Saturday's Child (25 page)

“Gareth Knight. We spoke on the phone.”

Aaron turned his attention to the bespectacled man shaking hands with Gareth. His dark hair slicked back over his forehead, beige suit looked crumpled and his front tooth was missing.

“Gavin Barstow.” He looked at Aaron. “I’m sorry. I thought you were bringing Mr. Field with you. I don’t know this gentleman.”

Aaron did a double take. “I
am
Mr. Field. Just because my hair is a different color…”

“I didn’t mean that. The Mr. Field we’ve been dealing with has a scar on his cheek and is stockier built.”

Aaron frowned. Drake was pretending to be him? He needed proof before he raised that thought. He pulled out his driving license. “Here.”

“I’m sorry, but he had one of those as well.”

“Do you have CCTV images of him?”

“Probably.”

“Then I want to see them,” Aaron said firmly. “And he signed in, right, the same as we did?”

“Yes.”

“Then I want to see the books. Compare his signature with mine. Also with the one on the original document when I set up the deal with you five years ago.”

“That contract was replaced a year ago, as I explained on the phone.”

“Not by me,” Aaron yelled. “My farm is going under, because he’s—”

Gareth put a hand on his arm. “Aaron, calm down.”

“Calm down? Some guy is walking around, pretending to be me, and I’m just supposed to stand here and accept it?”

“No. We get proof and then we call in the police.”

Barstow pulled out the files. “I’ll get security to bring up the CCTV pictures, but I am going to have to contact Mr. Field because I...”

Aaron hissed in anger. “For the umpteenth time, I
am
Mr. Field.”

Barstow ignored him. “But I can’t discuss one client’s business with someone—”

Gareth cleared his throat. “It would appear you’ve already been doing that. I need to see the CCTV images. I also want the original paperwork, along with the new ones so we can compare the signatures.” He pulled a sheaf of paper from his pocket. “And I think you’ll find this says you have to.”

Barstow took the papers and sighed. “Very well.” He buzzed his secretary as he opened the files and compared the signatures. Then he slid them across the table.

Gareth raised an eyebrow. “Why wasn’t this picked up before?”

“I don’t know. I guess the original was never checked.”

Aaron grinned. The two signatures were nothing like each other. “Check the bank authorization as well.” He grabbed a pen, grateful he hadn’t broken his right wrist, and signed a piece of paper. “See, that one is mine,” he said laying it triumphantly on the original document.

The security guard came in. “The photo you wanted, Mr. Barstow.”

Aaron froze as he looked at it, then he turned to Gareth. “Drake Stormcrow.”

Three minutes later, the banking agreements confirmed two different signatures. Barstow looked at them. “I don’t know what to say. He had ID, all the right—”

“Save it for the police.” Gareth pulled out his phone and he dialed. “I need to speak to someone in the fraud department,” he said rapidly as the call was answered. “Yes it’s urgent.”

****

By the time the police had been and spoken to everyone, Aaron and Gareth were already running late for the next meeting, and Aaron was more stressed than he had been at the start of the day. When Gareth parked in Wokingham town center, Aaron demanded to know why. “We don’t have time to walk.”

“We have another meeting first. How’s your arm doing?”

“Sore. I need to take the pain meds. What meeting?”

“We’re meeting in the Town Hall, so we’ll talk over coffee in the café there.” Gareth locked the car and started walking.

“Fine.” He eased his arm in the sling, rubbing his fingers. “Meggie got so cross when I did this.”

“She’s very protective of the people she loves. She doesn’t give her heart easily, but when she does, it’s forever.”

“I think I might be the exception to the rule there. I can’t even keep the love of my brother and sister, never mind anyone else.”

“Never say never.”

As they neared the red bricked town hall with its grey slate roofed clock tower and medieval stained glass windows, two people rose from the bench and moved to greet them. His heart skipped a beat. They were the last two people in the world he expected to be there. “What are they doing here?”

“Megs arranged for them to come and meet us. She figured I could then speak to all of you at once on neutral ground, though doubtless she told them it was my idea. She hates taking the credit for anything. You three need to put up a united front against Tanis and Drake. A divided house will fall. And this way I only have to say things the once.”

