Eulalie had been tolerant long enough. It was time to shove a spanner in the good doctor’s plans. This picnic would not be allowed to happen.
Pleased at having reached a decision, Eulalie opened the throttle and allowed her Vespa to navigate the switchbacks more swiftly than usual. This view of the beach, and of the Port of Prince William where commercial vessels docked, was one of her favorite in the world. It was one reason why she could never go back to live permanently in the forest. She would miss the sea and the sweeping beauty of this coastline.
It was mid-morning by the time she got to Waylon Construction. She remembered that she hadn’t told Chief Macgregor about the meeting happening at midday at Megamoxy’s secret headquarters. She sent him a text to let him know about it. The reply came quickly.
Chief Macgregor: Unless we find evidence of illegal activity before twelve, the meeting will have to go ahead without us. At least we’ll know where they all are.
Lord Peter Pringle or Sir Richard Trevisian or whatever his real name was, was the person Eulalie would really have liked to see arrested. But until the police department knew his real identity or had clear evidence that he had committed a crime, there wasn’t much they could do. What Lady Mary Coke had told them was anecdotal. It wasn’t enough for an arrest warrant.
Eulalie gave her card to the receptionist and asked to see Herbert Waylon. She was shown into his office immediately. It was almost as though he had been waiting for her. Her first thought on seeing him was how haggard he had become in just a few days. It was as though he had hardly slept or eaten since the last time she had seen him.
“Hello again, Ms. Park.”
“Hello, Mr. Waylon. Excuse me for asking, but are you okay?”
He laughed and shoved a hand through the wisps of hair that were standing upright on his head.
“No, Ms. Park, I am not okay at all. I’m worried sick. My whole life is crumbling, and I don’t know what to do about it. My brother couldn’t have chosen a worse time to go missing.”
“Have you heard anything from him? Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”
“If I’ve asked him that once, I’ve asked him a hundred times.” A voice spoke from an armchair facing the window, startling Eulalie slightly. She hadn’t realized there was anyone else in the office.
A figure unfolded itself from the chair. It was Natalie Waylon, but she was a far cry from the confident, aggressive woman who had been throwing keys around at their previous meeting.
She looked haggard too. Her makeup had been carefully applied, and her hair teased and blow-dried, but under it her eyes were hollow and her skin pasty.
“Well, I’m asking again,” said Eulalie. “Do you have any idea whether your brother is still on Prince William Island or not, Mr. Waylon? If you had to take a guess, what would you say?”
Herbert Waylon’s eyes flicked between Eulalie and his sister-in-law, settling on neither.
“I have no idea. I suppose he might have left the island. His passport is gone so he could well be out of the country.”
Eulalie wondered why she had considered him such a good liar before. Now the tells were everywhere – the refusal to meet her eyes, the over-emphatic voice, the nervous hand gestures. It was probably exhaustion.
“If I told you that Megamoxy was having a meeting of all stakeholders in their theme-park bid today at twelve o’clock, would you expect your brother to be there?”
“Oh, I very much doubt it. I wouldn’t think so at all. He has probably gone overseas as you suggested.”
Natalie Waylon turned towards Eulalie like a dog catching a scent on the wind.
“What meeting? Where is it being held? Tell me at once.”
“It’s being held at an undisclosed location, Mrs. Waylon. We were hoping you might be able to tell us where.”
Eulalie watched her closely. She had no intention of giving away the location of the meeting unless Mrs. Waylon gave up information too.
“I have no idea.” Natalie twitched her shoulders impatiently. “He didn’t tell me things like that. I was good enough when I could be useful to him, but he didn’t trust me with all his secrets.”
“You mean like getting your brother to drum up support for Megamoxy’s bid inside the governor’s office?”
“How did you know about…?”
“That’s enough, Natalie!” said Herbert. He turned to Eulalie. “My sister-in-law can’t be held responsible for the actions of her brother. He has always been the black sheep of the family.”
“That black sheep is about to find himself in serious trouble. It’s an offense to try to influence government policy in return for financial or other compensation. I can’t see him going down quietly, can you? I imagine he’ll cut a deal with the cops to reveal who was behind the bribery in return for a reduced penalty. Wouldn’t that make sense?”
Natalie sank onto a sofa, her face grey.
“He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that to me. Not Dominic. Herb!”
“It makes sense if you think about it,” said Eulalie. “What would you do if you were facing a prison sentence for corrupt practices in government? Would you keep quiet to protect the people who landed you in this mess in the first place, or would you cooperate with the police to try to get a lighter sentence - maybe even no jail time at all if you were very honest?”
The look on her face told Eulalie that she knew very well what she would choose, and what her brother would no doubt choose too.
“Stop talking, Natalie,” Herbert said as she opened her mouth. “Don’t say anything at all. That is my best advice to you.”
“Think about it, Natalie,” said Eulalie. “The person who comes forward first is the one who gets the sweetest deal. That’s always the way it works. Do you want that to be you or your brother? You have a child to think about. I know which option I would choose.”
