Find Them Dead by James Peter

Author:James, Peter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Suspense, Thriller
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2020-07-08T14:00:00+00:00

57

Wednesday 15 May

Meg was struggling to concentrate this morning because she was so worried about her daughter.

All night she had been fretting about Laura doing the zip wire today. How many other dangerous sports were she and Cassie engaging in on this trip that they weren’t telling her about? All the time with someone watching them? Laura had promised to text her after she’d done it, to let her know she was safe.

It was 10.45 a.m. when Stephen Cork called the final witness who worked for Terence Gready’s firm, an intelligent-looking woman in her late twenties, with long, layered brown hair. Her name was Sophie Butt.

Watching her closely, Meg could see, from her body language, that she was both a determined character and a loyal employee.

‘Mrs Butt,’ Cork said, ‘could you tell us the capacity in which you were employed by the defendant?’

She spoke with clear diction and had quite a posh accent, Meg thought.

‘I was Mr Gready’s secretary and the receptionist at TG Law.’

‘And how long had you been employed in this capacity?’

‘Over eight years.’

‘To what extent were you aware of Mr Gready’s day-to-day activities?’

‘Well, very aware, I kept his diary,’ she answered stiffly.

‘And in keeping his diary, you were aware of his daily appointments and meetings?’ Cork asked.

‘I was, yes.’

‘All of them?’

‘All of them,’ she said, resolutely.

‘On the morning of Wednesday November 21st last year, do you recall Mr Gready meeting at any time with a gentleman by the name of Michael Starr? Quite a distinctive-looking man, it would seem, with a prosthetic right arm.’

‘No, I don’t,’ she said.

‘Does the office have a visitors’ book where guests sign in and out?’

‘No,’ she answered.

‘Is it possible Mr Gready could have met with him without your knowledge?’

She shook her head. ‘No.’

‘Would there ever be meetings Mr Gready held that might have escaped your notice?’

‘Not during business hours, certainly not. Mr Gready was a busy man, much in demand – he relied completely on me for keeping his schedule.’

‘Would you organize his meetings, court appearances and such?’

‘I would keep a diary of his commitments.’

She was clearly thinking carefully each time before she spoke. Meg wondered if she had been coached for this grilling.

‘And you would ensure he was not double-booked, was in the right place at the right time, and keep his diary up to date?’

‘Correct.’

‘Did you always know exactly your boss’s movements, or did he ever do some things himself without informing you?’

‘We always worked closely as a team,’ she replied.

‘Was there any flexibility in your working arrangement for Mr Gready to meet anyone without your knowledge?’

‘I would say not really, no.’

Meg, in the jury box, wondered exactly where this was going. She rather liked this woman, who stood with her head held very high, her body language telling Stephen Cork she was not going to be intimidated by him.

There was a sudden, expectant hush in the court. All eyes locked on Cork. Clearly some kind of sucker punch was coming.

Without taking his eyes off the woman, he said, ‘In

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