‘It could take months of going through all of his personal expenditure and also looking at his assets and other things. I think if you can speak to one of his rivals, they might be able to give you some information. The next largest company is Hatfield Homes; they will definitely have crossed paths. Their company hasn’t experienced the kind of growth you would expect given the current climate. In order for us to prove this by his accounts alone, he will need to be audited by a forensic accountant. It could take months and that stuff is a little beyond my capabilities.’

‘I don’t believe that for a second,’ Adrian said.

‘Well, I don’t have time to do it and it would take someone else with the proper experience half the time.’

‘Who can we speak to at Hatfield Homes?’

‘The director there is Cameron Becker. I’ll ping you the address.’

‘How are things with you, anyway?’ Adrian asked.

‘Really good. Franka and I are going on holiday in about two weeks. Hopefully.’

‘Where you going?’

‘Croatia, to see her family. Meeting the parents and all that.’

‘Oh, so her parents get to meet you before we get to meet her. I don’t even know what she looks like,’ Adrian said, half joking.

He wondered if there was something about his new girlfriend that Gary was trying to hide. It certainly felt like it; they’d been together for several months now and there was always a reason Gary couldn’t introduce her to them. He couldn’t be annoyed, though, because he hadn’t even told Gary he was in a relationship with Imogen.

‘She doesn’t do photos, sorry,’ Gary said.

‘Well, she must be pretty special to have bagged a guy like you.’

Gary blushed and turned back to looking at his laptop screen.

‘We should know a bit more after the search of the house at Oswestry. Hopefully, anyway,’ Gary said.

‘How long has this guy been missing?’ Adrian said.

‘Clive Osborne hasn’t been seen in around ten years. Hard to pinpoint an exact date after so much time has passed. He last used his bank account about two weeks before the Corrigans moved into the area.’

‘Who reported him missing?’

‘No one; that’s the strange thing. I have managed to locate his mother’s phone number. She lives in Spain now.’

‘Have you called her yet? I can do it after I speak to Cameron Becker,’ Adrian offered.

‘Great, I’ll ping the number over to you.’

Gary tapped away at the keys furiously and just seconds later, Adrian felt his phone vibrate in his pocket to alert him that he had an email. Phone calls he could do.

Chapter Sixty-Two