For Your Own Protection(60)

‘Which was?’

‘Gambling. He’d been going to that casino.’

‘Samson’s?’

‘Yes.’

Samson’s. The favourite gambling den of UGT traders.

Beth continued. ‘He admitted he was a gambling addict and he said he needed help. He was spending a lot of money.’

Matt glanced down at the bag. ‘But winning a lot, if this is anything to go by.’

‘That’s not what he told me. He said he was just about breaking even.’

‘Right.’

‘It looks like he was lying,’ Beth said. She shook her head. ‘I’m such a fool. He even told me he was attending a Gamblers Anonymous group, because he didn’t want to risk losing me and Charlie.’

‘He may have been telling the truth. Maybe he was getting help.’

‘I don’t know what to believe anymore. You know he lied to you, about Australia? He persuaded me the move was a good idea, not the other way around. I certainly didn’t convince him to go for it. I used to think I was a good judge of character, but now I’m not so sure.’

Matt reddened.

‘I’m sorry, Matt, that wasn’t directed at you, I promise.’ She looked down at the bag and promptly changed the subject. ‘How much do you think is in there?’

‘Ten, twenty thousand, I’m not sure.’

‘Why would he leave that amount of money behind? It doesn’t make sense.’

‘Maybe he’s planning to come back and retrieve it when you’re out.’

‘But why not take it now?’

‘Who knows? Maybe he was in such a hurry he didn’t have time.’

‘Why would he be in such a rush to leave that he’d literally run away without tens of thousands of pounds in cash?’

‘If getting away quickly was worth more.’

Beth nodded to herself. Realisation was dawning. ‘This is connected with what’s been happening to you. That’s what you think, isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’

‘That’s why he was pushing to go to Australia,’ she said. ‘All that talk about wanting to start a new life, begin again somewhere different. He was just desperate to get away. And Australia is about the furthest place you can go.’ She paced up and down the landing. ‘James is in trouble for some reason. And Charlie is at risk because of it. I should have listened to you.’

Matt placed a hand on her arm. ‘Let’s just focus on now.’

‘So what do we do?’

‘Start packing. I’ll call Sean to ask about staying over tonight. I think we should leave right now.’





CHAPTER FORTY-THREE


Jessica was already waiting for him in the Waterloo wine bar, which was situated just down from the station of the same name, on the bank of the Thames.

‘Matt, hi.’ Jessica stood as he approached.

She had called him just after he’d got back to his flat, having dropped Beth and Charlie off at Sean’s apartment. He’d planned to leave the rucksack of money, collect some clothes, then return to Sean’s, but Jessica’s call had been persuasive – she’d said she had something very important to tell him about James.

Matt felt extremely uncomfortable as they air-kissed a hello and he took in her expensive, familiar perfume – they hadn’t exchanged a word since that fateful night at the UGT party, at this very venue. It hadn’t been that hard to avoid her in those intervening months, given that they worked in separate departments, on different floors. He could count on one hand the number of times they had been in close proximity. There was that one time, when he’d got into the lift only to find her and James inside, on their way to a meeting with Gabriel on the top floor.

The thirty-second ascent, in stony silence, had felt like a lifetime.

‘Would you like a drink?’ Jessica smiled. She already had a glass of red.

‘I’m okay, thanks.’

She nodded. ‘You must be wondering why I asked to see you. And in this place.’

‘I am, yes. Look, Jessica,’ he added, ‘before you say anything, I wanted to say my piece. About what happened between us.’

‘Matt, you don’t need to—’

‘No, I do. I’m sorry about the way I acted with you after it happened. I shouldn’t have ignored you the way I did. It was immature and insensitive.’

‘Matt, it’s okay, really.’

‘No, it’s not okay. At the time, I wasn’t thinking straight, but now I know I should have handled things differently.’

‘You lost a lot because of what happened, didn’t you?’

‘Yes, I did,’ he replied, not wanting to share any more than that with her.

‘Did you fight for Beth?’

That unexpected question really made him think. ‘No, I suppose I didn’t.’

‘Wasn’t your relationship worth it?’

‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘It’s not too late, you know.’

Matt gazed at Jessica. ‘Why are you doing this, giving me this pep talk? Why do you care?’

She took a sip from her glass. ‘Because there’s something you don’t know about what happened between us – about what happened that night.’