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“Have you seen a doctor?”
“A doctor? Heavens no. No need for all that fuss and nonsense. Believe me, I’m fine.”
Alexia tried to believe him. “Will you cope, Teddy?” she asked anxiously. “I feel so helpless.”
“Of course I’ll cope.” Teddy laughed. “What a question. I survived prep school. Prison’ll be a doddle after that.”
Alexia thought, He means it. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Teddy said, “Let’s not talk about that now. We probably only have a few minutes. How are you, my darling? How was the Vineyard?”
“The Vineyard was the same as it always is. Lovely. Peaceful.”
“And New York?”
Alexia looked up sharply. “How did you know I was in New York?”
“I think Angus mentioned something,” Teddy said nonchalantly. “I was surprised. You never mentioned it in your letters. I always thought you loathed the city.”
“I needed a change of scene,” lied Alexia. The last thing she wanted to discuss with Teddy was her research into Jennifer Hamlin’s murder. Since his confession about Billy, they hadn’t touched on the subject again. They couldn’t, not if the marriage was going to survive. But there was one question she needed to ask. Now, while she had the chance.
“Have you ever heard of a company called HM Capital?”
Teddy looked bemused. “What on earth makes you ask that?”
“It’s a long story,” bluffed Alexia. “Nothing important. I just wondered if the name rang any bells.”
“All right. Well, yes, it does, as a matter of fact. It’s one of Arnie Meyer’s shell companies. An investment vehicle. Based out of Cayman, if memory serves.”
Alexia felt a tingle of something—excitement, or maybe apprehension—hearing Teddy confirm what her own research suggested. When she first saw Arnie Meyer’s name on the list of company directors, she thought she must have made a mistake. But it soon emerged that Arnie was not only a director, but the founder and primary investor in HM Capital. The other names on the directors’ list were all professional trustees, lawyers, and accountants who provided the business with tax advice. HM Capital was Arnie Meyer. And it had systematically set out to destroy Billy Hamlin’s business.
“What does it invest in?”
“Emerging markets,” Teddy said confidently. “Former Soviet republics primarily. Oil and gas.”
“Nothing else?”
“Not that I know of.”
“They don’t invest in automotives, for example? In the U.S.”
“No.” Teddy frowned. “What’s all this about, darling?”
“Honestly, it’s nothing.” Alexia smiled reassuringly. “I was thinking of making an investment, that’s all. I wanted to get your thoughts.”
“I’ll give you my thoughts.” Teddy suddenly sounded furious. “Tell Arnie if he wants to try and get money out of this family, he can damn well come to me. How dare he prey on you like that, at such a vulnerable time? I knew he was having some liquidity problems, but I never realized things had got that bad.”
“Please calm down, darling. No one’s been pressuring me, least of all Arnie. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
To Alexia’s relief, two prison guards came in at that moment and, very politely, asked her to leave. Taking her in his arms, Teddy forgot about Arnie Meyer.
“Thank you for coming to see me.”
“I’ll come as often as I can. Just as soon as they tell me where you are.” Alexia kissed him tenderly on the cheek.
“Look after Roxie,” Teddy called over his shoulder as he was led away.
“I’ll do my best.”