Isaac held out a hand to Aaron. “Hello, Aaron.”

“Isaac.” Aaron shook his hand and then hugged his sister. “Hey, Leah.” He pulled back. “This is my lawyer, Gareth Knight.”

They shook hands and then followed Gareth inside. He went to get the coffee and the others found a table in the corner.

Leah gazed at Aaron, concern and fear on her face. “You look awful.”

“You mean my hair?”

“It’s white, but I didn’t mean just your hair. You look old. And your arm…”

“I prefer arctic blond myself, but yeah. My hair happened all of a sudden last night. I was fine one minute and the next I look about ninety.”

“Miss Knight didn’t say you’d been hurt. What happened to your arm?” Isaac pointed to the sling.

“I fell off the barn roof. The tornado ripped half of it off, and we needed to repair it before winter. I dropped something and fell trying to reach it. It’s fractured.”

“Why weren’t you wearing safety gear?”

“I was. I took it off.”

“Stupid.”

“Meggie said that.”

“You look like Dad,” Isaac said. “He aged quickly, too.”

“I feel old, never mind looking it.”

Gareth came back with the tray. “Here we go.”

“Thanks.” Aaron took his meds and put the bottle back in his pocket.

Gareth sipped his coffee. “Let’s get to the reason we’re here. The trust fund. Aaron asked me to look into it, as well as several other things, including the will and codicil. It appears that your stepmother and Mr. Stormcrow had been withdrawing from the trust funds for some time before closing them and transferring the money out last year.”

“The bank said Aaron did.”

Gareth shook his head. “The signatures were different. They were the same as the refinery we’ve just been to and every other legal document the farm has lodged in the last year.”

“I do the books, or I used to. About fourteen months ago, Tanis sent them to be audited…” Aaron’s voice tailed off. “I haven’t seen them since. She said the accountant was dealing with them now.”

“Did you ever meet him?”

“Once. But it was the one that Dad used to audit the books every year, so I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

Gareth pulled some paper from his briefcase. “This is a warrant authorizing me to seize all the books, files, etcetera, pertaining to the farm. This one is a legal document giving me permission to act on your behalf. I need the three of you to sign it.”

“Why all of us?” Isaac asked. “Leah and I have no legal hold on anything to do with the farm.”

“According to the codicil you did,” Aaron told him.

“Exactly,” Gareth agreed. “Besides, I’m dealing with the trust funds and that does involve you.”

They signed the papers and Gareth put them away. “Next up, these files.” He handed them out. “Aaron found them in the farmhouse. Tanis has gone to great lengths to get the information in them. I have read them from cover to cover. Some of it I could verify from outside sources and some I couldn’t. First off, you should know that I don’t judge any of you on their contents. We’ve all done stuff we’re not proud of, but like Meg’s, I’m pretty sure some of this isn’t accurate. I need you to highlight what isn’t accurate or things that aren’t true. Then initial it.”

“Are you thinking slander?” Aaron asked.

“We’ve got enough to prove fraud. The more evidence we have on the slander the easier it will be for the police to charge them with that as well.”

“What about murder?” Aaron asked quietly, pushing a hand through his hair.

Gareth straightened. “Murder?”

“I can’t prove it, but I think she killed Mum and Nancy, perhaps more.”

“Mum died when Leah was born,” Isaac said.

“No, she didn’t. I remember now. We went to see her in the hospital. We took her flowers, those pink orchids that she liked. Then she came home in the afternoon, so she was home when we got back from school. There was a pink baby blanket and the crib was in their room. That night, Dad went shopping and Tanis had friends over. There was a bonfire.”

Isaac pushed his cup away, sitting upright. “I remember that. You and I sneaked out to see it. It was a huge bonfire, like on bonfire night. She even had a guy.”

“It wasn’t a guy. I heard Mum scream. I saw her move. They killed her in the fire.”

“No—”

Aaron wasn’t sure who the strangled gasp and cry came from.

“How old were you?” Gareth asked.

