can’t prove it yet.’

‘We thought there were discrepancies in her story.’ Johnny looked from Marianne to Adrian. ‘But I’d never have guessed this.’

‘Well, thanks to some of the leads we got through the phone contacts, we found out quite a lot about Ms West. For one thing, she didn’t give up her job for Dominic; she was advised that it would be in her best interests to leave.’

‘Why’s that?’ Johnny asked, leaning forward.

‘For behaviour that, though not quite criminal, was less than ethical, shall we say . . . As for her house, yes she sold it and there is no paper trail but neither is there any evidence that Dominic was involved in the transaction.’

Marianne felt as if her head was going to explode; nothing made sense. ‘But the baby . . .’

Matthews raised his eyebrows. ‘Ah, yes, the baby. I talked to one of my staff who used to be quite a close friend of Barbara’s. When I mentioned Barbara might be pregnant, she laughed and said something to the effect that before even taking a pregnancy test, Barbara would have been on the phone making an appointment for a termination.’

‘So you think she lied to us?’ Marianne hoped, if nothing else, that at least this was true. She’d spent many sleepless nights worrying about Dot and the children finding out about Dominic’s other child.

‘It’s looking that way.’

‘But why would she? And how could she blackmail him? She loved him.’ Marianne looked at Johnny. ‘You saw her face when I told her that Dominic had no plans to divorce me.’

‘She did seem devastated,’ Johnny agreed.

‘Yes, well, my colleagues and I have discussed that at length. We think her stories about the house and baby must have been to gain your sympathy and put you off the scent. Think about it: in telling you he’d stolen her money and that she was jobless and pregnant, it never occurred to you that she had anything to do with the fraud, did it?’

‘No,’ Marianne agreed.

‘I thought she might know more than she was letting on but I certainly didn’t think she was the one pulling the strings,’ Johnny admitted.

‘But blackmailing him?’ Marianne frowned. ‘I find that hard to believe.’

‘Perhaps he’d finished with her,’ Johnny mused. ‘Perhaps he’d had enough and was ready to tell all and take the consequences and she had to do something to stop him.’

Marianne’s thoughts flashed back to an evening only a few weeks before Dominic had died. He had come home looking much more alert than usual and had been very sombre and contrite and promised that things were going to change, that he was going to be a better husband. He seemed so genuine that she had thought there was hope, but very quickly things had returned to the way they’d been before. Had he tried to break free from Barbara and she’d turned nasty?

‘Why are you so sure she is behind the whole fraud though?’ Johnny asked. ‘And, if you are, why can’t you get her for it?’

‘Well, that’s just it – we’re not completely sure. But it’s clear from Dominic’s laptop and phone records that he was more of a runner than anything else. As she is the person he seemed to be in contact with the most and she already has a history of unethical behaviour, she seems the likely ringleader. We believe there’s at least one other person involved; someone from the company she worked for. They are currently investigating that.’

‘So you have nothing really on her?’ Marianne said, feeling deflated.

‘We know that she lied to you about the sale of her house.’

‘What about it?’ she asked.

She told you that he handled it and that he had the money, isn’t that right?’

‘Yes.’

‘That’s a total fabrication. The house sale didn’t go through until after Dominic’s death.’

‘So that’s why she never made contact with you before, Marianne,’ Johnny said. ‘She didn’t need anything from you.’

‘And then she told us that story so that she would look like a victim rather than a crook,’ Marianne realized. ‘Can’t we go after her for that?’

‘For what, telling a lie?’ Johnny sighed. ‘Remember, love, she never asked you for anything; she hasn’t made any demands.’

‘She knows that it’s only a matter of time before we discover the fraud. Right now she’s probably planning to leave the country,’ Matthews said.

‘If she hasn’t already,’ Johnny pointed out.

‘She hasn’t. We’ve got a PI following her but if she leaves before we’ve got some hard evidence then there’s not a lot we can do about it.’

‘It’s so bloody frustrating that she could get away with this.’ Johnny looked at Marianne. ‘I wonder if she has the deeds of your house?’

‘No, she couldn’t have. She thought the deeds were in my name,’ Marianne reminded him.

‘That’s true. So, he lied. That doesn’t sound like a man in love, does it?’

‘He must have been afraid and trying to break free from her.’ Marianne actually felt sorry for her husband.

‘Given that Dominic wasn’t quite the villain you thought he was, does it mean you will give Marianne his pension?’ Johnny asked.

‘I can’t answer that yet.’

‘But you wouldn’t have found out about any of this without her help,’ Johnny protested.

