She was home forty minutes later. She scratched Bear’s ears as he greeted her at the front door and made her way straight up to her office. She wanted to read through the conversations they’d had with Eliza, to look for any hint that they were being played.
She opened her computer and logged in to the chat room. LizaE was online. She must have seen Hannah join the chat as a message popped straight up.
LizaE
Hey Suze! What are you doing here during the workday?
BrownDog40
Working from home so have a bit more flexibility today. Thought I’d drop by and say hi. How are you?
LizaE
Fabulous, still celebrating, to be honest. Wish we were sharing this amazing windfall with you though. Jacob’s offer is still there to invest, but you’d probably want to do it in the next couple of days if you’re going to. I have a feeling our run of luck is coming to an end. Doug and I decided to make today’s investment our last one.
Hannah considered the message. It was like many others Eliza had posted. She created a sense of urgency to invest and at the same time looked sensible, worried that they might lose everything. She wondered how many people Eliza and Jacob, or whatever their real names were, had stolen from? They’d probably ruined many lives. Part of her desperately wanted to tell Eliza that she knew all about her and give her a lecture on why she was a terrible person, but the rational part of her knew she needed to play along. At this stage, she needed to keep her online as long as possible if there was any chance of catching them.
BrownDog40
I’ve decided I would like to invest, but my money is tied up. I checked with the bank, and it can be released by tomorrow lunchtime. Do you think that would be too late? It’s quite a large amount, so I’m a bit worried about taking the risk.
LizaE
Let me check with Jacob and get back to you. He did say he thought we had another few days, but he’ll have a better idea than I would as he’s monitoring it by the hour (actually by the minute, or second, I think!).
BrownDog40
Okay. I’m at home, so message me when you hear from him or even ring me. If you let me know your number, I’ll text you mine back.
Hannah doubted Nat would recognise her phone number, if she happened to join the chat, but she couldn’t take the risk so asked for Eliza’s instead.
LizaE
Perfect. Would be lovely to chat in real life!
Hannah leaned back in her chair as Eliza’s number appeared on her computer screen, then she keyed the number into her phone. She was beginning to formulate a plan in her mind. She wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was worth giving it a shot.
Hannah sent Eliza a text, and while waiting for her to speak to Jacob and get back in touch she used the time to make muffins for Amy’s afternoon tea. Her daughter wasn’t expecting her home, so it would be a nice surprise. They would take some with them when they went to visit her father and Sue. She wished she didn’t have to take Amy with her, but with Damien still not in contact she had no choice.
Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of her husband. This was the longest they’d ever been out of communication. She missed him. She wished he was here now so she could share what was happening with the investments. But he had enough to worry about. Perhaps she was being selfish wanting to add this to his load.
Bear lay on the kitchen floor, one eye on her as she stirred the batter for the muffins. She was putting them in the oven when her phone rang. Her heart rate quickened. This was going to be the so-called real Eliza.
‘Suze?’ It was a male voice.
‘Yes, this is Suze.’
‘It’s Jacob Swain, Eliza’s brother. She was going to ring you, and will do later, but she wanted me to get in touch to talk through the risk associated with investing now.’
God, he was smooth.
‘Thanks for the call, Jacob. As I mentioned to Eliza, I do have some money but obviously wanted to get a feel for how big the risk is at this stage.’
‘To be honest, every day that passes increases the risk. Looking at the numbers, we believe we have a safe period of another six days. After that, it could drop off at any moment, and we’ll be much more conservative with our investments from that point on. Anything you can invest in the next day or two should be safe. However, I obviously can’t guarantee that.’
Again, just like Eliza, suggesting great things, putting urgency into it and then being the good guy and mentioning the risk. They were clever, very clever. No hard sell, just, ‘Wow, look at this opportunity.’
‘I could get the money to you tomorrow afternoon,’ Hannah said. ‘I’ve been told it will be released by lunchtime.’
‘Can I ask you how much you’re thinking of investing? If it comes under a certain amount, we can loan you the money to get your investment underway today. Of course, there is some paperwork to fill out guaranteeing repayment if it’s required. We have a maximum amount we can do that with, so it depends on how much you’re planning to invest.’
Hannah almost laughed. Again, he was making this sound so easy. Like their firm cared. Instead, she lowered her voice, hoping the seriousness of what she was doing would be conveyed. ‘I’m having one hundred and sixty thousand dollars released. Does that exceed your cap for investing on my behalf?’
Hannah could almost imagine the happy dance Jacob was doing as he cleared his throat. ‘I’m afraid it does. Twenty thousand is our limit. We’d be happy to get that first twenty rolling for you today. By the time you’re ready to deposit the rest, you’ll probably already be way ahead. Amounts are quadrupling at the moment.’
‘You mean my one hundred and sixty thousand could get a four hundred percent return?’
‘Honestly, my predictions are on the conservative side. I don’t like to get clients’ hopes up and then under-deliver. I think you’ll be pleased with the result.’
‘There’s one other thing, Jacob. I know your time might be stretched at the moment, but is there any way we could meet up tomorrow morning before I transfer the money? I’d like to meet you in person. I hope that doesn’t sound silly, but I’d feel a lot more comfortable having met you first. I can come to your offices, so it doesn’t interrupt your day.’ Your offices that don’t exist.
‘I’d love to meet you, Suze. Eliza has spoken so highly of you. Tell you what, don’t come to my office, why don’t we meet for a coffee around ten? I’m sure Eliza would love to come too. Is there somewhere that would suit you? Close to work perhaps?’
They arranged to meet at Cafe Reiki. Hannah hung up, butterflies flitting in her stomach, and immediately dialled Julian Baker’s number.
After speaking with Julian, Hannah was surprised to get a phone call from Amy just before four saying she’d be late home. She and Skye had decided to try out for basketball, and the training would go until after five thirty.
‘Basketball? Do you even know how to play?’
Amy’s response hadn’t been convincing. ‘We’ll work it out as we go. Skye thought it would be good to have a sport we can play next year, and basketball seemed like a fun option. Anyway, I’ve got to go, Mum.’
‘Hold on. I’m going to visit Granddad and Sue. I won’t be home until at least seven thirty. Can you go to Skye’s and I’ll pick you up on my way home?’