Chapter 39
NOW
Late August
Friday
My gaze drifted around the small, white-walled room. It looked just like it did on TV or in the movies.
Except this wasn’t the movies.
This was real.
‘Thank you for coming in,’ PC Grove said, drawing my attention back to him.
‘No problem,’ I replied, impressed by how calm my voice sounded.
It’s a voluntary interview, I reminded myself. That’s what PC Day had said on the phone.
Yet nothing about it felt voluntary.
If it truly was, I wouldn’t be here.
Then again, if Ben hadn’t been with me when PC Day called, and insisted on driving me, I might well not have come at all.
‘It’s just a conversation,’ Ben had said on the way here.
I wasn’t sure if either of us actually believed that.
PC Grove pressed a button beside him.
‘Kirsty Palmer, this interview is being recorded. You’re not under arrest and are free to leave at any time.
You may have a solicitor with you if you wish.
You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you don’t mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court.
Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand, Ms Palmer?’
It all felt so formal.
‘Miss Palmer, do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?’
‘Yes,’ I said quietly.
‘You mentioned, when we spoke yesterday, that Charlotte disapproved of you because of your lack of familiarity with the equestrian world?’
‘Yes,’ I confirmed, unsure why they were even questioning it. My lack of experience was hardly a secret. Nor was Charlotte’s opinion of me because of it.
‘Would it be fair to say that her concerns particularly focused on your fear of the horses?’
‘Yes,’ I replied again.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.
All I had to say was yes to a few questions they’d already asked before, and then I could go home.
Ben was sitting in his car outside, waiting for me. I could put this whole experience behind me in no time.
‘We’re curious then—’ PC Day joined in ‘—as, when we visited the stables yesterday, you seemed at ease with Atlas.’
My throat tightened.
‘He’s Ryan’s horse,’ I replied, as though that was an explanation.
‘So, you’ve spent more time with him, then?’
I hesitated.
The answer was yes. But how could I tell them that?
Everyone at the stables knew I’d avoided all the horses, even Atlas.
The only time I’d spent around him was when I’d broken in.
‘Ryan trusts him,’ I said finally. ‘And I trust Ryan.’
‘Charlotte probably thought she could trust Atlas too,’ PC Day said evenly. ‘Until he threw her.’
‘I was stroking him,’ I pointed out. ‘That doesn’t mean I was about to ride him.’
‘It seems strange, though, that you would suddenly be more comfortable with him the day after everyone had reported him acting out of character.’ PC Grove glanced at his notes. ‘Agitated, restless and even uncontrollable was how the yard hands described his behaviour.’
‘I didn’t know about that.’
‘You still seemed apprehensive of the other horses, though.’
‘Like I said, Atlas is Ryan’s horse.’
Silence fell between us.
I waited hopefully. Was that it? Had they finished? Could I go?
‘Let’s talk about Charlotte, then.’
My stomach plummeted.
‘What exactly did you and she talk about on Wednesday morning?’
‘She came to tell me to stay away from Ryan.’
‘You were seen arguing outside your block of flats. The witness says your conversation was heated. In fact, you pushed her so hard, Charlotte was in pain.’
‘It wasn’t like that.’
Kirsty just gets a bit overwhelmed sometimes.
Charlotte’s words to my neighbour repeated through my brain.
‘Did you and Charlotte spend much time together?’
‘No.’
‘But she has been to your flat. Your work. And even joined you for Sunday lunch.’
‘Well, yes, but—’
‘Do people you barely know usually do those things?’
‘No, but Charlotte wasn’t like most people.’
‘How so?’
‘She went where she wanted. Did what she wanted.’
‘That must have been inconvenient. Perhaps even annoying.’
‘Look, Charlotte didn’t like it when Ryan and I got back together. She liked to remind me that she was still around. Still in his life.’
‘But you weren’t together on Wednesday when she came to your flat, were you? Ryan had left you and moved back home. With Charlotte.’
‘Yes.’ I forced the word out.
‘So why would she need to remind you of her existence? She’d already won him back.’
Won. He made it sound like it was a game.
But, then, perhaps it was to Charlotte. One she was determined to stack against me.
‘Like I said, she came to tell me to stay away from Ryan.’
‘And from her?’
My throat constricted.
‘We understand Charlotte accused you of stalking her,’ PC Day added.
‘On social media,’ I said quickly.
‘We also understand she usually went riding early in the morning, but instead she came to see you. Do you know why she changed her routine that day?’
