Murder In Myrtle Bay by Isobel Blackthorn

Author:Isobel Blackthorn [Blackthorn, Isobel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Next Chapter

12

Thursday had been a hectic day. I’d been on the go from the moment Doris arrived on my doorstep at seven thirty in the morning. We’d confronted Bob with his suspicious package, and then spent hours at the police station, the day culminating in that nocturnal fiasco at the market. Which was why it wasn’t until the following morning that I remembered the photos I had taken at the holiday let where Angie and Hu were staying, photos of documents. To get the photos off my phone, I emailed them to myself and then opened them on my desktop computer, the larger screen making the images easier to view.

The documents turned out to be letters. From the letterhead of one, I saw that Cartwright Holdings was a construction company. My skin prickled as I read the addressees of the correspondence. One was addressed to David Fisk and signed by Hu as Cartwright Holdings’ CEO, and the other was a letter from David to Hu. The letters both dated last month.

I sat back and read the letters, starting with the one from David which had an earlier date.

The Farmers and Business Alliance had withdrawn their financial support for a housing estate development on a new subdivision between Wattle Creek and Shorten Road, and from what I could gather, David himself had blocked FABA’s involvement on environmental protection grounds, arguing that the land was a breeding area for the rare and endangered growling grass frog. A firm of consultants had been hired to conduct a survey of the area and the results clearly indicated the need for a wide buffer zone between the creek and any housing estate. Cartwright Holdings’ proposed subdivision encroached on the frog’s habitat. They were there first, David, a self-confessed frog advocate, argued towards the end of his letter. He advised Hu to think of the frogs as sitting tenants. You’ll have to halve the number of houses on the estate, he said, and he would be lobbying the council to that effect. Don’t underestimate the power of FABA. Which I thought was rather a threat.

Hu expressed his disappointment that FABA had withdrawn their offer of financial investment in the project. Hu then told David that the land had been purchased by Cartwright Holdings in good faith as it had been zoned residential and should the council reject their application, the company planned on taking the matter up at state level. Hu also indicated that he was aware that David had the casting vote on the board of FABA, and that other board members always voted in accordance with his views. A matter he would be raising with any interested parties.

I leaned back in my seat. Based on those letters, Hu had a very strong motive to do away with David. His was stronger than even Kathy’s, although humiliation and losing your seat on the board might be cause enough. I wondered if Hu and Kathy were connected in any way, other than that Kathy and Angie were friends.

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