The last thing I did was to open up the hidden file and print out the contents of it and the other invoice file. Then, clutching my pile of papers, I staggered off to bed. Richard hadnt appeared, which meant he was probably out on the razz with a bunch of musicians. When he finally came home, hed stagger into his own bed rather than waken me. Just one of the advantages of our semidetached lifestyle.
I woke up just before eight, the light still on, the papers strewn all over the duvet and the floor. I hadnt got past page one before sleep had overwhelmed me. I picked up the papers and shuffled them together. I showered, sliced a banana into a bowl of muesli and took breakfast and coffee out into the conservatory. As I ate, I started to read the paperwork. The purchase orders for KerrSter showed a sudden hike about two months previously, virtually tripling overnight. Interestingly, they werent big orders. According to this printout, Sandra hadnt increased the amount of KerrSter on each order. It was the number of orders that had shot up. That seemed a pretty inefficient way of doing business to me.
I checked back with the till receipts to see when the sudden surge in sales of KerrSter had started. I knew then that I was on to something. If what Sandra Bates had told me was the truth, the increased orders should have been sales-led. But what I was seeing was something very different. The till receipts for KerrSter didnt start to pick up until a few days after the orders increased dramatically. It looked as if the product had been given its starry position before the sales justified it. I was sure Trevor Kerr hadnt been paying them a premium to improve the profile of his product; I couldnt imagine him parting with his companys cash in a deal like that. Trevor struck me as a man who liked his profits, and wouldnt cede them to anyone.
By now, I was gripped by the paper trail. Time for the invoices. First, I went through the accessible KerrSter invoice file. That was when the alarm bells started ringing. The product orders might have tripled, but the invoices hadnt. I double-checked, but there was no mistake. Filbert Brown were still paying Kerrchem for the same amount of cleaning fluid as they had been before the order hike.
That left the contents of the hidden file. It contained the invoices for the remaining two-thirds of the KerrSter. There was one crucial difference. The bank account where the electronic fund transfer was sending the money for the extra KerrSter wasnt the same as the bank account on the other, up-front invoices. Whoever Sandra Bates was paying for the KerrSter, it wasnt Kerrchem.
That left me two possibilities. Either somebody at Kerrchem was creaming off a tidy backdoor profit for themselves, or Sandra Bates was dealing with the schneid merchants who were peddling phony KerrSter with such disastrous results. I knew which theory looked most likely to me.
I checked the clock. Ten to nine. Chances were that management staff at Filbert Brown didnt start work until nine. If I was quick, I could be in and out of their computer before their sysman logged in to find someone else using his ID. To be on the safe side, I should have waited until the evening, but I was behind the door when they were handing out patience.
Two minutes later, I was in the system again. This time, I wasnt looking for Sandra Batess terminal. I wanted her personnel file. I got into personnel at three minutes to nine. A minute took me to staff personnel files. Once I was there, I downloaded Sandra Batess file to my own hard disk. I was back out of Filbert Brown by one minute past nine. A couple of minutes later, I was looking at Sandra Batess CV.
Shed been to school in Ashton-under-Lyne, a once separate town now attached to East Manchester by a string of down-at-the-heel suburbs. Shed done a degree in business studies at what was then Manchester Poly and is now Manchester Metropolitan University. Youd think when they got their university status that someone would have noticed their new initials translate only too readily to Mickey Mouse University, endorsing the snooty opinions of those who attended real universities. After her degree, Sandra had gone to work for one of the big chains of do-it-yourself stores, havens for suburbanites on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Shed stayed there for a couple of years before joining Filbert Brown three years previously. Shed had one promotion since then and was pulling down just over twenty grand. The item that really interested me was her address. Thirty-seven Alder Way, Burnage. I needed to check out her house at some point today while she was out at work. I would probably have to stake her out or do a little bit of illegal bugging to find out who her phony KerrSter supplier was, and to do that, I needed to get a picture of the setup out in Alder Way.
Before I could do any of that, I needed to get dressed and stop by the office. I had plenty of time before I had to make the meet with Denniss fence, so I could at least put off the tarts disguise till later. I grabbed a clean pair of jeans, my Reeboks and a denim-look cotton sweater. If I was going to spend the afternoon teetering on stilettos, I could at least spend the morning in comfort.
Shelley was catching up on the filing when I walked in, a clear sign that she was bored. Going part-time now, are we? she asked acidly.
