‘You were?’ asked Diane Fry. ‘Why? Are you cutting back? Is the business in trouble?’
‘No, no. Well, not since we found out what Charlie was up to, thank goodness.’
‘And what was that?’
‘Oh, it was a clever scam. After completion on a property, he was maintaining contact with many of our clients – buyers and vendors alike. He got himself into a position of trust by concluding a successful transaction, which can be quite stressful for clients. And then he was using that trust to advise people on financial matters and brokering insurance policies, which of course he wasn’t qualified to do. And he certainly wasn’t doing it on our behalf. Charlie Dean had quite a nice little earner going there. Well, we couldn’t tolerate that. Our company’s reputation was at risk.’
‘He sounds like a fairly typical con man,’ said Fry.
‘I suppose you’ll say that’s what an estate agent is anyway. I’ve heard it all before.’
‘I wasn’t going to say that at all. I don’t have enough experience with your profession.’
‘You don’t own a property yourself?’
‘Not at the moment.’
‘Well, if you’re looking for somewhere in the area … we have some very nice starter homes. Or perhaps a rental property?’
Her hand hovered a pile of brochures, but Fry stared at her coldly, and she slowly withdrew it.
‘Not appropriate, I suppose?’ she said.
‘No.’
‘Well, some time when you’re off duty, perhaps.’
Fry didn’t respond. She couldn’t imagine herself house hunting. And if she ever did, it wouldn’t be here. Not in rural Derbyshire at all, in fact. She’d be terrified of turning into the sort of person who felt obliged to have a wood-burning stove and logs neatly stacked up in a wicker basket. A nice, modern loft apartment in the centre of Birmingham would be about the mark. Not that she’d ever be able to afford one.
‘So when did you find out about Mr Dean’s unauthorised activities?’ she said.
Ursula Hart laughed. It was quite a dirty laugh, almost a snigger.
‘Did I say something funny?’ asked Fry.
‘Unauthorised activities,’ said Hart. ‘It sounds like a euphemism. Particularly apt for Charlie. We found out what he was up to when one of his girlfriends wrote to us and shopped him. It seems he’d dumped her and she wasn’t happy about it. So she wanted revenge, and decided to get him into trouble. Hell hath no fury and all that. That was a bit remiss of Charlie, I think. He’d let her into his secrets. I suppose he must have decided to trust her.’
‘Always a mistake.’
‘Well, not always…’
‘And when was this exactly, Ms Hart?’
‘About two months ago. Obviously, we had to investigate her allegations. But the evidence seemed pretty conclusive. So we’d taken a decision to sack him next week. My partners will be relieved that it isn’t necessary now. This sort of thing always creates awkward scenes and recriminations.’
‘Were you planning to report him to the police? It sounds as though Mr Dean’s activities were illegal.’
She shook her head. ‘No. Reputation, you know.’
‘That again.’
‘It’s important in business. We have too many competitors in the property market. If people start to hear bad things about us, they’ll go elsewhere with their properties. It was bad enough that Charlie was messing around with these women of his.’
‘Women? Ah, you said “one of his girlfriends”.’
‘Exactly. I gather the latest one was with him when he crashed the car.’
‘Sheena Sullivan.’
‘I don’t know her. But there have certainly been others over the years. He was using our properties for his assignations, you know. Any that had been left standing empty. If he was handling the marketing of the property he had access to the keys for accompanied viewings. We knew about all that, thanks to the woman scorned.’
‘We’ll need the name of this woman who wrote to you,’ said Fry.
‘Will you? Isn’t that a confidential detail?’
‘Not in a murder inquiry, I’m afraid.’
‘Ah, well. I suppose there might still be some collateral damage to our reputation, then.’
‘It’s possible,’ said Fry. ‘It depends if we can get anyone in court, and how they plead.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Well, a not guilty plea means a full trial has to take place – witnesses, cross-questioning, all that. Every relevant detail will be explored, and it can go on for weeks. A plea of guilty avoids a lot of that, and the hearing is over more quickly.’