Page 88 of Don't Believe A Word

Cristy blinked. ‘Everything? What about her charities? What about you?’

With a soft sigh, Sadie said, ‘Mia will take care of the charities when she goes, I’m sure, and Lottie gave me so much when shewas alive, but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. I thought maybe she’d set something aside for me, a special ring or necklace, a memento of a time we’d shared, a letter even, admitting I wasn’t her actual niece and explaining where I really came from. I can’t help thinking that something like it might be in this safe, that’s why I don’t want to show it to Mia in case she tries to take whatever it is.’

Understanding that, Cristy said, ‘Well, I’m sure we’ll get it open one way or another.’ She was staring down at a message from Clover now that had apparently come in about an hour ago.You need to take a look at this.

She clicked the attachment and when she saw the image that filled the screen her heart contracted so hard with shock that it took a moment for a surge of adrenalin to kick through.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Cristy and the others were watching their screens fill with the shots Clover had taken of five original photographs and uploaded ontoHindsight’smain clipboard. They’d come to the office early to discuss this unexpected breakthrough – bombshell Connor was calling it – before making a decision about whether or not to change the episode due to drop tonight.

‘Where the heck did you find them?’ Cristy asked, as they came into full focus.

‘They were in this,’ Clover replied, holding up a crumpled, bright yellow Kodak envelope with Quality Photos stamped on the front. ‘It fell out of a notebook I was going through and the minute I saw the first one I knew I had to send it straight to you.’

‘Anything in the notebook explaining them?’ Connor asked, studying them closely.

‘Not that I’ve found so far.’

All five of the shots showed a much younger Lottie seated on one side of a table with George Symmonds-Browne and Janina Andris facing her. Both Lottie and Janina appeared animated, unsmiling, as if arguing about something, while Symmonds-Browne’s position hardly changed as he sat watching them. In one photo his hand was over Janina’s, in another Janina’s head was in her hands. The last showed all three of them leaving the café, Symmonds-Browne very close behind Janina, Lottie ahead, already turning away.

‘What are they telling us?’ Connor demanded. ‘What was going on at that meeting?’

‘The shots were taken with a long lens,’ Jacks mumbled, almost to himself.

‘They’re obviously in a café, or coffee shop,’ Clover observed, ‘but nothing to say what the place is called or where it is.’

‘We need to knowwhenthey were taken,’ Cristy stated. ‘Is there any way of finding that out?’

‘It’s got to have been sometime around 2000,’ Connor said, ‘you only have to look at Janina to know that. She looks the same as she does in the other shots we have of her.’

‘Is there a date stamp on the backs of the originals?’ Jacks asked Clover.

She shook her head. ‘Already checked and there isn’t.’

Articulating what was on everyone’s mind, Cristy said, ‘Are we looking at photographic evidence of Lottie negotiating for Sadie?’

‘Not possible to say for certain,’ Connor answered, ‘but we could be.’

‘What I’d like to know,’ Jacks came in, ‘is who took the shots, and why.’

‘And how did they end up with Lottie?’ Cristy added. It wasn’t hard to work out. ‘It’s smacking of blackmail to me,’ she said. ‘Symmonds-Browne set Lottie up for this and made sure it was on record. Which makes it possible, likely even, that these photos are what turned up in the envelope just after the sisters took Sadie in.’

Sitting back in his chair, Connor said, ‘We can end tonight’s pod with it. It’s a great cliff-hanger –photographs have just come to light of Lottie Winters meeting with Janina and suspected trafficker George Symmonds-Browne. We’ll bring you more in the coming episodes.’

Cristy wasn’t sure. ‘Do we actually want to out him as a trafficker yet?’

‘I say we do,’ Connor replied. ‘We can run all of Catherine Shilling’s interview, with an emphasis on the parts where she talks about Symmonds-Browne. Then it’ll have a proper impact.’

‘OK,’ Cristy agreed, ‘but before we do anything that dramatic we need to let Sadie see the photos. It’ll be pretty devastating for her if they’re painting the picture we fear, but I guess she’s more than half-expecting it, and we can’t let her learn about them through the pod.’

‘If you want to warn her they’re coming,’ Jacks said, ‘I’ll package them up and send when you’re ready.’

Cristy was checking the time. ‘She’s going to be with David at some point today – she’s found some sort of safe that needs opening and we’re hoping he’ll be able to help her. So let’s send them to him first. That way he and Anna can be with her when she sees the shots of her mother with Symmonds-Browne, quite possibly trying to extract the highest price for her.’ Even saying the words made her feel sick. It wasn’t how any of them wanted to view Janina, but who knew what kind of pressure she’d been under at the time, what dark forces had been at work in her life, so it wasn’t a good idea to rush to judgement.

‘I’ll get everything lined up ready for the edit,’ Connor said, ‘and I guess we’d better check with Sadie before adding anything to the website.’

Cristy reached for her mobile and pushed right on past the flutterings inside as she clicked to call David’s number.

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