Page 126 of The Jealous Girl

‘The question is, how do we prove that to the police?’ Ben added.

I shook my head. ‘I don’t think we can.’ I let out a defeated sigh. ‘I’m in so much trouble. Maybe I should have gone to the police the second I found those sales agreements. Finding them for themselves makes me look more guilty. Especially as they realised I’d already seen them.’

‘How did you get those records?’ Ben asked. ‘Like you said, you were only there six weeks. But you had up-to-date files.’

‘I took them,’ I admitted.

‘Seriously, everyone just let you walk into Blackwater and take a copy of all their financial records?’

‘They didn’t exactly know I was there.’ I squirmed in the seat, the seatbelt suddenly feeling tight and restrictive.

‘You broke in?’ Ben’s eyes were wide.

‘I didn’t break in.’ I scrunched my nose. ‘I snuck in.’

‘How?’

‘At night.’ I swallowed. ‘Through the tack room window.’

Ben chuckled. ‘Seriously? They still haven’t got that fixed?’

‘Ryan said they had other priorities.’ I shrugged. ‘Two years ago.’

‘I bet they’ll be regretting that when they figure it out.’

My stomach plummeted.

I’d been so worried about the police discovering what I’d done, I hadn’t even thought about what Ryan would think. How disappointed he’d be in me.

‘Janine was definitely wrong about you,’ Ben said, disrupting my thoughts. ‘You are a hell of a lot stronger and more capable than she gives you credit for.’

I blinked. ‘You sound almost impressed that I snuck in and stole the Blackwater files.’

‘I guess I am,’ Ben admitted.

‘But it’s theft. It’s bad.’

‘You had your reasons.’

‘It’s still illegal,’ I pointed out. ‘And when the police realise it, they’ll arrest me.’ I frowned. ‘I don’t understand why they didn’t arrest me already, given everything they already have.’

‘Because none of it makes sense,’ Ben replied.

‘It makes perfect sense. I look guilty.’

He shook his head. ‘No, you look involved in something, but right now it’s not clear what that is.’

‘But—’

‘These are foals we’re talking about. It’s not like you created a fictitious sale for something that didn’t exist. The foals were bred, born and sold through the stables. Real horses. Real transactions. Regardless of your signature on the paperwork, other people were involved.’

I sank back in the seat. ‘Right, people who would have noticed my name was on the documents.’

‘And those payments to the account in your name could be skimming off the sale, or they could be commission or something. You stopped being an employee two years ago, so why would you be involved in Blackwater business and signing documents if you weren’t being paid?’

‘They can’t prove the transactions weren’t legitimate…’ The idea started to lodge in my brain. ‘Except they weren’t recorded in the accounts.’

Ben shrugged. ‘So, Blackwater were doing things off the books, that doesn’t incriminate you.’