Chapter 40
40
C ally sat at a small makeshift desk in the back room of the chemist, surrounded by a new delivery, staring at the spreadsheet on her laptop screen. Numbers swam before her eyes, each one a reminder of the discrepancies she'd uncovered way back when she’d first worked at the Peaceton store. Estrella's abrupt departure niggled at her like an itch she couldn't quite scratch. From the word go, in her bones, she’d categorically known something wasn't right with Estrella. Estrella wasn’t as stupid as she’d thought, though, and had ducked out as fast as she could, playing her trump card before she’d been caught. That irritated Cally no end. Slimeball.
Cally had been turning over what she’d discovered for days, weighing up whether or not to bring it to Birdie's attention. She’d reasoned that with Estrella long gone, what good would it do to stir up trouble? It would all come out soon enough, anyway, when the accounts were correctly filed. But every time she tried to let it go, her conscience had prickled and poked her. It wasn't just about Estrella; it was about doing what was right for the business and the trust Birdie had put in her with the job. From her side of the fence, she just felt that Birdie should know.
With that in mind, Cally had decided to stop beating around the bush and had compiled all the evidence she'd gathered in an easy to navigate manner. She’d created a new spreadsheet, meticulously detailed each discrepancy she'd found, added notes about patterns she'd noticed, and cross-referenced everything with the records. As she’d worked, the scope of Estrella's deception didn’t change; if anything, it shocked more.
Cally felt a knot in her stomach as she wondered how it had gone unnoticed for so long. It wasn't until she heard Birdie calling her name from the dispensary that she realised how she’d been head down on her laptop thinking about it for ages.
'Our Cally? Are you still back there?'
Cally blinked. 'Yes, I'm still here.'
Birdie appeared in the doorway. 'Everything okay? You've been tucked away in here for hours.'
Cally took a deep breath. It was now or never. 'Actually, there's something I need to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?'
Birdie's eyebrows shot up at Cally’s tone of voice. She nodded. 'Oh, no. What now? Of course. I'll put the kettle on.'
A few minutes later, they were settled in the staff room with mugs of tea in hand and Cally perched on the edge of a chair at the small table with her laptop balanced on her knees. She could feel Birdie's curiosity radiating off her in waves.
Birdie took a sip of her tea. 'Right then. This looks serious. What's all this about?'
'It's about Estrella and the Peaceton store.'
Birdie's eyes narrowed. 'Estrella? Not even thought about her. She’s long gone. I thought we’d seen the back of her. What about her?'
'Well, when I was first working on organising the stockroom and going through the records, I noticed some discrepancies. I think she got wind of what I was doing…'
'Discrepancies? What sort of discrepancies?'
Cally turned her laptop so Birdie could see the screen. 'At first, it was just little things. A few items missing here and there, and numbers not quite adding up. There was so much mess and chaos. But the more I looked into it, the more I realised it was part of a pattern.'
Cally felt butterflies swarm through her stomach as she walked Birdie through her findings. She pointed out the inconsistencies in the stock levels, the odd spikes in certain product sales that didn't align with promotional periods, and the mysterious disappearance of newly delivered stock. As she spoke and pointed, Cally watched Birdie's expression change from confusion to disbelief and finally to white-hot anger. Birdie’s face became progressively redder and she pressed her lips into a thin line.
'Are you telling me,' Birdie said slowly, her voice low and controlled, 'that Estrella was stealing from me? Why am I asking that? I can see it.'
Cally nodded, relieved that Birdie had connected the dots herself. 'I think so, yes. And not just products. I believe she was manipulating the records to cover up cash discrepancies as well.'
Birdie swore. Cally blinked in surprise. 'That conniving little... I knew there was something off about her! But I never imagined she was a thief. Who does that? I was so good to her, too.’
'I'm sorry. I know this must be a shock.'
Birdie waved her hand dismissively. 'Don't apologise. You've done nothing wrong. In fact, you've done everything right. It doesn’t matter now. We’ll never see her again. Not heard anything from her…'
‘I wasn't sure at first. I wanted to be certain before I said anything. And then, when Estrella left so suddenly, I thought maybe it wasn't worth bringing up. But it just didn't sit right with me to let it go. I couldn’t just be here and not tell you.'
Birdie nodded. 'You did the right thing. Even if Estrella's gone, we need to know the full extent of what happened. You know, when she first started, I had my doubts. But I was desperate for help, and she seemed capable enough. I should have trusted my instincts in the first place.'
'You couldn't have known. She was clever about it.'
Birdie tutted. ‘I should have been paying closer attention.’
Cally sighed. 'I can't help wondering why she did it. Was she in some kind of trouble? Or was it just greed? I do know I wasn’t keen on her from the moment I stepped in.'
Birdie shook her head. 'Some people just see an opportunity and take it, regardless of who it hurts.'
'I suppose.’
‘Well, at least I know what is what now.’
Cally felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It was good, like really, really good, to feel as if she'd done the right thing. She'd spotted something others had missed, had trusted her instincts, and had taken action. Here she was, adulting in a real job. Trusted, wanted, and conversing as a valued part of a team. How good did that feel? Me oh my, so very good indeed.