Page 82 of A Simple Mistake
“You’re still prepared to buy them out?”
“Not anymore.The auditors have put a rather alarming figure on the damage their actions have caused, and I’m going to suggest they sign over their shares or face legal action.I’ve bent over backwards for years.I’m not letting them destroy my grandfather’s legacy.”
Gareth wanted to point out that Julian had invested plenty of time and effort, too, but he knew the words would fall on deaf ears.Julian was very much like Jack that way.
“I’ll give them a read.It doesn’t solve the root cause, but having your cousins out of your hair will help.”
“I’ll light candles in thanks once Cecily is gone,” Julian agreed.“I’d love to have the real problem fixed, but as side effects go, I won’t turn that one down.”
Gareth agreed it was a start.
After just over a week of working with Jim Gold, Nico had located Valerie Franklin.“Actually, we found their mother first.She’s in a nursing home in Clerkenwell.She has Alzheimer’s.”
Jack could see where that one was going.“And you think Margot McTavish took her sister’s place to be with their mother?”
“It makes sense, right?Jim says that nursing homes have strict rules about who can visit and such.Maybe Valerie was the only one who could let Mrs McTavish in.And when she had a heart attack, there went Mrs McTavish’s chance of ever seeing her mum again.”
“And then you did what?”
“Jim contacted the nursing home to find out how long Mrs Franklin had been there, who had visiting rights and such.He can do that, being a tracing agent.”The grin Nico gave him was one Jack recognised.“But I noticed there’s a camera almost opposite the entrance to the nursing home—did I say they have a map with all the traffic cams on it?—so while Jim was busy, I watched that.And guess what?”
“What?”Jack fought the urge to ruffle Nico’s hair.That wild excitement that came with picking up trails and unearthing secrets looked good on him.He mentally high-fived Gareth for thinking of tracing agents.It wasn’t a service Jack had ever needed, but it offered Nico additional options—and made Jack feel less guilty about dragging Nico into his own shadowy war.
“I spotted Mrs McTavish go in!It was definitely her, only not as nicely dressed as she was in the photos Aidan gave you.She still looked sad, though.Do you think she’ll talk to us?”
Tracing agents, Jack had learned during the previous hour, could be licensed for doorstep tracing and contacting their targets.After establishing that Miss Franklin spent most of each day with her mother and then calling Aidan, Jim Gold offered Nico a chance to observe his meeting with Margot McTavish.Jack owed him for that.
They’d be home later than anticipated—and a quick text to Gareth had taken care of that—but Nico would have the experience of seeing a case to its conclusion.
They drove in convoy to Clerkenwell and Jack waited with Nico in the nurse’s break room for Jim’s signal.Nico nearly vibrated out of his skin, prompting Jack to place a hand on his shoulder.“Patience, Nico.”
“But what if she sees us and runs away?”
Jack raised an eyebrow.“How’s she going to see us?And why would she run when she’s gone to all this trouble to be with her mother?”
Nico was spared an answer, as Jim appeared in the doorway.“It’s her,” he said.“I told her who we are, and why we’re there.I’ve also told her how you helped find her and she’s happy to talk to you.”
“You’ll still take her to Aidan?”
“After visiting hours are over, yes.There’s no need to drag her away from her mother before she’s ready to leave, right?”
They followed Jim to a room at the end of the corridor.It was bright and cheerful by nursing home standards—and it made Jack itch to get out as fast as he could.Instead, he stayed planted by Nico’s side.
Margot McTavish sat beside the bed of a very old lady, holding the frail hand in hers.
“You’re the young man putting so much work into finding me?”she said, her voice reminding Jack of a teacher.“Whatever made you do that?”
Nico shifted but then mastered his discomfort.“Your niece was convinced you’d been murdered.It seemed… horrible… to leave her with that impression.”
She thought about that while she watched her mother breathe.“This… being with her… it’s all I ever wanted, you know?Lawrence was a good man.We loved each other.We worked together and, for a long time, I was happy.Then he died and I was alone again.You have the look of someone who understands what this feels like.”
“But you had family,” Nico said.
“From Lawrence’s side, yes.And they’re delightful.Maybe it’s nothing but an old woman’s crotchet, but I wanted my mother to acknowledge me, be proud of me.I never understood why she wasn’t.Oh, she always preferred Val, even when we were little.I thought it would get better when we grew, when we each lived our own lives.I thought she’d miss me.But she never did.Maybe Lawrence was right, and Val was manipulating everyone.Maybe my mother was the bitch she seemed.I don’t know.I just knew that when Val knocked on my door, I suddenly saw a chance to realise my wish.”
She trailed off and Nico took a step forward, put his hand over hers, fingers lightly touching the ring.
“I’ve been looking over my shoulder since the morning after Valerie’s death when I left my house,” she said, eyes on Nico’s fingers.“Such a simple mistake, so easy to trace, but I couldn’t put it on her hand.It wasn’t hers to wear, you see?This is the only thing of our mother I possessed.Val had taken everything from me once already.She wasn’t going to take this one thing from me too.”
