Vanished by James Delargy (free novel 24 TXT) 📕

of which they couldn’t have been sure at the time. Nothing in their past indicated a propensity towards violence but the absence of communication and lack of money marked them out as desperate.

Had they struck it lucky, then killed the witnesses? Were they living somewhere off the proceeds, untaxed and off the grid?

As she made it to the MP’s office, Emmaline told Neil to have the Kallayee team investigate the local gold markets. Dig up what they could about new contacts in town selling gold. Show them Mike’s and Stevie’s photos.

65

Emmaline

The office was on the sixth floor of a high-rise that looked out onto North Perth, the suburbs sprawling lazily into the hazy distance. Relaxing. Better than the view from her shitty caravan.

The plump secretary in the horn-rimmed glasses informed her boss of Detective Taylor’s arrival. Being announced in this way still made Emmaline feel a little odd, as if her entry should be accompanied by some ominous theme music and spark of lightning to go along with the title.

Escorted inside, Emmaline found Chester Grant secure behind his desk, no glass of port in his hand, his Armani suit looking pressed and immaculate, the whirring blast of the air con doing its job.

‘Thanks for meeting me,’ she said, even though she knew he hadn’t really had a choice. The mention of Wisbech made it a certainty.

‘I want this sorry affair solved, Detective.’

‘That’s what I’m trying to do. If you tell the truth.’

‘Which is?’

Emmaline lunged immediately. No point holding back. ‘That you were in the same town as Naiyana Maguire on the thirtieth of December. That you indeed met her. That the meeting wasn’t recorded in your diary.’

Chester Grant stared at her for a moment, before turning towards the view. He took a deep breath. Emmaline sensed that he had been preparing a defence and this was the opening speech. In the end it was short.

‘It was an oversight on my part.’

‘A very big oversight, Mr Grant. Some might even call it a lie.’

He fixed his eyes on her. They were cold, dark and unflustered, capable of anything. ‘A lie is a huge assertion. It was an oversight, that’s all.’

Emmaline could see that his defences needed to be rattled.

‘Was the fact that you are set to inherit a significant stake in a huge company also an oversight?’

He remained silent so she continued.

‘Who owns a company called AG Solutions, Mr Grant? Which itself is owned by AG Holdings? And AG Future? And AG Decade? Who is AG? Whoever it is owns forty per cent of Brightside Foods. So they might do just about anything to someone who threatened it.’

He turned from the view to stare at her. His jaw was tense. She could almost hear the beard hair bristle. ‘Those are owned… The companies are owned by my mother. And managed by a financial advisor. I have no say in how they are run or what they might invest in.’

‘But do you inherit these companies when she dies? Is it true that the shares constitute the bulk of your family’s wealth?’

‘What do you want to know, Detective?’ he said, his tone now sharp, seeking to get to the point. To find a way to avoid it, no doubt.

‘As I explained – the truth.’

Rolling his tongue over his upper front teeth he sucked air through them with a sharp squeak. ‘You haven’t told anyone?’

‘I haven’t made it public if that’s what you are concerned about. But these things have a habit of coming out.’

Chester scowled at this. In that moment with the scowl and the thick beard, there was something animalistic about him, as if he wanted to tear the room apart.

‘When did you meet her?’ asked Emmaline.

‘On the thirtieth. Like you said.’

‘Why?’

‘We needed that photo shoot. She had been the face of the whole shitshow so we needed her onside. To prove that Brightside had taken appropriate action. A good news story.’

Emmaline wasn’t sure if she bought it. It was a long way to travel to accomplish what a phone call could. For a busy man. For a man with a family at Christmas.

‘To lift the share price.’

‘To stabilize it.’

‘Or bump it so you could divest your stock. Rid yourself of the possible headache.’

Chester didn’t answer this, so Emmaline continued.

‘Why hide the meeting? So you could deny being personally involved if something happened?’

‘No,’ he said but his vicious gaze had returned to envy the freedom outside the window.

‘What happened at the meeting, Mr Grant? Did she realize that the ingredient change wouldn’t be immediate but gradual? Did she reveal that she knew all about AG Holdings and the others? Your mother’s involvement. Your involvement.’

‘Nothing happened!’ he barked. ‘She refused to go along with the photo shoot or any publicity. She stayed for five minutes and left. Like she was in a hurry to get somewhere else.’

‘Can you prove that?’

‘What?’

‘That she only stayed for five minutes.’

‘I was back in time for a meeting that afternoon.’

‘A real meeting?’

‘Yes, a real meeting. But I’d rather not have you poking around asking for an alibi from them.’

‘I’m sure you wouldn’t, Mr Grant, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t.’

Chester Grant looked more than a little riled at this. Emmaline pounced.

‘Did Naiyana Maguire threaten you with releasing details about the ownership of the shares? Did it make you angry? Did you threaten her?’

‘No. Yes… She said she knew about them.’

‘What did she want?’

‘Nothing! That was the problem. She just grinned like a bloody cat. Like she enjoyed holding this sword over me. I offered her money. I offered to sweep the whole Brightside thing away. Get her a good job here in Perth. But nothing. She didn’t want anything but to see me suffer.’

‘So she was principled. An endearing quality to most people. Did that make you angry?’

‘Are you trying to say I’m not principled?’

Emmaline refused to let him settle. ‘So you were scared that she would make this info public? What did that cause you to do, Mr Grant?’

‘Nothing.’