Page 29 of All The Wrong Notes

“You cannot really believe I did this! The centre is my life. It’s everything I’ve worked towards since I was a kid. Everyone who knows me will tell you I would never do something like this. It must be a mistake. Something else must have happened. I swear, I had no idea. You’ve got to believe me.”

At last, Ms Singh’s eyes blinked, a slow motion that was followed by a dip of her head.

“As I said, the evidence points to you. We cannot ignore that. But your character is known to us as well. We have the records of how hard you worked to establish the centre in the first place, and we’ve spoken to some of the first donors who got the centre started. In most cases of theft like this, the perpetrator has fled the country with the funds before the loss is noticed. I cannot imagine that you went to work this morning as usual and came in for this meeting as you did if you were the one who took the funds. But, again, no one else could have done it.”

Elise continued to gape at the banker, each word another brick of the world she had created crumbling around her feet.

Ms Singh’s eyes softened. “Look, let’s take a deep breath here.” She passed a box of tissues to Elise, who pulled one out to mop her eyes. When did they get damp? Was she crying? “We’ve decided not to take this any further yet, until we do a full investigation. We’re on your side here, but if the funds aren’t recovered soon, we’ll have to go to the authorities. In the meantime, we’ve had to clamp down on all the accounts—”

At this, Elise startled. “But… how will I pay my staff? The custodian, the bookings manager… people rely on their pay. And utilities…do I have access to any money?”

“We also have to take you off the accounts for now. We’ll contact your board and have them appoint an interim director, until we get things sorted out. This is for your protection as much as the centre’s. Regardless, I’m afraid I don’t see much hope for keeping the centre going. I will recommend that if the board can’t find replacement funds very soon, you’ll have to start to close the place down.”

Now Elise couldn’t stop the tears any longer and they streamed down her face. She fumbled for another tissue, and then another, hiding her face behind the thin paper until the world stopped for long enough to catch a breath. This just couldn’t be happening. It must be a huge mistake. How could it all just vanish?

A half a glimmer of a memory teased at the fraying edges of her mind for a moment, but it was all too much for any sensible thought. This was a disaster. A tidal wave of black fog rushed towards her, sweeping her off balance and threatening to drown her in its darkness.

“Ms Benzion?” Ms Singh’s voice was the one anchor she had and she held tight to it. “Are you okay? Listen. I, personally, believe you knew nothing about this. You should go home and rest, and we’ll talk when you’ve had some time to process everything. Call me.” She passed a white business card across the desk. “Can I call someone to come for you? Or a taxi? You’re in shock. You shouldn’t be driving.”

Will.

No.

Oh God, what would he think? He had told her how much he respected her integrity. It was one of the things that had drawn him to her, all those months ago. She hadn’t fawned over him for his wealth. He thought she was different. And she was… had been. But now this! She would seem like just another pathetic person, out for every penny she could get, no matter the means. He would never speak to her again. Worse—it would break his heart.

Everything they had built between them recently had been based on trust. He needed to trust her, to believe she was someone steady and solid, with the integrity and honesty he needed so much. As much as she knew his loss would be devastating to her, if he thought she had somehow betrayed his faith in her, it would destroy him. That wonderful, caring, sensitive, fragile man, who had opened his soul to her, who had told her how difficult it was for him to trust anybody, would be utterly ruined. After what—

Kevin! Oh heavens, it kept getting worse. This is what had happened to him before, with Kevin. If it had been Kevin. It was a maze, an impenetrable labyrinth of lies and disasters, each step leading her further into the unsalvageable depths of confusion and despair. Now every bit of pain Will had suffered ten years ago would come rushing back.

How could she do this to him?

Could Kevin be behind this? Was Will right in his accusations? It hardly seemed likely, since Kevin had been gone for two months. But… her head was spinning so fast, she felt almost ill.

And then something else struck her. Will’s entire business depended on his own trustworthiness. How could he stay with her if the association would damage his own business affairs? And if he had been subject to suspicion in the past, over something exactly like this, her shame, this catastrophe, would reflect on him even more.

He was lost to her forever.

The fog closed in, and she sank to the floor.

* * *

Elise’s eyes fluttered open to the sight of Rey’s concerned face hovering over her. Where was she? What was happening? There was a pillow of sorts under her head, and something warm and heavy on top of her, but she was lying on something very hard…

The floor. Why was she on the floor? What…

Like a jigsaw puzzle, disparate fragments of memory appeared in her mind and swirled around each other until they coalesced into the whole, dreadful picture. It was real, not some terrible nightmare.

“Oh no! The children!” she breathed. “The poor children.” The real victims of this catastrophe were foremost in her mind, even while she struggled to put the universe together.

“Elise?” Rey asked, his voice gentle. “You okay? Will sent me.”

“Will?” Elise croaked out the name. “How?”

“That was me. I’m sorry. I had to call someone, and his name was a frequent number on your phone. You left it unlocked.” Kiran Singh spoke from somewhere outside of her limited range of vision.

“I hope he was the right person. I had to call someone,” she repeated. “I didn’t think you’d want the paramedics coming. It would be hard to explain. We had a doctor in the bank who assured us you were okay.”

Poor woman probably didn’t have clients pass out in her office every day. She was forgiven.

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