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He rubbed his face wearily.
‘Look, as you can imagine, the thought of administering Jon’s affairs is terrifying. Like going into a bear cave – you never know what you’ll find there. There’s his apartment to sort out, the sale of the yacht, winding up his businesses – God, the paperwork.’
‘I suppose it will be worthwhile, though?’ said Lara, wiping her oily fingers on a napkin.
Simon raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that your way of asking if I am his main beneficiary?’
Lara waited.
‘Yes, I am. But I strongly suspect it will be something of a poisoned chalice. Not only will I be tied up in legal disputes with his investors for years to come, there’s a damn good chance we will end up with a deficit.’
‘As in there will be no money left?’
‘Lara, you’ve seen Pandora. It’s a flash yacht moored in one of the most expensive marinas on earth. Does that look like the purchase of a man who carefully plans his finances?’
Lara chuckled.
‘No, I suppose not.’
Simon shook his head ruefully.
‘Jon was an all-on-red kind of guy. I would be surprised if there is a single penny left at the end of it.’
Lara smiled, but she thought it a strange thing to say. After all, the media had referred to Jonathon Meyer as multi-millionaire. Some had even referred to him as a billionaire. There had to be something left, even if it was only the yacht.
Simon signalled to the barman for another drink.
‘So who is this Michael?’ he asked.
‘That’s what we need to find out. Josie – the girlfriend – overheard a conversation between Jon and this guy “Mike”. She said they seemed to know each other well. Perhaps they were old friends?’
Simon took a sip of his gin and looked thoughtful.
‘Our father’s best friend was called Mike but he must be over eighty now, if he’s still alive. It’s a popular name…’
Lara leaned forward.
‘This Mike was asking Jonathon for a favour: a big favour. He thought Jon would do it as he owed him. Apparently, he said Jon owed him everything.’
Simon Meyer looked at her.
‘Then I wonder if it was Michael Sachs.’
Lara felt her back stiffen.
‘Michael Sachs? Who’s he?’
‘Big-time financier. Something of a socialite and philanthropist; Michael and his wife are always in the party pages of societ
y magazines – a very impressive man. And in the early days, Michael Sachs was a mentor to Jon.’
Lara tried to contain her growing excitement. That instinct jangling again: she could feel that this was important.
‘So how did Jonathon get to know him?
‘Through Sachs’s son, actually. After Jon left Cambridge he moved to West London and did odd jobs to get by. Being a maths guy, it’s no surprise he fell into tutoring and did some for Michael Sachs’s little kid. Jon used to tell me how much he liked going round to their house – some stucco pile in Kensington.’
Simon smiled fondly.
