‘As you say, extreme.’
‘But possible.’
‘Yeah, I suppose it is. That’s, of course, if the identity thief didn’t come across anyone who knew the victim.’
‘No, they’d have to be meeting people for the first time. People who didn’t know the victim beforehand.’
Tom drums his fingers on the table and purses his lips. ‘What are you trying to say?’
‘That’s not Alice in there. It’s her friend, Martha Munroe. Tom shifts his weight in his seat. His eyes dart around the coffee shop. Anywhere but meeting my gaze. He doesn’t believe me and, once again, I’ve made myself look a fool. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. Ignore me.’
‘No, wait,’ He looks serious and this time he doesn’t avoid eye contact. ‘I’m glad you did. You see, Alice told me something and I’ve been in a dilemma ever since about whether to say anything or not.’
‘What did she say? Tell me, Tom. You know that’s not Alice, don’t you?’
‘She came to my house the other night. I know she’s not Alice.’
‘And you didn’t tell me?’ I’m indignant that he kept this information to himself.
‘She made me promise. She was frightened. She didn’t know what to do. Said she’d got herself involved in something that had spiralled out of control and was way out of her depth.’
‘Involved in what, exactly?’
‘I don’t know how to say this.’
‘Just say it. Whatever it is, say it.’ I brace myself. I’m sure he’s going to tell me that Luke knows as well and that she and Luke have been having an affair, that Luke isn’t really going to bring the girls back. ‘Tell me!’
‘A while ago, at work, I was doing an audit on some of the accounts. Routine stuff that we all do from time to time. In fact, I can tell you exactly when it was – it was just before Leonard went to America for that business meeting.’
‘The meeting that never amounted to anything,’ I say, thinking back.
‘Yeah. Well, I don’t know what he was doing over there, but I’m pretty sure there was no legitimate business meeting. I think he went to America for another reason.’
‘To meet her – Martha?’
‘It’s possible. And it would make sense.’
‘I’m not following you.’
‘Right, just hear me out. The other week I was doing a mini audit on the internal accounts and your trust fund was one of them. It was just randomly selected and I had a look at it. I saw some irregularities. Things that didn’t add up. I couldn’t reconcile them with the file notes Leonard had made either.’
‘What sort of irregularities?’
‘Money unaccounted for.’
‘But he’s supposed to be overseeing all that for Mum.’ If Tom had told me this yesterday, I would have laughed him out of the room, but after finding out how Leonard has deceived me so easily about Patrick Kennedy and being my father all these years, I actually find it very easy to believe he has been up to no good with the money.
‘The business hasn’t been doing great. You remember when we became partners we both had to put in quite a large sum of money?’
‘I know, but that’s normal, isn’t it?’
‘Leonard has been hiding the true figures from us. Honestly, Clare, there’s so much we didn’t know. I have all the details at home.’
‘Right, so Leonard has been taking money from the trust fund. What has this to do with that woman in there pretending to be my sister? You said she came to you because she was frightened.’
‘That’s right. Let’s call her by her real name, Martha. She told me that Leonard had got her involved with the deception and that it was all to do with the trust fund and your mum’s estate. She didn’t know all the details and, to be honest, I’m not sure how it all fits together. I’ve been trying to find things out, on the quiet, of course, but Leonard’s a crafty devil, not to mention clever.’ I rub my face with my hand. This is a nightmare. I’m trying to work out what purpose would Leonard have in getting Martha to pretend to be Alice. Maybe he was going to pay her off with some of the trust fund monies? Maybe they were going to split the proceeds. If the firm is struggling or Leonard has some personal debts of his own, I mean, he has been divorced three times, who knows what he owes to who? Maybe he’s just desperate for the money. Taking it from the trust fund was a safe bet. Who would know?
‘We can’t speak here’, says Tom. He motions with his eyes towards the glances we are getting from a nearby table.
I lower my voice and lean into him. ‘You have to tell the police.’
‘No, not yet. We haven’t got any proof. I need to know all the details and get it straight in my head before we do anything like that.’
‘You say you’ve got evidence at home?’
‘Yeah, on a memory stick.’
‘Right, wait here. I’ll be back in ten minutes.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘To get my handbag. It’s in my room and then we’re going to yours to work this all out. Martha’s not going anywhere right now, so we have time.’
‘I’ll come with you. It will be quicker. Besides, I don’t want you wandering around the hospital on your own with a head injury.’
We make our way back to the private ward I’m on, only slowing our pace when we get to the ward corridor, so we don’t arouse suspicion. The nurse on the desk looks up and then returns to her paperwork. Once in my room, I grab my handbag and then Tom and I stroll back out again. Fortunately, the nurse’s station is empty and we slip out without being noticed.
Out on the landing, Tom presses the button to call the lift. As we wait, I look out of the window and, quite by chance, notice the familiar figure of Leonard walking purposefully towards the hospital with Mum at his side.
‘Shit. It’s Mum and Leonard. Looks like they’re heading this way.’
‘We’ll take the stairs,’ says Tom. He grabs my hand and, checking for the exit signs, we push open the double doors that lead to the staircase.
‘I can’t go too fast. Every step jolts my arm.’ I wince as I clomp onto the next step.
‘It’s okay, take your time,’ says Tom, although I can hear the urgency in his voice. It’s only one flight of stairs to the ground floor and once on level ground, I can quicken my pace. Tom feeds his parking card into the machine, pays the charge and then leads me out to his car.
‘What happened to your wing mirror?’ I ask as I get in the passenger’s side. The glass is missing and there’s a big scuff on the casing.
‘Caught it on the bloody barrier coming in,’ he says getting in beside me. ‘I was a bit preoccupied, worrying if you were okay.’
Within a few minutes, we’re pulling out of the car park. I glance up at the window to my room and I see Leonard standing there, looking down at us. Tom puts his foot down and, in a flash, we are gone, yet the weight of Leonard’s stare bears down on me, filling the car with menace.
‘What will Luke say when he finds out you’ve done a runner?’