I shook my head. ‘I have no idea. All I know is Charlotte was waiting for me when I got home.’
‘At what time was this?’
‘About 8 a.m., I think.’
‘Surely your conversation could have waited a few hours.’
‘It could have waited permanently, as far as I was concerned.’
‘Hmm,’ PC Grove murmured. ‘You said you’d just got home. From where?’
‘I had gone to see a friend.’
‘Before 8 a.m.? That’s early, isn’t it?’
‘I guess.’
‘Interesting.’ He paused. ‘You and Charlotte seem to have that in common. Turning up on people’s doorsteps early in the morning.’
I shrugged slightly.
‘And then, after leaving you, she chose to ride all the way out to Ballard Down. Somewhere no one has any recollection of her riding before.’ PC Grove leaned forwards. ‘Until Wednesday. After seeing you.’
I inhaled sharply.
I didn’t like the way he said that. As though the two things were connected – Charlotte’s place of death and me.
‘Given the inconsistencies we’ve found connected to Charlotte’s behaviour that morning, we’ve expanded the scope of our investigation.’
‘What does that mean?’ I asked hesitantly.
‘We’ve been reviewing the Blackwater Stables records.’
I tried to keep the panic from my face.
‘It’s curious that you have remained active in Blackwater business, considering you left their employment two years ago.’
‘I haven’t been involved,’ I said firmly.
‘That’s not what these sales agreements show,’ PC Grove said as he pulled papers from the file in front of him and spread them across the table.
My vision blurred as I stared at them.
No. This couldn’t be happening.
‘I had nothing to do with those,’ I said forcefully.
‘That is your signature, though, isn’t it?’
‘No. Someone must have forged it. I never signed those agreements.’
‘But you have seen them before…’
‘I—’ I clamped my mouth shut.
I should have feigned surprise when I saw them. Acted as if I hadn’t already known of their existence. Of my signature’s presence on them.
‘I found them,’ I admitted.
‘In the Blackwaters’ records?’
I didn’t answer.
Silence filled the room again.
They stared at me. Waiting.
‘I knew Charlotte was up to something, so I started looking into it.’
‘And how did you get access?’
I said nothing.
Maybe I should ask to speak to a solicitor. It’s what they did in the movies, wasn’t it? Or would that make me look guilty?
I sucked in a breath. I was guilty. Just not of what they thought I was.
‘You have to see how suspicious those agreements look. The first sale was even made to Charlotte’s father,’ I blurted out. ‘That’s odd, right?’
PC Grove nodded. ‘We noticed that. But we found something even more interesting when we compared the sales records to the bank account.’ He paused. ‘The figures don’t match.’
‘What?’ I shook my head. ‘No, that can’t be. I checked the reconciliations—’
‘The overall balance aligns,’ he said. ‘Because the discrepancy was transferred out immediately.’
My mouth opened and closed as I struggled to speak.
‘Charlotte was siphoning money?’
‘No, not Charlotte,’ PC Grove said, staring straight into my eyes.
A sickly sinking feeling descended on me.
He slid another paper in front of me.
‘You were.’
The room seemed to tilt as I stared at the page in front of me.
‘No, that’s not possible,’ I said, shaking my head, prickly heat rising through my body.
‘We also checked with each of the customers. Their invoices were for higher values than the ones on file at Blackwater. ￡5,000 higher each time. The full amount was received into the bank account and then ￡5,000 was immediately transferred out. To this account.’ He tapped the page. ‘Your account.’
‘No,’ I said again. ‘That’s not mine. I don’t even have an account with that bank.’ And yet I was staring at my name on the documentation.
Panic swept through me. I had to do something. Say something. Anything.
‘Atlas probably isn’t even the father.’
The officers exchanged a look, surprise evident on their faces.
‘Didn’t you notice that? Every single one of the sales with my signature – the forgery of my signature,’ I corrected, ‘states Atlas is the sire.’
PC Grove scooped up the pages and studied them in turn.
‘All the other foals,’ I continued, ‘their sales were signed by Martin or Ryan. But they didn’t sign a single one of Atlas’s sales.’
They exchanged another look.
‘He’s their best bloodline. The most valuable. There’s no way they would let someone else handle those sales. Especially someone with no experience.’
‘So, you focused your fraud to the highest value transactions,’ PC Grove said bluntly.
‘No!’ I shook my head. ‘You don’t get it. Atlas had fertility issues. They had him on special supplements, but what if that wasn’t enough?’
‘What are you saying?’
I met his gaze. ‘What if those foals aren’t his?’