don’t think it’s Amy’s fault that Emily had to sell her
house.”
Ted
gave Grace a searching look. He looked back over his shoulder towards the
bungalow and then back at Grace. “You don’t know, do you? Well, why would you?
I only found out recently. When Emily sold her house to Charlie Ford I thought
he had something to do with her debts and loans. He’s in the loan business so I
thought he’d been in cahoots with gambling sites to get Emily to gamble all her
money away. Then, when the time was right, he swooped in with offers of loans
and eventually, when she couldn’t pay, he then bought the house. That was the
general opinion of everyone who knew Emily, we all thought Charlie Ford was the
cause of her problems.”
Grace
shot a sideways glance at Charlie. His brow wrinkled and he shook his head.
Ted
carried on, “After he died I overheard something that changed my mind. Me and
the lads started doing work on the house when Charlie was alive, just the
basics, going through the plans, looking at what needed doing. After Charlie
died Amy Ford became impatient, she wanted the work doing quicker so we were at
the house most days. She must have forgotten we were there most of the time,
people become invisible if you’re used to seeing them all the time.
“One
day, a few weeks ago, me and one of the lads were stripping wallpaper outside
the room that she uses as an office when we overheard her on the phone. I was
only half listening at first but then what she was saying made me stop in my
tracks. She was talking to someone about their debts and how she could help
them. Emily had told me everything that Janet Smith had said to her on the
phone. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, Amy Ford was saying the exact
same things that Janet Smith had said to Emily. I had no doubts that Amy Ford
was Janet Smith. And I knew that it was Amy who had tricked Emily out of her
house.”
Charlie
moved closer to Grace. He said, “That’s impossible, Amy’s not capable of that,
she hasn’t got the brains for it.”
Grace
said, “How do you know it was Amy? She could have been working for someone
called
Janet Smith.”
“The
lad who was with me thought that too, he said I couldn’t accuse Amy of anything
until I had proof. We waited until she left the house then we looked in her
office. Don’t look at me like that! She hurt my Emily, she wasn’t going to get
away with it.”
Ted
paused and sighed. “We were right. Amy Ford was Janet Smith. She owns several
loan companies, she has agreements with many gambling sites. They let her know
when someone has trouble paying their gambling fees, they give Amy all the
details, the phone numbers and the rest. Then Amy phones them, catches them at
their lowest and offers them a way out.”
Grace
took a moment to let the information sink in. Had Charlie found out what Amy
had been doing? Had he threatened her in some way? Had Amy killed Charlie to
silence him?
Chapter 18
Ted
voiced Grace’s concern. “I can tell you, I was shocked at what I’d found out.
Amy comes across as so kind and thoughtful, almost like a doormat kind of
person, not the type to stand up for herself. But there she was, conning people
out of their money and destroying lives. I wondered if she’d killed her
husband. Maybe he’d found out about her scheme and was going to do something
about it. But she was away when Charlie Ford died, on some holiday abroad with
her friends. It was me who found him, lying in the library. I thought he was
sleeping at first. I don’t know why there wasn’t a full inquest into his death,
the police never interviewed anyone about it. I don’t know what’s wrong with
the police nowadays.” He shook his head. “ I’d better get back to Emily. You
steer clear of Amy Ford, she’s a nasty piece of work.”
Ted
turned away and walked back towards the bungalow.
Grace
took a moment. She couldn’t believe it, was Amy really like that? Was she
capable of
house.”
Ted
gave Grace a searching look. He looked back over his shoulder towards the
bungalow and then back at Grace. “You don’t know, do you? Well, why would you?
I only found out recently. When Emily sold her house to Charlie Ford I thought
he had something to do with her debts and loans. He’s in the loan business so I
thought he’d been in cahoots with gambling sites to get Emily to gamble all her
money away. Then, when the time was right, he swooped in with offers of loans
and eventually, when she couldn’t pay, he then bought the house. That was the
general opinion of everyone who knew Emily, we all thought Charlie Ford was the
cause of her problems.”
Grace
shot a sideways glance at Charlie. His brow wrinkled and he shook his head.
Ted
carried on, “After he died I overheard something that changed my mind. Me and
the lads started doing work on the house when Charlie was alive, just the
basics, going through the plans, looking at what needed doing. After Charlie
died Amy Ford became impatient, she wanted the work doing quicker so we were at
the house most days. She must have forgotten we were there most of the time,
people become invisible if you’re used to seeing them all the time.
“One
day, a few weeks ago, me and one of the lads were stripping wallpaper outside
the room that she uses as an office when we overheard her on the phone. I was
only half listening at first but then what she was saying made me stop in my
tracks. She was talking to someone about their debts and how she could help
them. Emily had told me everything that Janet Smith had said to her on the
phone. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, Amy Ford was saying the exact
same things that Janet Smith had said to Emily. I had no doubts that Amy Ford
was Janet Smith. And I knew that it was Amy who had tricked Emily out of her
house.”
Charlie
moved closer to Grace. He said, “That’s impossible, Amy’s not capable of that,
she hasn’t got the brains for it.”
Grace
said, “How do you know it was Amy? She could have been working for someone
called
Janet Smith.”
“The
lad who was with me thought that too, he said I couldn’t accuse Amy of anything
until I had proof. We waited until she left the house then we looked in her
office. Don’t look at me like that! She hurt my Emily, she wasn’t going to get
away with it.”
Ted
paused and sighed. “We were right. Amy Ford was Janet Smith. She owns several
loan companies, she has agreements with many gambling sites. They let her know
when someone has trouble paying their gambling fees, they give Amy all the
details, the phone numbers and the rest. Then Amy phones them, catches them at
their lowest and offers them a way out.”
Grace
took a moment to let the information sink in. Had Charlie found out what Amy
had been doing? Had he threatened her in some way? Had Amy killed Charlie to
silence him?
Chapter 18
Ted
voiced Grace’s concern. “I can tell you, I was shocked at what I’d found out.
Amy comes across as so kind and thoughtful, almost like a doormat kind of
person, not the type to stand up for herself. But there she was, conning people
out of their money and destroying lives. I wondered if she’d killed her
husband. Maybe he’d found out about her scheme and was going to do something
about it. But she was away when Charlie Ford died, on some holiday abroad with
her friends. It was me who found him, lying in the library. I thought he was
sleeping at first. I don’t know why there wasn’t a full inquest into his death,
the police never interviewed anyone about it. I don’t know what’s wrong with
the police nowadays.” He shook his head. “ I’d better get back to Emily. You
steer clear of Amy Ford, she’s a nasty piece of work.”
Ted
turned away and walked back towards the bungalow.
Grace
took a moment. She couldn’t believe it, was Amy really like that? Was she
capable of
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