Herbert Waylon stood up and went to stand in front of his sister-in-law, blocking her from Eulalie’s sight.
“She’s not going to talk to you.”
“Perhaps Mrs. Waylon would like to take a break and think about her options,” Eulalie suggested. “There are matters I need to discuss with you, Mr. Waylon.”
Natalie was instantly suspicious.
“What do you want to talk to him about?” She abandoned her collapsed posture and sat up. “It’s about Howie, isn’t it? I knew I was right. You do know where he is, Herb. You’ve been hiding him from me all along.”
“Natalie, if I’ve told you once I’ve told you a thousand times – I don’t know where he is. He has left me just as much in the lurch as he has left you.”
“You’re not the mother of his child.”
“Fair point.” He lifted his hands. “You’re right. It is more serious for you and little Brittany. We won’t talk about Howard. Ms. Park wants to talk to me about the financial affairs of the company. It’s boring stuff, Nattie. Why don’t you go and get us both cappuccinos?”
From the look on her face, his sister-in-law didn’t believe a single word he was saying – and Eulalie could hardly blame her. But it was clear that nothing more would be said in her presence, so she stood up.
Bristling with suspicion, her eyes going from Herbert to Eulalie and back again, she left the room.
Waylon waited until they could hear her footsteps receding down the passage. Then he turned to Eulalie.
“I really don’t know where my brother is, Ms. Park,” he said. “I wasn’t lying about that.”
“Yes, but I think you were, Mr. Waylon. And I can prove it.”
He gestured for her to sit at his desk opposite him.
“How do you figure that?”
“The last time I was here, you seemed to know absolutely nothing about your brother’s dealings with Megamoxy. I believe that was genuine. You knew he was missing, but you had no idea what he had been up to in bidding for the Megamoxy contract.”
“That’s true. I had no idea. I still have no idea, apart from what
you’ve told me.”
“That’s where we disagree. I can see that you now know a whole lot more about it than you did a few days ago. You knew that Natalie’s brother had been approached to help push through legislation to allow development in the deep forest. You knew about the meeting happening today. The only way you could have got that information is if you have been in contact with your brother. I think you are in regular contact with him, and that you know he is planning to be at that meeting. I think that the disappearance of Sawyer Blakely spooked him into running. He probably planned to abandon his wife and child and to leave you to sort out the mess that Waylon Construction had fallen into. Then he heard that the deal could still go ahead without Blakely, so he decided to stick around and see if he could be involved in it. I think you are helping him.”
“Why would I do that? I was horrified to hear about the Megamoxy deal. A theme-park in the deep forest? It’s a repulsive notion. Waylon Construction would never be involved in such a…”
Eulalie held up her hand.
“You said that the last time we spoke. You said that you and your brother were pillars of the community and would never want to be involved in something so distasteful. But then, if you remember, I asked whether you would do it if it were the only thing standing between your company and ruin. And you admitted that you would. You know what it’s like, Mr. Waylon. Public opinion has a way of turning. At first people would be horrified to hear that the forest is going to be destroyed for the sake of a theme-park, but after a while they’d get used to it. Soon they’d be taking their kids to enjoy the funfair on weekends. They would hardly even remember that there was a forest there. It’s the way of the world.”
“Then why are you getting so upset about it?” he asked. “You notice things about me, Ms. Park, but I notice things about you too. This Megamoxy deal gets your goat. I can see it. If it’s all going to be the same in ten years, why do you care so much?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, Mr. Waylon, but I was born in the forest. My friends and family still live there. Sawyer Blakely was planning to put a casino where my family’s village is now. I will do everything in my power to ensure that it never happens.”
“I see.”
“Where is your brother?”
He sighed. “Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. There aren’t many absolutes in my life, but loyalty to my brother is one of them. If I wouldn’t betray him to his wife, what makes you think I would betray him to you?”
“Because the person who killed Sawyer Blakely is looking for him. Because it would be much better for the police to find him first rather than the person who put an arrow through Blakely.”
“No one will find him.” His smile was confident. “Wherever he is, he’s safe.”
“Blakely’s killer is no ordinary man. When it comes to finding people, he’s a professional. Whatever method you’ve been using to communicate with your brother is how he’s going to track him. If Howard doesn’t keep changing locations each day, he will be found.”
Waylon shrugged and smiled, but Eulalie thought there was an uneasy look in his eye. Satisfied that she had planted a seed, she moved on.
“What’s your opinion of trying to build a resort on the site of the village in the deep forest? Quite apart from the money involved and the environmental angle, I mean. What’s your opinion as an engineer and a building contractor?”
“Isn’t the village a day’s walk from the cable car?”
“It’s twelve hours for an experienced hiker. An inexperienced hiker would take a lot longer.”
“It doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone want to build in such an inaccessible place? I suppose Megamoxy can afford it, but they’d be flushing money away. It would take years for the theme-park to start paying for itself. And it would be a living nightmare for the construction company. Just thinking about it makes my acid reflux start playing up. The only consolation is how much money they would pay us for it.”
“I’m glad an engineer agrees. I thought I was missing something.”
