Charlie sipped his wine. ‘I suppose it will do no harm to tell you now. Unfortunately, some busybody in the office noticed a discrepancy in the finances. Money was being creamed off a few accounts. Not much, you understand, and only from people who really wouldn’t notice the loss.’

Her jaw dropped. ‘Jack embezzled?’

‘Such an ugly word,’ he said, ‘but probably appropriate. Except it wasn’t Jack.’

‘You!’

‘It was easy to persuade people Jack was to blame. I simply dropped a casual word into the right ears, told people I was worried about him, that his gambling problem seemed to be getting out of hand.’ He gave a casual wave. ‘It was really very easy.’

She frowned. ‘But they didn’t fire him outright or call the police.’

He swirled the last drop of wine around the glass. ‘Don’t be silly, I knew that wasn’t going to happen, it would have worried investors. Being on suspension is a much more subtle way of getting rid of someone. People are already saying Jack who? Another week or two on suspension, it will be as if he’d never worked there, and once the investigation is finished and they’ve found the proof they need, he’ll be quietly fired and arrested.’

Molly felt like the room was spinning and the ground falling from under her. Her mouth was dry, her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. It was hard to get the words out. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head, trying to clear the fog that seemed to be engulfing her, but when she opened them again nothing was clearer. She felt a shiver of fear; this man with his cruel calculating eyes bore little resemblance to the smiling cheerful Charlie she’d met socially over the years. ‘But they’ll find Jack wasn’t to blame, won’t they? They’ll find out it was you.’

‘Oh no, before that happens, I’ll have put the money back. Once they discover the figures balance, they won’t investigate much deeper. But they will be suspicious, and Jack will still be fired.’ Charlie shrugged dismissively. ‘A casualty of war, I’m afraid.’

‘I don’t understand. If you have the money, why can’t you put it back now and save him.’

‘Because, you stupid bitch, thanks to you, I don’t have the damn money yet!’ He stood and paced the room, running a hand through his hair and looking increasingly wild.

While he had his back to her, Molly looked toward the open door to the hallway. It seemed so near, but she knew she couldn’t make it. Even if every bone in her body didn’t ache, her head felt increasingly woolly. None of what Charlie was saying made much sense, but she couldn’t ignore the warning bells that were clanging in her ears.