Blink(36)

‘I’ll get you the full details,’ I said, pressing the print button. ‘It’s a stunning property and it’s been with us for a few weeks now. Between you and me, the owner might well be open to a reasonable offer.’

‘Oh, I’m excited.’ Mrs Parnham turned to her husband, her leathery skin flushed against her startling, over-backcombed orange hair. ‘When can we view?’

‘I’m sure Bryony can sort you out a time when she returns,’ Jo called helpfully from the other side of the office, her call having just ended.

‘Bob, I don’t want to wait a moment longer,’ Mrs Parnham appealed to her husband. ‘I’m worried someone else will make an offer.’

‘Could you contact the owner while we’re here, please, Toni?’ Mr Parnham said firmly.

‘Of course.’ I beamed. ‘His number is right here.’

Five minutes later, I’d made an appointment for the Parnhams to view the property on Saturday morning.

‘Someone from Gregory’s will meet you there,’ I reassured them, unsure quite who it would be.

‘Thank you so much, Toni.’ Ms Parnham took my hand in both of hers as the office phone started ringing again. ‘We’re so grateful.’

I showed them out of the shop and closed the door. I turned to Jo, beaming. My smile faded at the look on her face.

‘Shit, Toni. What were you thinking—’

Just then, the door walloped open behind me and caught me hard on the shoulder.

‘Oww!’ I turned, expecting an apologetic customer. Instead, I got an irate-looking Bryony.

‘I’ve just bumped into the Parnhams,’ she fumed, slamming the door shut. ‘What the HELL have you just done?’

Jo buried her face in her hands.

‘How dare you?’ Bryony rounded on me. ‘I knew you were going to be trouble from the moment I set eyes on you. And you!’ She hissed over at Jo. ‘Why the hell did you let her—’

‘I was on an important customer call,’ Jo said calmly. ‘Had you instructed Toni not to deal with the Parnhams?’

‘I didn’t think I needed to,’ Bryony spat, her face thunderous. ‘Anyone with an ounce of common sense would know that—’

‘Is everything OK in here?’ Dale stood in the hallway. He’d obviously let himself in the back door, directly from the car park. ‘Sounds like World War Three is kicking off from where I’m standing.’

It seemed I’d misjudged Dale. There was no trace of the mild-mannered personality he’d displayed during my interview.

‘Bryony?’ he said sharply. ‘What’s happened?’

‘I pop out for one hour, that’s what. One bloody hour! And your new appointment, Miss Cotter here, loses me a shitload of commission by poking her nose in where it’s not wanted.’

I took in a sharp gasp.

‘Bryony, please.’ Dale frowned. ‘Try to keep it professional.’

‘You won’t say that when you find out she’s probably just lost us one of our biggest customers. The Parnhams.’

Dale’s mouth opened and closed again. He looked at me.

‘They came into the shop looking for Bryony,’ I said, my mouth instantly turning dry. ‘I told them she’d be back any time but they asked if I could get them details on a property they were interested in. I thought I was helping by—’

‘That’s the trouble,’ Bryony snapped, beside herself with fury. ‘You didn’t think at all.’

My years of experience were telling me that something wasn’t adding up here. All I’d done was furnish the Parnhams with some additional property details and arrange a weekend viewing. A completely normal task in any property agency – it’s what we were there for.

‘You shouldn’t be introducing them to properties. They’re my clients. That’s my job.’

I’d held back long enough. Bryony was trying to cover something up and by the look on Dale’s face, if I didn’t watch it, she was going to successfully pin the blame firmly on me.

‘They already had the property details, Dale.’ I picked up the original brochure the Parnhams had brought into the shop. Bryony lunged for it but Dale was quicker and took it from me.

‘Th – they shouldn’t have had that one,’ Bryony stammered, reddening. ‘I thought I’d kept it back. I never gave them that one.’

‘Dan Porterhouse’s property,’ Dale mused, looking at the brochure. ‘Why would you not give them details of this one, Bryony?’

‘They said it was perfect, just what they were looking for,’ I added, earning myself a killer glance from Bryony. ‘It had somehow been incorrectly tagged as under offer on the system.’

‘Mr and Mrs Parnham wouldn’t leave until Toni tried to make a viewing appointment with the owner,’ Jo explained. ‘She didn’t really have a choice.’

I looked over gratefully at Jo.

‘If you didn’t give them these details, then who did?’ Bryony said, as if she’d caught me out.

I suddenly remembered that I’d picked up a stray property brochure from the floor of Bryony’s office when I’d been looking for the photocopier. I’d assumed I’d dropped it, but . . .