“Nine. They burned her. I saw it, but the chanting blocked it from my mind. Until two nights ago. Meggie and I saw a fire on the top field. She went to investigate. I followed her. Tanis and Drake may have killed someone. The cops know about the fire. They came and took samples of the ash. They said someone reported a murder. It wasn’t me or Meggie. I thought it was her, but she doesn’t even remember there being a fire.”

“Who were the police officers?”

“DS Holmes and DS Philips. I have a contact number for them.”

“Ring them now and report this.”

Aaron looked at the others. “What if I’m wrong?”

“Just do it,” Isaac said. “They’d rather you be wrong than not say anything.”

“OK.” He pulled out his phone and dialed.

The phone answered on the second ring. “DS Holmes.”

“Hello, Sergeant, it’s Aaron Field. I’d like to talk to you about that reported murder. I may have information you could use.”

“Are we talking about the fire two nights ago?” the Detective asked.

“Yes. I should have said something when you came out. I didn’t, because I…it sounds crazy—” He broke off. Heat rose in his cheeks and he shifted uncomfortably on the chair. He could almost feel the disapproval and condemnation already, even if it wasn’t justified. “I think there was a murder, maybe more than one, because I have good reason to believe my stepmother is involved in the occult,” he added, almost in a whisper.

“I see. Can you come into the station now?”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Ask for me at the front desk.”

Aaron nodded and hung up. “What if I’m wrong?” he repeated.

“I remember hearing Mum scream, too” Isaac said. He sat bolt upright, his hands wringing in his lap and no color in his face. “You’re not wrong.”

Leah handed the file back. “I marked what wasn’t right.”

“Thank you.” Gareth put the files back in his briefcase. “I’ll hand these into the police as well. The more we can give them the better. We’ll stop briefly at the accountant’s office, and I’ll serve him the papers on the way.” He looked up. “The police will probably want to exhume the bodies of your mum and Nancy. It won’t be easy, but once you lay a murder accusation, it’ll need investigating thoroughly.”

Aaron shoved a hand through his hair. It was courser than it had been and thinner. Was he going bald as well as white? He dropped his hand, pausing at the wrinkles on it. “Wish I knew why she’d killed them.”

“Leave that for the police.” Gareth looked at Isaac. “Are you coming?”

He nodded. “We both will.”

Aaron stood, eager to get this over with. No doubt, he’d be complicit for not saying anything when the police asked him outright two days ago. Fearing for his sanity wouldn’t be a good enough reason. They walked back to the car, Isaac and Leah agreeing to meet them at the police station.

Aaron wasn’t surprised when the accountant, Brad Dickson, also expected him to have a scar on his cheek. “How long have you been dealing with him, rather than me?”

“A year. I just assumed…”

“Never assume,” Gareth said handing over the paper. “This is a warrant for all your files, accounts and so on, relating to Maranatha Farm and TFS Holdings. And any future contact with anyone from TFS Holdings should be referred to my office.”

“You can’t do that. Not without authorization from the…”

“Wanna bet?” Aaron muttered.

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s my name on those papers initially, no one else’s.”

Gareth shook his head, his voice becoming authoritative. “This is now a criminal case. I think you’ll find I can. If you don’t like it, then either speak to DS Holmes at Manor Farm station, or DC Witherspoon with the fraud squad.”

Aaron followed him back to the car, leaving the speechless man standing there. He didn’t like the way he felt. It was as if someone was on his back, claws digging into him. He didn’t want to admit he was scared, but he was. About to take a step into the unknown and probably about to bring the full force of hell upon him for daring to speak ill of Tanis.

Just as she’d promised would happen all those years ago.

23

You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! Psalm 22:23

Meggie arrived at Manor Farm police station with no idea why she was there. DS Holmes had phoned and told her to attend at a certain time. She’d watched enough TV to know what that meant. Come in voluntarily and help with their inquiries, or be arrested and go in anyway.

She sat on the orange chair in reception waiting for DS Holmes to come down and get her. A familiar scent washed over her as someone sat beside her. A woodsy, outdoor smell. Booted feet appeared by her smaller ones. Aaron. It had to be. But what was he doing here?

Before she could say anything, Gareth sat on her other side and put a hand on hers. “Hey, Megs.”