False Charity by Veronica Heley Read Free Book Online

we’ve a dissatisfied customer on our hands.’
    Nicole was distracted, answered at random, probably worrying how she was going to break the bad news to Max. ‘I suppose that girl Maggie can handle it although Max did say she was pretty useless in the office.’
    â€˜Do you know anything about Coral Payne, the caterer who got stung?
    â€˜Oh, one of the troublemakers. Honestly, Bea. What a fuss about nothing.’
    One
of the troublemakers? How many dissatisfied customers were there?
    Bea said, ‘Have you any idea how Max came to meet the people who ripped her off?’
    â€˜We meet so many, I can’t be expected to remember which one she means. I think it was some preview at the Royal Academy. No, I remember now, it was at a charity function, Red Cross, or Mental Health or something like that. Perfectly charming woman, American, I think. Desperate to help the victims of whatever it was, somewhere in Asia. Knew about the agency, asked if Max could put her in touch with a reliable caterer. So he did. It was up to Mrs Payne to check them out.’
    Was that true? Bea wasn’t sure that it was, though she could see how Nicole might think so. Bea began to walk Nicole to the door. ‘Was Max paid an introduction fee by Coral?’
    Nicole shrugged. ‘How should I know?’
    Bea made a mental note to check. ‘I’m sorry for Coral. Don’t we have some insurance to cover bad debts?’
    â€˜I don’t suppose it would cover Mrs Payne’s bad debts. If she didn’t have any insurance, then that’s her fault, not ours.’
    Bea opened the front door, and manoeuvred Nicole down the steps. Only then did she realize that she was still holding Nicole’s little dog. Nicole came back for him with a bad grace – the dog objected to being removed from Bea’s arms – and disappeared with him, looking at her watch, in the direction of the Tube station. Or to collect her car?
    Only then did Bea remember that she hadn’t asked Nicole about her own car. And Hamilton’s. Bother. Well, she didn’t need a car today, did she? There was a convenience store nearby and for anything else, there was Marks & Spencer’s Food Hall in the High Street nearby.
    She closed the front door behind her, and went down the outside steps to the basement, thinking about what she would say to Coral. It was out of the question for her to get involved, obviously. Although, wouldn’t it make her as bad as Max, if she refused to accept the blame for the shortcomings of the agency?
    The basement steps had been swept and a healthy-looking bay tree in a pot had been placed in the area below. Everything looked spotless. Full marks to Maggie. The girl might be one of the most irritating creatures alive, but she did know how to look after the house.
    Bea tried the door into the basement, but it wouldn’t open. She rang the bell and Maggie’s voice requested identification before letting her in. A good safety precaution. The tiny vestibule and loo beyond was also clean and neat though perhaps could do with a lick of paint. But if the agency were closing, what did it matter? The basement could now be turned into a self-contained flat and let out for extra income. Or sold.
    The reception room beyond seemed a trifle dim and perhaps a trifle dingy. Stick-thin Maggie was sitting at a desk in front of some filing cabinets. Coral was sitting on an upright chair with a fat file on her knee. The settee beside her was occupied by her podgy daughter – heavily pregnant – and fidgeting son-in-law.
    Bea registered the fact that Maggie was looking annoyed before Coral sprang to her feet. ‘You remember my daughter June, don’t you?’
    June was a blonde of sorts, with straggling hair tied back in a ponytail. On seeing Bea, she struggled to her feet, assisted by her husband. She was breathing hard and looked as if she’d go into labour any minute. ‘I got it