Chapter Nineteen
It was the day of the annual Parisian patisserie competition and Poppy woke earlier than usual, her stomach churning as she thought about what Camille planned to do that morning. She chastised herself sternly for not trying harder to talk her friend out of it, but it was too late now, and all she could do was offer her support and hope that her crazy scheme had a positive outcome.
After a quick shower, she dressed in a pair of navy-blue palazzo trousers and a long-sleeved white tee-shirt, and instead of making coffee in her tiny kitchen, she decided to surprise Fabien at the bistro before heading for her shift at Patisserie Madeleine. She grabbed her coat and beret, slung her satchel over her shoulder, and was about to dash down the stairs when her phone burst into life.
Smiling, she retrieved it from her pocket, expecting to have a chat with either Fabien or Camille, even though she would be seeing both of them shortly. But it wasn’t Fabien or Camille, and she couldn’t swipe her finger across the screen fast enough to answer the call.
‘Holly!’
‘Hi, Poppy, are you still at home?’
‘Yes, I am. Why?’
‘Okay, well, you might want to sit down.’
Poppy’s stomach performed an immediate somersault of dread at the uncharacteristically serious tone in Holly’s voice. Her friend was always chirpy and upbeat, with a ready smile for anyone and everyone – and a handy stash of home-made dog biscuits for her canine friends, too – but that morning she sounded subdued. As Holly had suggested, Poppy dropped onto the sofa-bed and braced herself for what she was about to hear.
‘Is everything okay? Please tell me you’ve heard from Suzie.’
‘I have. Like you, Oscar and I were so worried about the continued radio silence after her meeting with the police on Monday morning that we decided the best thing to do was jump in the car and drive up to London, and…’
Holly paused to inhale a deep breath and Poppy’s anxiety went into overdrive.
‘And? Have you seen Suzie and Christos?’
‘Yes, we met up with them – and Heidi and Nathan – last night, at their hotel.’
‘And did they tell you what happened? Does Suzie know who the police have arrested for the robbery? And did she tell you why she didn’t call you on Monday? I have to say, I had visions of her sitting in a… Never mind, never mind.’ She stopped and waited for Holly to speak, but there was silence at the other end of the phone. ‘Holly? Are you still there?’
‘There’s no easy way to say this, Poppy, so I’m just going to come straight out with it. It was Adam.’
‘Adam?’ Poppy’s thoughts scattered as she tried to digest what Holly had just said. For a split second, she wasn’t sure who Adam was. ‘What? Adam, her fiancé? No! I don’t believe it!’
‘Ex-fiancé. Remember, he dumped her a couple of days after the robbery because he thought the rampant speculation about it being an inside job “would have a detrimental impact on his reputation as a high-flying accountant and effect his prospects of a lucrative promotion”.’ Holly’s voice dripped with disdain. ‘And yes, I didn’t believe it either, but it’s true.’
‘Oh my God. How’s Suzie feeling?’
‘Horrified, outraged, devastated, and a whole host of other emotions, I’m sure. That’s why she didn’t call anyone. She needed time to come to terms with what the police had told her. Her mum and sister are flying over from Bali to Santorini as we speak, but thankfully she has Christos with her who’s being a tower of strength, as well as Nathan and Heidi, of course.’
‘So the police have arrested and charged Adam?’
‘Yes. Apparently, part of the delay was because he’s on secondment at his firm’s office in Hong Kong, which made things complicated, but when the police found out he was coming back to the UK to attend his sister’s wedding last week, they were waiting for him at Heathrow. They arrested him, took him to the police station in London for questioning, and then charged him. Only then could they tell Suzie – and Fran?ois, who’d flown over from France to be there, too – the identity of the person behind not only the robbery of the jewellery store, but several other establishments as well.’
‘It’s like something out of a film or a crime novel,’ said Poppy, her head spinning as she tried to take it all in. ‘So what exactly happened? I assume Adam wasn’t part of the gang who threatened to shoot Suzie and Carmen on the day of the raid, or Suzie would have recognised him.’
‘I don’t know all the details. Nathan does, though, and he’s planning to write an exposé for the newspaper he works for. He told Suzie that he intends to make sure that his article is published as widely as possible so that the truth gets just as much coverage as the lies and inuendo that were printed about Suzie and her colleagues at the time. He’s absolutely determined that everyone knows that all three of them have been completely exonerated, and that the public also know who was really responsible, what their role was, how they did it, and why.’
‘So how was Adam involved?’
‘Apparently, part of his job was handling the accounts for several high-end jewellery and luxury goods companies based in London, which meant he was acquainted with not only their products, but also their internal working practices, and was uniquely able to spot any vulnerabilities in the systems that could be exploited for criminal gain. He would pass that information on to people who had no qualms about using violence during a succession of raids on the retail outlets that sell those products – like the expensive watches in the jewellery store where Suzie and Fran?ois worked – to the public.’
