Steph returned to the notebook and paid closer attention to the entries which followed. She wasn’t sure what she was hoping to find amongst the hair appointments, birthday reminders and shopping lists, but she could feel her luck beginning to change.

The next entry which stood out was ‘Bovis & Childs. 3m. N. Meadow.’

Thank goodness for the internet. In a matter of seconds, Steph had searched for Bovis & Childs and been rewarded with a website for a local, but specialist, estate agents who dealt with ‘high-end properties’ and ‘land valuation’.

N. Meadow was probably short for North Meadow, she concluded. The following search for North Meadow took a little longer for Steph to understand, but after just a few clicks the results showed it was a parcel of land at the north of the Conmere estate. The 3m Steph assumed to be the valuation.

Steph looked at the notebook entry again. There was an arrow pointing to the words ‘one vote p/p’ and underneath that, ‘letter to BoD sent’.

BoD? Votes?

‘Board of Directors,’ she said. Elizabeth had sent a letter to the Board of Directors concerning North Meadow. Steph assumed that the other entry related to the set-up of the BoD. Each director had one vote. If only she knew what the letter had said.

She rattled her pen between her teeth, trying to put together the tiny fragments of information she’d found so far. It was impossible without the letter and the reply. She stopped rattling the pen as an idea began to form in her mind. It was risky. It was unethical. In fact, it was illegal, but it was the only way.

Chapter Thirty-One

The Office, Conmere House,
Wednesday, 15 May, 3.00 a.m.