Cherringham--Too Many Lies by Matthew Costello

Author:Matthew Costello [Costello 1, Matthew 1, Richards 2, Neil 2]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-3-7325-5313-6
Publisher: Bastei Entertainment
Published: 2019-09-15T16:00:00+00:00

9. Empty Nest

Sarah stood at the sink, washing up, looking out at her bedraggled garden, feeling guilty.

When was the last time she’d had found any spare time to work on it?

The flower beds hadn’t been weeded for months and — God — the grass was so ragged and long.

She looked across the kitchen to where her dog, Digby, was tucking into his dinner. With her son Daniel away, travelling again on another gap year odyssey, and Chloe in and out — poor Digby’s days must be so lonely.

Though she always managed to pop back to the house and give him a couple of walks each day.

But life had turned different now the kids had grown up …

Maybe I’ll start taking him into work, she thought, drying her hands and folding the dishcloth. I’ll need some company, with Grace going too.

For a second, she felt overwhelmed by a sudden, surprising — and real — sense of loss.

The house so quiet. Chloe not home yet. This dream cottage she’d bought when both children were still at school, now feeling so empty.

She took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts away, knowing that, at heart, her real anxiety was Chloe.

Was she safe? How had she been all day? Was she worried? Scared?

“Come on, Digby, think I’ve got a doggie biscuit somewhere in here …” she said, reaching up into a cupboard and giving him a treat and a cuddle.

She made a cup of tea, checked the big clock in the kitchen, headed into her office, followed by Digby, and woke her computer.

No time this evening to feel miserable. In fact — just two hours to find out what she could about Ross Leisure Holdings before she and her daughter headed out for dinner with her parents.

Chloe would be home soon anyway — that should blow all this self-pity away!

Least — that’s what she hoped!

*

An hour later, Sarah sat back from her computer, stretched her arms and rubbed her neck.

“Callum Ross, you were not joking,” she said to herself. “Complex is the word.”

Sarah had online subscriptions to a number of sites that gave her access to company accounts and directorships. She’d been totally engrossed in her search since the results, were, well …

Surprising indeed.

Ross Leisure Holdings turned out not to be one company, but nearly twenty. Each one with different tax years, intertwining boards, different locations. Offices in London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Bristol, Belfast, Cardiff.

No wonder Callum spends so much time on his laptop, thought Sarah. He’s running an empire here.

Money seemed to flow back and forth between the companies at a staggering rate: whether it was to fund projects — or maybe to avoid tax — Sarah knew she wasn’t qualified to tell.

Millions …

She was going to have to print out some of these spreadsheets for her dad to look at. His years in business had given him a pretty good eye for the real story that lay behind a set of accounts.

But as far as she could tell — first glance — Ross

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