A Mischief of Rats by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett

Author:Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2023-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

Saturday 20th April – 4 p.m.

James had been trying to build bridges with Ashley as they added the team’s latest updates to the incident board. When Val joined them, he felt her shrewd eyes flicking across the notes, absorbing every detail osmotically.

‘We’re still missing the autopsy report?’ Val asked.

‘Yes, but it’s due any time now,’ James said.

‘Let’s pop over and see if we can collect it,’ Val suggested.

As they crossed the car park to the pathology lab, Val grilled them. ‘What do you two make of motives so far? How about Maxine? What background do we have on her?’

‘Grew up in Newcastle,’ Ashley reeled off the facts. ‘Quite a tough upbringing, by all accounts. Lost both parents when she was in her twenties, sole carer for her brother who has advanced MS. He lives with her in Pendlebury. She got involved in the prison outreach programme in her early thirties. Possibly because her brother was a bit of a delinquent when he was a young teen. Low-level shoplifting, things like that.’

‘How is she financially?’ Val asked.

‘Good. Not suspiciously so, given everything we’re looking at, but more than comfortable.’

‘Well, if Jack had intended to blackmail her, he might have threatened her with it, or she might not have known,’ Val said. ‘But she was frustrated by his lack of talent and her inability to replace him due to Lucio’s friendship with Colin. Could that have led to some drastic action on her part to get Jack out of the picture and the more capable Mark in the driving seat?’

James shrugged. ‘Maybe. Because she obviously felt she couldn’t push that harder with Colin and Lucio, despite having data to show his poor performance.’

‘No, something doesn’t add up there,’ Val said. ‘What’s the background on Lucio?’

‘His family live in Sicily,’ Ashley said. ‘He visits them frequently. Never married. No kids. He’s very well off. Lives comfortably here while also sending large amounts to relatives in Europe.’

‘And he and Colin both quizzed Cassie on her technical input. Perhaps to confirm in their own minds that Cassie and Mark were doing a good job and it was Jack letting the side down? Or to see if any blame could be shifted in their direction?’

‘Mark said that “Jack was good at finding chinks in people’s armour”,’ Ashley said. ‘Maybe he knew something that gave him some sort of influence over Colin, Lucio or Maxine? Or any combination of them.’

‘Plausible,’ Val agreed. ‘And we know Mark wanted to keep his divorce private. If Jack did blackmail Maxine with those emails claiming sexual harassment, or even if he only planned to do so, he could easily have done the same to Mark. Who was already under pressure for the car to succeed, having gambled everything – his reputation, financial security—’

‘The financial forensic team confirmed he still has the full loan on the house while only having half the asset’s value,’ James said as he held open the door to the mortuary. ‘Poor guy. What a disaster.’

Val’s eyes narrowed.

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