Chapter 11
Holly got home a little after five, later than usual because Wednesday was cross-country club at Charlie’s school.
He hated team sports – the noise, the physical jostling and the need for coordination were especially triggering – but he excelled at track and field.
At ten years old he showed signs of being an exceptional endurance runner and the popularity he earned through his cross-country medals went some way to balancing out his peculiarities.
Holly still had work to do, but it would wait till Charlie had gone to bed. Wednesday was always a good evening. The physical exercise helped calm him, and Wednesday was pizza night.
Her first task, and an urgent one, was to get her father’s stinking sheets into a hot wash.
With a bit of luck, the smell would have dissipated by the time Charlie got back.
He’d been known to refuse to enter a place that smelled bad, and he had an uncannily keen nose.
That done, she pulled the morning’s post from her case.
Busy all day, she’d quite forgotten about the strange solicitors’ note, with the odd round coin.
Barker, Momen and Dodds was an Exeter firm.
The note had been signed, rather elaborately, in blue ink, but wasn’t addressed to her specifically.
Or to anyone. She double-checked the name and address on the envelope. Yes, definitely meant for her.
It was a scam, of course; they got ever more sophisticated. She couldn’t see any number she was supposed to call, but sooner or later they’d be in touch. The first contact was always the most important.
She took a photograph quickly with her phone.
She’d send it to one of her contacts in the firm the next day; they had a right to know about nefarious activity being done in their name.
In the meantime, better that Charlie didn’t see it.
Charlie, like many people with his condition, had problems recognising dishonesty.
Charlie would instinctively take it seriously.
The sound of a car pulling up outside told her that he was home. She gathered up the post she didn’t need to keep, including the solicitors’ letter and its accompanying token. On her way to open the front door, she dropped everything in the bin.