Ive been doing some work on the computer at home, I said defensively. Shelley has the unerring knack of making me feel fifteen and guilty again.
A report would be nice now and again, she said. I know Im only the office manager, but it does help when clients phone if I know where were up to.
Sorry, I said contritely. Its just that most of the things Ive been doing for the last couple of days are the kind of things I dont want the clients to know Im up to. Ill get something down on tape for you by the end of today, promise. I smiled ingratiatingly. Would you like a cappuccino?
How much is it going to cost me? Shelley asked suspiciously. Abe Lincoln wouldnt have said you can fool all of the people some of the time if hed ever met Shelley.
Can I borrow you and your car this afternoon? I asked. Ive got a meet with the fence whos been handling these stolen artworks, and Im going to need to tail him afterwards. Hes going to have clocked the coupe, and its too obvious a car to follow him in. I want you to come out there with me and after the meet, we can swap cars. I go off in your motor, you come back in the coupe.
You saying my Rovers common? Shelley asked.
Only in a numerical sense. Please?
How do I know youll bring it back in one piece?
She had a point. In the past eighteen months Id written off one car and done serious damage to the Little Rascal, the van weve got fitted out with full surveillance gear. Neither incident had been my fault, but it still made me the butt of all office jokes about drivers. Ill bring it back in one piece, I said through gritted teeth.
Can I borrow you and your car this afternoon? I asked. Ive got a meet with the fence whos been handling these stolen artworks, and Im going to need to tail him afterwards. Hes going to have clocked the coupe, and its too obvious a car to follow him in. I want you to come out there with me and after the meet, we can swap cars. I go off in your motor, you come back in the coupe.
You saying my Rovers common? Shelley asked.
Only in a numerical sense. Please?
How do I know youll bring it back in one piece?
She had a point. In the past eighteen months Id written off one car and done serious damage to the Little Rascal, the van weve got fitted out with full surveillance gear. Neither incident had been my fault, but it still made me the butt of all office jokes about drivers. Ill bring it back in one piece, I said through gritted teeth.
What about the Little Rascal? Shelley demanded. You could tail him in that. All you have to do is make sure he doesnt see you getting out of it. Just be there early, out of the car, waiting for him.
I pulled a face. The guy drives a Merc. I suspect Id lose him on the motorway. Besides, hes no dummy. Hes probably going to wait till he sees me drive off before he takes off himself.
So if you drive off, how are we going to swap cars?
Trust me. Ill show you when we get there.
I get the coupe overnight? she bargained.
But of course. I might as well take it now, since I need to look unobtrusive in Burnage.
We swapped keys and I headed off in her four-year-old Rover to Burnage. My first stop was the local library, where I checked the electoral roll. Sandra Bates was the only resident listed at 37. Alder Way was a quiet street of 1930s semis, each with a small garden. I marched boldly up the path of 37 and knocked on the door. There was no reply. There was an empty carport at the side of the house, and I walked cautiously through it and opened the wrought-iron gate leading into the back garden. Sandra was obviously as efficient at home as she was at work. There was a line of washing pegged out, drying in the watery sunlight. Whatever the electoral roll said, Sandra didnt live alone. Hanging beside her underwear were boxer shorts and socks. Flapping in the breeze like a phantom among the shirts and blouses were two pairs of overalls. Maybe I wouldnt have to look so far for the mystery chemist after all.
14
I RANG THE DOORBELL Of 35 ALDER WAY. I WAS ABOUT TO GIVE up when the door opened. I realized why it had taken so long. The harassed-looking young woman who stood in the doorway had identical toddlers clinging onto each leg of her jeans. As a handicapping system, it beat anything the Jockey Club has ever come up with. The twins stared up at me and conducted a conversation with each other in what sounded like some East European language, all sibilants and diphthongs. Yes? the woman said. At least she spoke Mancunian.
Sorry to bother you, I said. Im looking for a guy called Richard Barclay. The address Ive got for him is next door at number thirty-seven. But there doesnt seem to be anybody in.
She shook her head. Theres nobody by that name next door, she said with an air of finality, her hand rising to close the door.
Are you sure? I said, looking puzzled and referring to the piece of paper in my hand where Id just written my lovers name and Sandra Batess address. I waved it at her. I was supposed to meet him here. About a job.