‘Believe me, I am well aware of that.’ Adrian looked Marianne straight in the eye. ‘I will be fighting hard for you and I don’t give up easily.’

‘Thank you.’ Marianne smiled at him. ‘That’s good to know.’

Outside, Johnny put his hand on her arm and guided her back to the car, but she stopped halfway. ‘You go on, Johnny. I think I’ll take the train.’

‘Then I’ll drop you at the station on Lansdowne Road.’

‘No, I’ll walk.’

‘But it’s a good twenty minutes away and you can’t walk in those.’ He glanced down at her heels.

‘Really, I’ll be fine. I just need some time alone before I face the family.’

He sighed and gave her a hug. ‘Call me anytime, okay?’

‘I will, thanks.’

‘Oh, and Frank says that he should have a valuation for us tomorrow.’

‘Great. I’ll order the yacht and the sports car,’ she joked.

‘Take care, love.’

He drove off and she started walking down the road in the opposite direction, but within moments became aware of a car slowing beside her and the passenger window lowering.

‘Get in, Marianne,’ Helen said, not even looking at her.

Chapter Thirty-two

‘Helen, hi! This is a nice surprise.’

Helen couldn’t bring herself to even look at her friend. ‘We need to talk.’

‘Okay. You seem upset; what’s happened?’

‘It can wait until we get to the house,’ Helen said.

Dot and Jo were ready to leave when they got home.

‘Why aren’t you in your tracksuit?’ Jo asked.

‘I’m not coming tonight, I have a dreadful headache.’

‘Ah, you poor thing.’ Dot gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘Get an early night, love.’

‘Yes, I think I will,’ Helen said, although she had no intention of leaving until she’d said her piece.

Once Dot and Jo had left, Marianne excused herself to go and check on the children. ‘Put on the kettle, Helen,’ she said as she disappeared upstairs. Helen ignored the instruction and instead paced the kitchen as she waited to hear what Marianne would say. How could she be so pleasant, so brazen? If Helen hadn’t just seen the two of them together for herself, Johnny’s smile, the protective hand on her back, she’d begin to doubt herself.

‘I’m so sorry about that.’ Marianne came in almost half an hour later and shut the door. ‘Andrew is completely hyper this evening.’

‘Is he okay?’ Helen asked.

‘Absolutely fine, just excited because he went fishing for the first time today and he’s finding it hard to settle. Tea? Coffee?’

‘Nothing.’ Helen continued to pace.

‘Please sit down, you’re making me dizzy. What is it? What’s wrong?’

Helen stopped in front of her. ‘I saw you with Johnny.’

‘Yes, we were at Matthews and Baldwin—’

‘Are you having an affair?’ Helen blurted out.

‘Are you serious?’ Marianne laughed. ‘Of course we aren’t!’

‘Look at me and say that,’ Helen demanded.

Marianne’s expression changed from one of amusement to hurt as she looked Helen straight in the eye. ‘There is nothing going on between me and Johnny, Helen, and to be honest I’m stunned you could think otherwise.’

Helen groaned. She’d known Marianne a long time and would see through her in an instant if she was lying. ‘I’m sorry, Marianne, but I’m sure he’s having an affair with someone.’

‘Well, it’s not me.’

Helen sank into a chair and rested her arms on the small table. ‘I’ve been going mad; he’s being behaving so strangely and you two were spending a lot of time together.’

‘We’re not—’

‘I know, I know, I believe you. But if it’s not you, who is it?’

‘Why are you so convinced he’s being unfaithful?’

‘His habits have changed, he’s preoccupied, he’s staying out late and I’ve caught him lying.’

‘About what?’

‘He says he’s going somewhere and doesn’t.’

Marianne frowned. ‘I don’t understand how he’d have time for an affair; he’s practically living with us.’

‘So you can see why I jumped to conclusions.’

‘Yes, Helen, I can, but I promise you’re wrong.’

‘I know. I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay. Have you said anything to him?’

‘No, I wanted to talk to you first.’

‘So, what are you going to do now?’

‘I suppose I’ll go home and talk to him.’

Marianne pressed Helen back into her chair with a gentle hand. ‘Hang on, if you go in there accusing him the way you just did me, this could get completely out of hand. Let me make some coffee; let’s talk this through.’

‘What’s there to talk about? What other reason could there be for him sneaking around?’

‘It could be anything.’ Marianne went to make the coffee. ‘Perhaps there’s a problem at work or he has money worries—’

‘You forget I work with him and I look after all of our accounts,’ Helen pointed out.

Marianne glanced back at her. ‘I think if Johnny wanted to keep something to himself he could; maybe there’s a problem of some sort that he just doesn’t want to worry you with.’