Swindled (8 page)

Chapter 15

Early Friday morning Beth pulled together all the paperwork that they had on their company. It seemed strange to have to deal with it all now given how everything around Brian’s death was still very much in the air. Still somewhere in the mess of papers there just might be an answer to their financial problem or at least an explanation of how it could have happened. They had to prove that Brian had taken their money to try and claim against the estate. If not, with Brian dead, their money was going to rot in a Swiss bank account somewhere or end up being willed between the numerous ex-wives and mistresses. If they couldn’t find someway to identify their funds Vickie and Beth would have to start from scratch.

“The real piece missing from the puzzle is how Brian took the money without anyone noticing. Copies of the account were reviewed by the loaning bank quarterly to ensure the investment was safe, there was also a failsafe in place to raise the alarm if there was obvious miss spending,” Scott said running a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Vickie and I are issued with quarterly reports accounting for spend and at the last review there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary,” Beth agreed looking lost at all the papers in front of them. “All we know from all this is that sometime in the past three months Brian made off with everything and in a way that didn’t raise any red flags with the bank.”

“If we could get the monthly bank statements for the last three months it would help but that’s one of the things we don’t have,” Scott murmured frowning as he paged through another pile of documents. The bank was willing to issue new statements but that would take at minimum five working days if they were lucky.

It was frustrating work and Vickie wandered out every half hour or so to fetch more coffee and tea in a bid to help revitalise. Finally in desperation, Beth called Brian’s office. At the best of times the office treated the twins like deranged halfwits. Calling just after their boss, the twin’s brother had died and asking for paperwork was going to seem to prove every misconception right. Not to mention rubbing salt in a wound. Knowing their seedy accountant, the news that Beth had threatened to kill her brother would be common knowledge on the office grapevine.

Anne, Brian’s ultra efficient senior secretary picked up at first ring. She was an intimidating woman in her mid twenties with a no nonsense reserve that even Brian couldn’t crack. The only woman in his office he hadn’t slept with or at least made a play for. Anne didn’t take kindly to being leered at by the slightly overweight Casanovas.

Beth took another deep breath and after asking after the welfare of Anne and Brian’s business in the wake of his demise, worked her way up to requesting any information regarding their venture and any private family papers to be sent over.

Anne was surprisingly upbeat. She didn’t miss a step when she heard Beth’s voice over the phone. There was no flicker of disapproval or anger which calmed Beth’s nervous anticipation. Sounding very much her usual efficient self, Anne assured them that she would make all the arrangements without fail. Vickie and Scott sat watching Beth as she talked and when she hung up they both leaned forward eagerly.

“Okay she’ll box everything up and send it over,” Beth said with relief.

“That was easy. I thought things would be more in an uproar and they wouldn’t able to help for weeks. How is the office holding up?” Scott asked. He tended to watch his wife and Beth field the office politics like a soap opera addict. From his point of view, calling Brian meant a new instalment of the latest gossip. Beth had to admit that it could be amusing to find out just who Brian was sleeping with and what he had done with the last fling but being the one gathering the information was never fun.

“They seem to be trying to get through things the best they can. Anne sounded capable as always and didn’t seem to think it was out of the ordinary for us to ask for the paperwork. She even said that she hoped we weren’t being worried too much by the police as everyone knew we wouldn’t do anything. She offered to help us go through the paperwork if it would help. I guess nothing stops business these days,” Beth explained with a shrug. She was relieved that they would be able to have a look at the files and maybe just maybe if they got lucky there would be something in there to help.

“I guess so. Kind of a let down though. I thought for sure that even Anne would have lost her composure after what’s happened,” Vickie replied. She looked uncomfortable as she shifted in her chair.

“Not likely,” Scott laughed pushing away the paperwork lying in front of them to give his wife a gentle rub on her lower back. The two of them were sitting next to one another on the couch. Around the room on every surface there was a pile or a page of crucial information. The three of them were in the family room and the papers were simply everywhere. Each surface had a pile or a page documenting the business and not one page seemed to make any sense. Beth looked helplessly around from the armchair she was lazing in. Why couldn’t the answer just be there? Scott must have seen the dismay in Beth’s face, he said, “Look the situation is not as bad as it could be. You have the actual clothing stock which means that it can be sold.”

