Page 77 of Be More Capybara

Her little ruse hadn’t worked. She was going to have to ask him directly. She looked into his eyes. ‘I was clearing away the breakfast things, and I noticed that you’d got an appointment in your calendar for Tuesday.’

‘Oh, that.’

Was that a flicker of hesitation?

‘That’s an old one. To do with my former job. I ought to delete it. How long before lunch is ready?’ He asked as he sat back down in front of his laptop and began typing.

‘About forty minutes.’

‘I’ve got time to pop into the village to post that parcel then.’

‘Yes, good idea.’

He got up, kissed her, then headed into the hall to put on his shoes and coat. ‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’

A few moments later, she heard Nigel’s car reverse onto the lane. His laptop was still on the table. She started walking towards it, but stopped. You are not a snooper, Helen Simpson.

But as soon as she was back by the sink, she changed her mind. If she’d been more ruthless when she suspected Angus of doing something dodgy with their money, the boys would be financially much better off. But this didn’t affect her boys. It affects you, though. Should she look again? She hated herself, but she needed to know for sure.

The screen was unlocked. Fate was pushing her to check. She’d have a glance to set her mind at rest.

The appointment was still there. Shit! She’d hoped the typing had been Nigel deleting it. But that didn’t mean to say that what he said was untrue. You need to open it, Helen.

She nervously clicked on it. It was an invite from somebody called Rebecca Steinberg.

Nigel’s mail program was open too. She switched to its screen. There, in the centre, was an email from Rebecca, dated yesterday, with the subject “Following up as promised”. Rebecca wasn’t a cold caller then.

Nigel,

Following our call, I want to confirm next steps before your scheduled interview with the SEC on Tuesday. If anyone from Bartons approaches you directly about it, notify me immediately and do not engage with them.

I also need you to gather any personal financial records from December 2022 to November 2023, as the investigation team is likely to request them.

See you next week,

Rebecca

Helen sat back in the chair, aware that her heart was beating faster. It wasn’t an old appointment at all. He’d lied. He’d bloody lied to her.

Should she look for other emails? No, this one was incriminating enough.

What was it he’d said when she’d asked him what had happened with his job? “We were taken over by a bigger company, and my face didn’t fit any more.” She’d got a hunch why now, but it wasn’t cut and dried. She needed to do some more research, but she wasn’t going to use his laptop for that.

She photographed the screen and switched back to the calendar view, just the way he’d left it.

The timer for the cottage pie still had another 20 minutes to go. He’d be at least another ten minutes yet.

She picked up her iPad and began searching.

It didn’t take Helen long to establish that Rebecca specialised in fraud cases and the SEC was the stock market regulator. Helen put her head in her hands. Nigel, the one man in the world that she thought she could trust completely, was being investigated for fraud.

59

NIGEL

‘I’m back,’ Nigel shouted as he closed the front door and hung up his coat. ‘It’s cold out there.’

Then he noticed his bag in the middle of the hallway with his laptop perched on top.