Page 115 of The Jealous Girl

I inhaled sharply.

I didn’t like the way he said that. As though the two things were connected – Charlotte’s place of death and me.

‘Given the inconsistencies we’ve found connected to Charlotte’s behaviour that morning, we’ve expanded the scope of our investigation.’

‘What does that mean?’ I asked hesitantly.

‘We’ve been reviewing the Blackwater Stables records.’

I tried to keep the panic from my face.

‘It’s curious that you have remained active in Blackwater business, considering you left their employment two years ago.’

‘I haven’t been involved,’ I said firmly.

‘That’s not what these sales agreements show,’ PC Grove said as he pulled papers from the file in front of him and spread them across the table.

My vision blurred as I stared at them.

No. This couldn’t be happening.

‘I had nothing to do with those,’ I said forcefully.

‘That is your signature, though, isn’t it?’

‘No. Someone must have forged it. I never signed those agreements.’

‘But you have seen them before…’

‘I—’ I clamped my mouth shut.

I should have feigned surprise when I saw them. Acted as if I hadn’t already known of their existence. Of my signature’s presence on them.

‘I found them,’ I admitted.

‘In the Blackwaters’ records?’

I didn’t answer.

Silence filled the room again.

They stared at me. Waiting.

‘I knew Charlotte was up to something, so I started looking into it.’

‘And how did you get access?’

I said nothing.

Maybe I should ask to speak to a solicitor. It’s what they did in the movies, wasn’t it? Or would that make me look guilty?

I sucked in a breath. I was guilty. Just not of what they thought I was.

‘You have to see how suspicious those agreements look. The first sale was even made to Charlotte’s father,’ I blurted out. ‘That’s odd, right?’

PC Grove nodded. ‘We noticed that. But we found something even more interesting when we compared the sales records to the bank account.’ He paused. ‘The figures don’t match.’

‘What?’ I shook my head. ‘No, that can’t be. I checked the reconciliations⁠—’