“And if we can sell the stock we have money to make the bank payments,” Beth nodded. “But we have to find a way to sell it.” If all the pieces fell into place there was a real chance they could save the business but it wouldn’t be easy.

“And there is a time constraint,” Scott continued dragging Beth back into the conversation. He sighed. Vickie and Beth looked at him over the piles of paperwork. “I spoke to the bank. They need the payment on Friday. That’s a week from today.” Okay Beth thought, maybe they would need to just concentrate on paying back the loan. To sell enough of their stock in a week would take nothing short of a miracle but it was worth a try.

“Isn’t there anyway we can delay the payment?” Vickie asked looking earnestly at Scott.

“The most they can do for us is take payment in good faith. Which means, if you sell enough stock by Friday they will give you credit against the receipts,” he answered running a hand through his hair.

“How does that help us?” Beth asked frowning down at the loan agreement in her hand. It was a confusion of rules and regulations. There had to be an idiot’s guide to understanding these things, Beth decided.

“It means you don’t have to have cash in hand as long as you have proof that the cash is coming in by a certain date. If they had wanted cash in hand it would have been too late already,” Scott explained.

“So we get a week stay of execution?” Beth asked throwing up her hands with a laugh.

“Yup. We get a week to try and sell the stock,” Scott replied shrugging back at her.

“I think we should try it,” Vickie said as Scott and Beth turned to look at her. “Look it’s worth a try. Our lingerie is the best out there. All we need to do is find other people who agree with us.” They were right, Beth thought sitting across at the determined couple. There was nothing to loose. If they could start with targeting the best potential leads that would sell their stock exclusively then work their way down to the high street chains there was a chance they could pay off the loan and create a good reputation for the company.

“I wish Brian had at least made the appointments with a few businesses. Fine, take the money but why not at least give us a fighting chance?” Beth said thinking out loud. If they were going to do this then they had to do it right. Figuring out where to start was probably the biggest stumbling block but once past that they did stand a chance even if it was a small one.

“I don’t think he even thought beyond taking the money. He was a weasel but he wasn’t vindictive. He didn’t deliberately try to ruin us,” Vickie seemed determined to be positive even when it came to Brian.

“He just took the money and ran,” Scott agreed as he sifted through another pile of papers.

“Okay so we plan on finding someway of getting a few good orders for our lingerie… we can do that in a week,” Beth stated quietly in agreement. They really didn’t have anything to loose. Hard as it may be, there was a way and they had a week to give it a go. Besides Beth consoled herself, most businesses have this sort of set back so it was only a delay. It didn’t mean that their company was at its end.

“And all we need is just one order. One really large order,” Scott clarified.

With a plan in mind, Vickie and Beth focused on trying to get that elusive appointment. Despite their determination it was like fighting a loosing battle. It seemed that to get an appointment with even a middle level buyer for a shop, there was a strict rule of ‘who did you know’. If you don’t have the right names to drop you don’t even get in the door.

Beth ran a hand through her hair. How did these shops ever get anything new or innovative in their stores? Of course she thought that could explain why everything was becoming so generic in the shops. A little silk and lace could go a long way in making it a better, or rather, more fun London Beth decided.

Chapter 16

David sat and looked through his financials again. He couldn’t believe it. Having finally managed to get his hands on Thomas and his investment records, he couldn’t believe it. He could see why Thomas had been trying to get to the bottom of everything before he handed it all over to David.

Thomas, a good friend and excellent business manager, had been responsible for all of David’s earnings from the past six months. With retirement looming there had been a great deal of personal appearances, television spots and newspaper interviews that were all money in the bank for David. Now half the money was gone. David shook his head. He couldn’t even blame Thomas for messing up.

In his infinite wisdom Thomas had put half David’s newly earned funds in high rate savings accounts. A safety net to ensure the funds were protected. When Thomas went on his annual leave, he left instructions that the other half of the funds be over a number of investments which would, if all went well, double their returns. Investments hand picked by Thomas. Somehow all the money he had left in the so called capable hands of the management company, disappeared. It didn’t work that way. Thomas had come back to find that the management company had decided to invest through another company rather then manage the funds themselves.

