Blood Guilt. Lindy Cameron
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if her smart this-is-what-you-wear-to-meet-rich-Toorak-clients outfit somehow made tailing someone a classy affair, one that would be carried out in elegant surrounds with a glass of Oloroso in her hand. Kit usually knew how to make her clients feel, if not happy, at least comfortable in their decision to resort to 'services of her kind', but Celia Robinson was nothing like her usual run of clients. Short of promising to wear her best sequined evening gown should she have to hang around any darkened doorways, Kit doubted there was little she could say that would make Celia Robinson believe the situation was anything less than tacky. The woman was obviously more troubled about hiring a detective than she was about having a reason to do so.
'Well, I suppose there's nothing else to do but get this out of the way.'
'You want me to follow your husband,' Kit said, trying to help her out.
'Yes. You've no doubt done a certain amount of homework before keeping this appointment so you would know that Geoffrey is also one of my co-directors and the business manager of Orlando House, the publishing company founded by my first husband.'
Kit nodded. She had managed to find out that much.
'Well, the firm that looks after all the company's financial and legal business is headed by my solicitor Douglas Scott. When his accountant discovered some, shall we say, discrepancies in some recent financial transactions made by my husband, he naturally informed Douglas.'
'What sort of discrepancies?'
'Nothing alarming. By that I mean it hasn't been a great deal of money. Several thousand here and there, but all over the last eight months.'
Kit decided to up her fee. If several thousand wasn't alarming then her services must be worth at least twice what she usually charged. 'Did Mr Scott ask your husband about the money?'
'Well, not at first because after all it is Geoffrey's money. He can do with it what he likes. In fact saying that Douglas was informed of the discrepancy is not quite accurate. It was more a mention in passing over dinner one evening. To him, the accountant that is, it was simply a curious thing.'
'But surely if your husband's been spending money his accountant would have to know the details. I mean the books have to balance sooner or later.'
'True. But Geoffrey was apparently evasive when asked for those details. He claimed he was trying to cover the costs on some aborted deal he had allegedly made on behalf of the company in America last year. That wouldn't have surprised me, about the deal being aborted I mean. Despite being OHP's business manager for the last eighteen years Geoffrey lacks the necessary judgement to initiate anything much on his own. We don't usually let him do a lot by himself.'
'So Mr Robinson made a bad call and then tried to cover it personally so OHP would not have to take the flak?' Kit said.
Celia shrugged. 'Or more likely so that Mr Robinson would not have to take the flak, as you call it, when we discovered he had used the company name in an unsanctioned deal of some sort. I mean for all we knew then he could have been trying to buy a baseball team, a Republican candidate, or a fast food franchise.'
'With his own money though,' Kit said, starting to wonder what the fuss was about.
'Oh yes. Which as I said he is perfectly entitled to do, but not on behalf of Orlando House without the Board's knowledge. Anyway, Douglas did some investigating on the quiet, deciding to follow the figures a little further. He has always been suspicious of Geoffrey when money is involved and was particularly concerned about what this money was being used for. Oddly enough, he has so far been unable to find out where it went, although he did discover another large withdrawal just one month ago. Thirty-five thousand gone. Just like that.' Celia snapped her fingers to emphasise the point.
'I assume, said Kit,' that it was at that point your solicitor approached your husband with a few questions.'
'Over drinks, just in passing,' Celia smiled.
'Of course. So what was his story?'
'He claimed he was making an investment in a new publishing venture he was trying to get off the ground. He wanted to keep a lid on it until the matter was finalised at which stage, he said, OHP may be interested in joining him in the deal.'
'You don't believe that?' Kit said.
Celia raised an eyebrow as if to say, don't be ridiculous, who would?
'Keep a lid on it?' Kit said. 'I gather that means he asked Mr Scott not to tell anyone, including you, about this new venture.'
'Exactly. But Douglas is more than just my solicitor. We've been friends for forty years,' Celia said pursing her lips as she pushed a slice of cantaloupe into her mouth with one finger.
'But your husband would know that. I mean wouldn't he expect that you would find out?'
'One would think so, wouldn't one,' Celia said, raising an eyebrow. 'But he told Douglas he was planning this new venture as a surprise. So, Douglas agreed to keep it a secret.'
'And then told you anyway,' Kit said with a smile.
'Naturally.'
'Did your husband give any clues as to what the venture might be?'
'Compact disks, of the information kind,' Celia said in disgust. 'Honestly, the man should know that Orlando House is being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. We publish books. On paper, between covers. We may use computers to facilitate their publication but that is as far as I am prepared to go. We will not publish literature or anything else on little round pieces of plastic.' She thumped the table and then looked quite surprised with herself. 'I am sorry, Katherine.'
Kit smiled. 'I gather your main concern is that your husband might be using the Orlando House name for his own purposes?' Kit said.
Celia held her hands out, palms up as if she was weighing something. 'Yes and no. As you gather I don't approve of this CD thing, whether he's using OHP as a front or not. More to the point, however, I don't believe that that is what he is up to. Neither does Douglas. Because he can't trace the money, it is his concern that this the so-called venture may be something OHP would quite simply not want to be involved in. I wish to discover what it is before Geoffrey can retreat or cover his tracks.' Celia left the hint of dirty dealings hanging in the air while she poked a strawberry into her mouth.
'Why doesn't Douglas just ask him straight out? He could threaten to reveal the big secret to you and then your husband would have to tell him.' Kit was starting to think this whole case was a little strange. Why was everybody else being so careful and secretive when it was Geoffrey's apparent skulduggery that was clearly the issue?
'My major concern is the integrity of Orlando House. If Geoffrey is involved in something legal then I will have less of a problem with it, obviously. It will just be something that has to be dealt with. If, as Douglas suspects however, it is something questionable or even illegal, then that is another matter altogether.'
Kit wondered if Celia had any love for the man she obviously had so little respect for. 'You don't think he's up to anything illegal, do you?' she asked.
'I believe my husband's sideline is a floozy,' Celia answered matter-of-factly, taking a sip of coffee and looking seriously at Kit. 'What do you think?'
Damn, was what Kit thought. All this for a floozy? She'd had the rising hope as Celia was talking that this was going to be a straightforward daylight job of chasing a money trail and investigating any suspicious business ventures or acquaintances that the untrustworthy Mr R. might be involved with. But, though it had taken her a while to get around to it, Mrs Robinson was indeed hiring Kit to hang around in darkened doorways with telescopes and dark glasses. The interesting stuff was obviously being left in the capable hands of the loyal Douglas Scott.
'I don't know Mrs Robinson. Celia,' Kit amended. 'Is there anything else that leads you to believe your husband has a...is having an affair?'
'I know my husband, Katherine. The amount of money involved doesn't seem, to me at least, to be enough for any kind of business venture - legal or otherwise. So what would that suggest