Contents (71)
- THE
- DAUGHTER
- MICHELLE FRANCES
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Iris and Tim exchanged a look. ‘So, what does it say?’ asked Iris. ‘Has she found out any names?’
‘Not exactly.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She’s discovered that the farm’s parent company is owned by yet another holding company. But the name of the director has been kept anonymous.’ Kate bit her lip as she kept on reading.
‘And?’ prompted Tim.
‘And that holding company owns not just the farm but other things too.’ She shook her head in disbelief. ‘Including the agrochemical company Senerix and . . .’
‘What? Come on, I can’t bear the suspense,’ said Iris.
‘Fresh Foods.’
‘Fresh Foods,’ repeated Iris, ‘haven’t I heard that name before?’
‘It’s Greg Hollander’s business,’ said Tim slowly. ‘You know, the man who’s doing the bursary with Kate.’
Kate couldn’t figure it out. Dazed, she looked back at the email. There it was in black and white. Foxgold Ltd, registered in the tax haven of Anguilla, owned Ashdown Farm in Ramsbourne, and Senerix, the chemical company that supplied the farm, and Fresh Foods where Greg worked.
Tim was the first to break the silence. ‘There has to be some connection,’ he said slowly, ‘with Greg.’
‘Does there? Why?’ Kate tried to form some clear thoughts. ‘Just because Greg works there – at Fresh Foods – it doesn’t mean anything. It’s the main holding company we’re interested in.’
‘It’s too much of a coincidence.’
‘But . . . big companies gobble up smaller ones all the time – have loads of separate brands under their umbrella. Unilever for example. What is it, Ben and Jerry’s, Surf washing powder . . . loads more.’
Neither Iris nor Tim said anything. Kate thought of Greg, of everything he’d done. The way he’d pushed to change the trucks, the bursary he’d so generously set up.
‘And Greg wouldn’t be behind, you know . . . all the stuff that’s been happening.’
‘What stuff?’ asked Iris.
Kate shook her head. ‘No. If he was bad news, then why’s he been so helpful, been spending so much time on these projects?’
‘To keep you close?’ said Tim.
She laughed. ‘You make it sound like I’m the enemy.’
‘Well, maybe you are – to him,’ said Tim.
‘What stuff?’ repeated Iris.
Tim spoke to Kate. ‘Did you ever tell him about the case?’
‘No. No, I’m sure I didn’t.’
‘Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on?’ asked Iris.
‘The break-in . . .’ said Kate. ‘We think it might have been something to do with this case I’m working on.’
‘Oh my giddy aunt.’
The three of them sat in silence. No one was eating, and Kate had completely lost her appetite. Greg couldn’t be involved in this, could he?
FORTY-EIGHT
Later that night, Kate lay in bed, subdued. She was dimly aware Tim was rubbing her back, trying to buoy her up, take her mind off the evening’s revelations. Were they revelations? Because they didn’t reveal anything, not exactly. Tim’s hand moved around to the side of her breast and she could sense him getting amorous. She pushed him away.