“Basically they outsourced it,” Thomas said with disgust in his voice when David picked up the phone to talk to him about it. “Instead of making investments by looking at trends in the market, their manager’s feedback and the personal preferences for investors; the company gave everything over to another company, BG Investments, to handle. It was a very bad idea. Sometime after the money was transferred to BG Investments and before it actually arrived in the account the money had disappeared. All of it,” Thomas sounded exasperated. “There was no trace, no paper trail, nothing. The company can prove that they had given the money to BG Investments and equally BG Investments could prove that the money was not in their accounts nor had it been withdrawn.”

“So what have they been doing about it?” David asked knowing it was going to pray on his friend’s mind until they got to the bottom of it. “And why did it take so long for everyone to figure out what’s going on?”

“For the past month it was put down as a banking error and everyone was trying to rectify the situation. As of last Thursday proof had come to light that the money had been deposited with BG Investments,” David could practically hear Thomas shaking his head. “Someone there simply took it all. It took three accountants to figure out what had happened. Apparently it looked like legitimate spending but couldn’t be linked to any real activity.”

Thomas, since his return from holiday, had been hot on the trail of David’s funds along with the funds of his other clients. He was nearly frothing at the mouth that his company could have done something so stupid. David trusted Thomas completely. From a financial point of view the money wasn’t that great a loss for him but he had to agree with Thomas it was the principle of the thing. Truth be told, David relished the idea of going after both Thomas’s employer and BG Investments.

Chapter 17

By 6pm it was apparent that Anne wasn’t going to send over the paperwork that day so Vickie called to ask if they could pick it up instead. Beth refused to make the call herself figuring it was Vickie’s turn to face the music. Vickie suggested that it would be easier if they swung by and got it out of Anne’s hair. Anne however was as efficient as ever. She assured Vickie that the paperwork was in the office and would make its way over to them.

“I’m getting the distinct impression that our paperwork is not high on the priority list,” Vickie said having come off the phone sounding a bit let down. “Sounds like Anne won’t be sending it until next week at the earliest. She also didn’t sound incredibly pleased with the idea of us descending on them.” They were sitting in the kitchen getting ready to eat dinner. It was already starting to get dark outside, a sure sign that winter was well on its way. Beth tugged her sweater more closely around her. It was almost time to put the heat on.

“Well that’s understandable I guess,” Beth replied and picked up her cup of tea between her hands to warm them up. It had been a frustrating day and it wasn’t getting any better. “Funny though, I’m pretty sure that the paperwork would be in his flat and not the office. Don’t you remember? He had everything there when we went to see him about the loan,” Beth frowned puzzled. Brian usually kept it all in his flat she was sure of it. The last time they had gone to see him; he had shown them all the loose papers in the sideboard of his sitting room. He had joked about it being the most valuable thing in the flat. No family photo albums for Brian. No, he liked to keep his investment portfolios closer then anything else. Beth wondered idly why Anne would think it was in the office.

“Maybe she hasn’t ventured there yet which is why she hasn’t sorted it out yet,” said Vickie. “She was so adamant about it being somewhere in the office. Surely she knew that Brian had a whole load of papers in that sideboard. Brian was never one to keep a secret about things like that.”

“Maybe she knows something we don’t,” said Beth and shrugged at her sister. “But if it’s in his flat it would be easier. Otherwise someone from the office is going to have to go through everything to make sure what’s ours is returned to us and what’s theirs is kept. To be honest, I don’t relish anyone looking through our paperwork until we’ve had a chance to see what Brian’s done.”

She tilted her head to watch as Vickie shifted in the chair which creaked under her weight.

“Enough work for today I think,’ Vickie finally said after they had finished their tea and talked for a few more minutes. She was right, they needed a break. Both of the sisters were exhausted. They gave up work and headed into the family room to put up their collective feet. Scott had left an hour earlier for an evening of male bonding over football in the local pub so it was just the two of them alone. The family room was comfortable and relaxing which is just what they needed. Beth and Scott had stacked the paperwork into a huge pile in the corner of the room to be ignored for as long as possible. Sitting back both sisters took a deep breath and visibly tried to de-stress.

“I’ve been waiting all day for this,” she said to Beth and gave her sister a much relieved look.