‘But Suzie was Adam’s fiancée! How could he do that to her!?’
‘Suzie asked the same question, and the police informed her that Adam got a very generous kickback for the information he passed on. They don’t know exactly how much yet, but they’re hoping to secure access to his various bank accounts over the next few weeks, as well as obtain a warrant to seize his work computer.’
‘So he dumped her, and it was his fault it happened!?’ Poppy gasped as the full horror of what Adam had done to Suzie started to sink in, and a scorching ember of anger flashed through her chest. ‘I can’t believe that Adam disclosed confidential information about one of his client’s businesses, knowing his fiancée – and her colleague – would be there alone, and would have been absolutely terrified to have a gun thrust in her face! He would have also known that because Fran?ois had left early to attend his father’s birthday party that night, suspicion would inevitably fall on all three of them, and yet he went ahead with it anyway!’
Poppy could scarcely believe what she was hearing. She was totally outraged at what Adam had done, but her overriding emotion was one of sympathy for Suzie. Not only for the painful discovery that someone whom she’d thought loved her enough to propose to her had done something so cruel and malevolent, but that he’d had the audacity to dump her because of the effect being engaged to her would have on his reputation.
‘I’m struggling to find words strong enough to express my disgust for what Adam has done.’
‘Me too, and Oscar feels the same way as well.’
‘How is Suzie holding up?’
‘It’s early days, so at the moment it’s a mixture of emotions. She’s just as angry and astonished and indignant as we are, but she’s also relieved that she finally knows the truth about what happened on that day, why it happened when it did, and most important of all, who was responsible. She’s always wondered how the gunmen knew that she and Carmen were on their own that day, and now she knows. Adam told them! Now that she’s been totally absolved of any responsibility, she says she can hold her head high again, instead of always looking over shoulder in case a paparazzo is about to jump out of the shadows to take her photograph or ask her when she was planning to confess.’
‘How long are Suzie and Christos staying in London for?’
‘Just another couple of days. They’re heading back to Santorini so they’re there when Suzie’s mum and sister arrive. It’ll be the first time Christos has met her family and she’s looking forward to that.’
‘I’m so happy for Suzie that the nightmare is finally over.’
‘We all are. Oh, and you’ll like this, Poppy. Do you know what Nathan suggested?’
‘What?’
‘That Suzie should think about writing a crime novel. He said that her experience will make the story “truly authentic”.’ Holly laughed, and Poppy was relieved that her friend’s bright and breezy demeanour had finally returned. ‘Oscar even offered to show her manuscript to his agent when she finishes it!’
‘That sounds like a great idea. Send Suzie my love, won’t you?’
‘I will.’
When the call ended, Poppy placed her phone on the coffee table in front of her and stared out of the window at the silver-grey rooftops beyond, watched over by a bank of dark bulbous rainclouds that hung threateningly on the horizon. Her brain whirled, her thoughts bouncing from one thing to the next as she tried to reassemble everything Holly had told her so she could build up a clearer picture of what had happened.
She knew how much Suzie had suffered over the twelve long months it had taken for the police to progress their investigation to this stage – and to finally make an arrest – and the delay was regrettable. However, the fact that it had taken the involvement of her friend Nathan, an investigative journalist, to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion for those involved, was unforgiveable.
Sadly, it wasn’t over yet because there was still the trial for Suzie to deal with. She hoped that the perpetrators of the armed robbery, as well as those involved in selling the stolen watches online, and those who had disclosed sensitive information that should have been confidential, would plead guilty to the offences they were charged with so that Suzie, and her former colleagues, didn’t have to endure a second trauma of having to give evidence in front of a judge and jury.
Sitting there, in her cosy little studio under the eaves, Poppy realised that what Suzie had been through with Adam – someone she had hoped to spend the rest of her life with – was so much worse than what Drew had done to her. She’d only been in a relationship with him for a short time when she’d uncovered his betrayal; they weren’t anywhere near getting engaged or planning a wedding, thank goodness.
What had happened to Suzie that day at the jewellery store wasn’t her fault.
And neither was what Drew had done to Poppy.
A surge of indignation swept through her veins. It was outrageous that people like Adam and Drew felt that they could conduct themselves in such a disrespectful and contemptible way, and with such blatant disregard for those who would suffer the consequences of their selfish and despicable actions. Those consequences could stay with their victims for years, while the perpetrators continued to live their lives in comfort and security.
She was relieved to see that Adam would soon pay the price for what he’d done, even though she knew Drew never would. However, she now knew that it was even more important than ever that she didn’t let Drew’s duplicity stand in her way of forming new relationships. Suzie had created a new future for herself by having the courage to talk about what had happened to her, which in turn had led to her finding love again with Christos, and Poppy would take inspiration from that.