The door opened, and Natalie Waylon came back into the room. She was carrying two coffees.
“Thanks for your time, Mr. Waylon,” said Eulalie. “I hope your brother turns up.”
“But, wait…” said Natalie.
“I have to get on, Mrs. Waylon. Please think about what I said. If you want to get out in front of this mess, I suggest you contact Chief Macgregor at the police station.”
Eulalie’s phoned buzzed repeatedly when she switched it back on.
There were nine new messages, and they were all from Fleur. They all amounted to the same thing – that Eulalie was to phone Fleur or visit her as soon as humanly possible. It was urgent.
Eulalie looked at her watch. It was just after ten-thirty. It would be tight, but she supposed she could afford the time.
She fired off three texts before getting on her Vespa.
The first was to Chief Macgregor telling him how convenient it would be if Megamoxy’s meeting could be delayed by a few hours.
The second was to Mrs. Belfast telling her that Eulalie would be out of the office for a while longer. The third was to Fleur to tell her that she would be there in a few minutes.
As she drove back down to town, Eulalie wondered why she had sent that message to Chief Macgregor. He was a by-the-book man not a rule-breaker. What did she imagine he could do as chief of police to delay a private business meeting?
She pulled up in front of Sweet as Flowers and flung herself off the scooter. It felt as though she had been trying to outrun a feeling of anxiety all the way down the hill. Fleur’s only response to her text had been to tell her to hurry.
Eulalie entered the coffee shop to find it in the middle of the pre-lunch lull. There were only three tables occupied and they had all received their orders. Fleur was behind the counter pacing up and down and wringing her hands.
“Oh, thank goodness.” She rushed up and gave Eulalie a hug. “Thank you for coming. I know I’ve been awful lately and I don’t deserve this, but I really need your help.”
“You’ve got it. What’s happened?”
“It’s probably nothing. I’m probably overreacting. You’re going to tell me I’m being silly.”
“Then we’ll have coffee and laugh about it. But first you need to tell me what it is.”
“It’s only been a few hours. I’m sure it means nothing. Now that you’re actually here, I feel silly for having called you. I’m interrupting your day. You should just go.”
“Fleur!” Eulalie injected as much authority into her voice as she could manage. “What has happened?”
Fleur turned to look at her. “The thing is… remember how I told you that Peter is here to invest in a fantastic new development on Prince William Island?”
“Yes?”
“It is guaranteed to triple his money in less than a year. He was kind enough to let me in on the deal too. This morning he came around and said that he needed the money right away or he would lose out on the opportunity.”
“Fleur…”
“Don’t say it like that. It’s a blue-chip company. They are called Megamoxy and they are insanely profitable. I researched them properly. I didn’t just take Peter’s word for it.”
“Yes, but you didn’t give the money to Megamoxy, did you? You gave it to Peter.”
“He explained that the investment isn’t open to members of the public. He could invest the money on my behalf.”
“So why the SOS?” said Eulalie. “It sounds as though Peter has everything under control.”
“It’s just that… I gave him the money at eight o’clock this morning and he was supposed to be here at nine-thirty to give me my certificate of investment. He hasn’t arrived, and… well, I’ve been calling him. At first his number just rang, but now it says that the subscriber I am dialing does not exist. I mean, it’s probably just a glitch. I’m sure I’m panicking for nothing.”
“How much?” asked Eulalie.
“How much did you give him?”
Fleur let her breath out in a sigh. “Twenty-five-thousand dollars.”
Chapter 23
“Twenty-five-thousand dollars.”
Eulalie tried to keep the shock out of her tone, but she clearly hadn’t succeeded because Fleur’s face closed up.
“Don’t say it like that. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a chance to triple my money within a year. Obviously, I wasn’t going to give him twenty-five cents. It had to be a substantial amount of money or it wasn’t worth it.”
Eulalie closed her eyes.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “You only left Angel’s Place this morning. How did he manage to get hold of you so quickly?”
“I felt so guilty about last night. When I woke up and turned on my phone, I found a bunch of messages from Peter from the night before. I made such a fool of myself – drinking all those cocktails and passing out at the bar. Apparently, he looked everywhere for me. He was really worried, and I felt so bad.”
“So, to make amends, you gave him twenty-five-thousand dollars?”
“Not exactly, but it’s true that we had been discussing the investment for ages…”
“You haven’t even known him for ages.”
“Will you stop? Let me tell this my way. We’d been talking about the investment for days, and we were going to discuss it some more last night. Then I flaked on him and he was frantic with worry. When he came around here this morning it seemed like the only decent thing I could do was to give him the money to invest like I’d half-promised anyway.”
Eulalie’s lips tightened. She couldn’t believe that her strategy had gone so wrong. In trying to keep Fleur and Pringle apart, she had pushed Fleur right into his trap.
“Look,” she said. “You’re obviously concerned about the money. Get on the phone to your bank right now and reverse the transaction while there’s still time. If Peter turns up with a reasonable explanation, you can simply make the payment again.”
The Eulalie Park Mysteries Box Set 2 Page 19