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.‘Got rid of them.Shredded them, maybe.’‘No—I mean, she wouldn’t have stolen anything.Not Miriam.’Silence from the two bankers.Jim McRae’s face was a complete blank.‘You must have made a mistake.’ I sat down.A red hermit crab was dancing and singing on the screen not two metres away; I found it hard to concentrate.‘It must have been someone else, not Miriam.Miriam couldn’t possibly have done that.’‘Why not?’ Cliff asked.He was still standing.So were Austin and Jim.Three men in shirts and ties, making my living room look small.Looming over me.Outnumbering me.‘Because I know her, that’s why not,’ I said.‘I’ve known her for years.Look—sit down.Please.’Cliff lowered his considerable bulk onto the couch, where Austin joined him (at a carefully calculated distance).Jim kind of propped himself against the arm of the puke-stained easychair.‘So you’ve had no indication that Miriam’s been planning any kind of fraud?’ Austin inquired, his voice very clear and precise.‘No.Of course not.’ I shook my head, still in a daze.‘It’s impossible.’‘We’ve pretty much established that she did it, Mrs Muzzatti.’‘I can’t believe that!’‘It is hard to believe.’ Austin sighed.‘I used to work with her myself.It’s been a real shock for us.All these years she’s been chasing down fraud, and now we find that she’s one of the bad guys.Incredible.’I stared at him, sniffing forlornly.‘Austin’ was not a familiar name; I couldn’t recall that Miriam had ever mentioned him.‘We’re pretty sure she’s left the country,’ Cliff supplied.‘It certainly looks that way—plus a lot of the funds she took seem to have been transferred to the Cayman Islands.’‘Like Christopher Skase, you mean?’ I interrupted, and he smiled.‘Sort of.’‘It’s been going on for at least eighteen months,’ Austin added.‘This scam of hers.’‘And she’s been very smart.Ve-e-ery smart.’‘Not smart enough, though.She had to get out in a hurry.She knew we were closing in.’‘She left a lot of things lying about.Like her computer.’‘That’s where we found your name.’‘We thought you might have information that we could use.’The two of them suddenly stopped their verbal ping-pong, and fixed their eyes on me.I saw Jim fold his arms in the background.Ariel the mermaid trilled annoyingly on the television screen.‘Well, don’t look at me,’ I protested.‘I don’t know anything.’‘Are you sure?’ Cliff leaned forward.‘We’re just searching for indications—anything she might have said about a trip to anywhere.?’‘No.’‘Any friends she might have who live overseas?’I remembered Briony.No.Out of the question.‘No.’‘Are you sure?’ Austin pressed.‘Her mother mentioned someone.Someone she used to live with.’‘Mrs Coutts!’ The thought of Miriam’s mother hit me like a blow.Poor Mrs Coutts.She was all alone.She idolised Miriam.‘Oh, this is awful! This is terrible!’ Tears pricked my eyes, as the truth finally began to sink in.‘How could she do this?’‘Shh! Mummy! I can’t hear!’‘Sorry, Emily.’‘Are you sure you don’t know anyone that she’d be likely to contact overseas?’ Austin was very persistent.‘Anyone.No matter how unlikely.’‘Well.there’s Briony.Our friend Briony.But they never really got along.’‘Where does Briony live?’‘In Florence.But I don’t think—’‘Do you have her address? Her phone number?’‘No.But I can get it.I suppose.’ I put my hand to my head.If I asked Ronnie to ask Samantha to ask Briony.? Aaagh.‘It’s hopeless, though.There’s no point.’‘Nevertheless, it would be very helpful,’ said Austin.‘If you don’t mind.’I told him that I didn’t mind.What else could I have told him? If I’d been obstructive, they probably would have decided that I was in on it, too.Besides, I was still in shock.I hardly knew what I was saying.‘When you last spoke to her,’ Cliff said, ‘did she seem stressed? Was there anything odd about her behaviour?’‘Well.’ I didn’t know how to phrase my response.As I cast about for the right words, I caught Jim’s eye.It was expressionless.Too expressionless.‘We were both a bit stressed,’ I finally gabbled, ‘but it had nothing to do with money or anything.It was a personal matter.’‘A personal matter,’ Cliff repeated, almost as if he was taking the piss.‘Yes!’ I snapped.‘And I’m not going to discuss it because it had nothing to do with this business.’‘You’re sure of that?’‘Yes!’Cliff raised his hands in a mock-defensive gesture.‘Okay.Okay,’ he said.‘I’m sorry.’‘We really are sorry,’ Austin interjected, obviously intending to soothe my ruffled feelings.‘It’s not a pleasant job, going around hitting people with something like this.It’s a strain for everyone.But since we were passing this way, and we knew you were a friend of hers.’‘I just can’t believe she’d do it!’ I couldn’t, either.‘She was being so helpful! She never said one word.there was no reason.’ The depth of Miriam’s deceit was only just beginning to hit me.‘Eighteen months, did you say? She’s been doing it for eighteen months?’‘Approximately,’ said Austin
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