Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2)(41)

‘She’s a good employee?’ He watched Jill carefully, but the woman looked back with a clear expression.

‘Yes. She is good. She works hard. Pulls her weight.’

‘Was she happy to go on the retreat?’

‘No more or less than anyone else. I don’t think it was anyone’s first choice of the way to spend a weekend.’

‘We heard that Alice asked to leave after the first night, but you talked her out of it,’ Carmen said.

‘That’s true, but honestly, I couldn’t let her go, could I? I’d have to have taken the whole group back and there would have been questions to answer and costs involved and we would have all had to do it on another date anyway. I mean, in hindsight, of course I wish I’d said yes. It would have saved us all this.’ Jill shook her head. ‘Alice told me she felt ill and I didn’t believe her. Her daughter had an event at school and I thought that was why she wanted to go back. And she’d tried to get out of the retreat the week before as well, but at the time I felt she just had to put up with it, like the rest of us. None of us really wanted to be there.’

‘Not even you?’ Carmen said.

‘Especially not me. At least Alice and Lauren had done a bit of that sort of thing at school. And Bree McKenzie is very fit. Her sister – well, I don’t think she enjoyed it much either.’

There was a clatter of boots in the hallway and they all looked up through the open lounge door. A group of searchers had returned. They headed for the kitchen, their exhausted faces saying everything.

‘How were the five of you selected for the trip?’ Falk said.

‘It’s a random mix of pay grades and experience to develop cross-company teamwork.’

‘And how about the real reason?’

Jill gave a small smile. ‘The management team selects employees who it believes are in need of some professional or personal development through the challenge.’

‘The management team being who? Yourself? Daniel?’

‘Not me. Daniel, yes. The heads of department, mainly.’

‘And what developmental traits was this group hoping to gain?’

‘Bree McKenzie’s in line for promotion, so this is part of her advancement program. Her sister –’ Jill stopped. ‘Have you met Beth?’

Falk and Carmen nodded.

‘Well, then. I probably need say no more. She’s not very . . . corporate. Someone probably thought it would help having her sister there, but I think they overestimated how close those two are.’ Jill pursed her lips. ‘Lauren – this won’t go any further, will it? – she’s been having performance issues. I understand she’s had some problems at home, but it’s been impacting her work.’

‘And Alice?’

There was a silence. ‘She’d had a complaint lodged against her.’

‘For what?’

‘Is this relevant?’

‘I don’t know,’ Falk said. ‘She’s still missing. So it might be.’

Jill sighed. ‘Bullying. Technically. But it’s possibly just a sharp exchange of words. Alice can be blunt. And that’s all highly confidential, by the way. The other women don’t know.’

‘Is there any merit in the complaint?’ Carmen said.

‘It’s hard to say. It was one of the administration assistants so it could be a personality clash as much as anything but –’ She stopped. ‘It wasn’t the first time. A similar issue was flagged two years ago. It came to nothing, but management felt Alice might benefit from some intensive teamwork. Another reason why I couldn’t let her leave that first night.’

Falk considered this. ‘And what about you?’ he said. ‘Why were you out there?’

‘In our latest senior management meeting we agreed to commit to taking part in something every year. If there’s a deeper reason, you’d have to ask the rest of the management committee.’

‘Same for your brother Daniel?’

‘Daniel actually enjoys it, believe it or not. But he’s right. It’s important for the company that he and I are seen to get involved.’

‘Get your hands dirty,’ Falk said.

Jill didn’t blink. ‘I suppose so.’

There was a loud bang from the hallway as the lodge door blew open. They heard the sound of feet and someone shutting it again firmly.

‘I guess there are a lot of obligations that come with working for a family firm,’ Carmen said. ‘You can’t just hide away. Your brother said something similar.’

‘Did he?’ Jill said. ‘Well, that’s certainly true. I studied English and Art History for my first degree. I wanted to be a humanities teacher.’

‘What happened?’

‘Nothing happened. It’s a family firm, and members of the family are expected to work for the company. In that respect we’re no different from a farming family, or a couple passing on their corner shop to their children. You need people you can trust. I work there, Daniel works there, our father’s still involved. Daniel’s son Joel will work there after university.’

‘And you? Do you have children?’ Falk said.

‘I do. Two. Grown up now.’ She paused. ‘But they’re an exception. They didn’t have any interest in going into the business and I wouldn’t make them. Dad wasn’t pleased, but he got the rest of us, so I think that’s a fair exchange.’ Jill’s expression softened a little. ‘My children both got to be teachers.’