“To put your dirty feet on our nice clean coffee table?” Beth asked flicking her sister’s feet with the magazine in her hand. The two of them were sitting side by side on the couch in sweatpants and sweatshirts. It was the perfect autumn evening to enjoy sitting under a cosy blanket with a good movie. Brian’s death seemed more unreal then ever as they sunk into their normal evening routine.

“Mmm that’s just what I dreamed of… really. No, oh obnoxious sister, what I have been waiting to do is putting my feet up. Might as well enjoy this piece and quiet while I can,” Vickie replied exasperated. Beth knew that Vickie wouldn’t be putting her feet up for long. With all that tea in her system, she figured that Vickie would be making a break for the bathroom in less then five minutes.

“Absolutely,” Beth nodded vigorously in agreement. “In a few weeks it’s going to be all screaming baby, nappies and a husband acting like a girl’s blouse when it comes to the icky stuff,” she replied. Actually, Beth was as excited as Scott and Vickie about the upcoming birth. It was funny to think that in just a week or so there would be a new life in the house, a new member of the family. The idea that something so small and fragile would be depending on them was daunting but exhilarating. Beth was planning on spoiling her niece or nephew to the extreme.

“Very funny. It’s all going to be lovely. This baby is never going to cry and my husband will be changing all the nappies,” Vickie said brightly sipping her tea and stroking a hand fondly over her belly.

“Oh right. Have you mentioned that last bit to your husband?” Beth asked with a laugh. Both of them knew that Scott would do what he could but there was no way that he was going to be able to handle any of it without a great deal of support from his wife.

“Not yet,” Vickie replied with a wicked smile. “I figured I would wait until the baby is here. Much better that way, don’t you think?” They laughed.

“More like he is going to be so besotted with his prodigy and so guilty about you going through labour that he is going to agree with everything you say,” Beth paused and snorted, “Well for a little while at least!” The two sisters smiled at one another. Scott was going to be head over heals for this child forever.

“Which is why I better take advantage of these quiet moments while I can,” Vickie continued looking vaguely at the magazines she had piled up next to her.

“Yup,” Beth cheerfully agreed. “We both know you are going to be run off your feet once Scott wakes up from his besotted stupor.” And she was going to love it, Beth thought. Vickie was as gleeful as Scott about the baby.

“Um hum. I figure that will be day four!” Vickie smiled and toasted her tea cup to Beth.

“So you are planning on sitting here with your feet up for the next two weeks?” Beth asked with a cheerful grin, “You deserve it of course.”

“Well,” Vickie slowly drawled looking back at Beth. “Actually…”

“Yes?” Beth replied sitting up straight on the couch. She eyed her innocent looking sister. Vickie really was looking like a beached whale Beth thought fondly, a cute whale but a beached whale.

“Wouldn’t now be the time to, oh I don’t know, get out and about while I still can?”

Vickie asked sweetly. She looked innocently up at the ceiling as if she were contemplating deep meditation rather then some mischief.

“Well now that you mention it,” Beth said nonchalantly looking at her nails. “How would you feel about taking a little drive? Nothing strenuous of course.”

“Were you thinking of taking a drive past, say Brian’s offices?” Vickie asked quirking an eyebrow. “It could sort of be in memory of Brian”

“Hmm a Brian memorial drive. I like it. And it might be nice of us to save Anne the trouble of sending the paperwork if we fetch it ourselves. I’m positive it will be in his flat so we’ll actually be doing her a favour by sorting it out ourselves. It wouldn’t be too strenuous and it would get you out and about,” Beth figured it was simple logic. She almost had herself convinced.

“How true,” Vickie giggled. “And with so many benefits, I can’t see the down side, she drawled putting down her mug, “Although wouldn’t it be more sensible to wait until tomorrow when it’s daytime?”

“Where is your sense of adventure? We’re just picking up paperwork. Anyway, if we go tonight then Anne won’t be there to get worried about us showing up there upsetting everyone,” Beth laughed. “And aren’t you curious? He’s bound to have some other info in there on the family.”

“Yeah right. Bet we have some great grand aunt who was a prostitute or something suitably impressive,” Vickie agreed and then asked as she sighed, “Heave me out of this chair would you? Only I can’t get up on my own any more.” It was time for the bathroom run.