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“I’m very annoyed you didn’t tell me about this,” Gwen said, pushing me to sit down. “I am an expert in all things sleuthing, and I could have been a great help.”
“Oh, you were,” I said, eyeing the cat on the table. “Let me guess—Tofu’s walkies coincided with dinner?”
“No,” Gwen replied brightly. “I just don’t like to leave him at home. He gets awfully sad without me, and he has his suncream on, so he can have a little snooze in the sunshine.”
“Of course,” I said, watching the walking chicken wing with a bit of confusion rattling around in my brain.
On the bright side, he wouldn’t get fur in my food. As far as cats went, he was the perfect dinner companion.
“What did you find out?” Ash asked, pushing a wine glass towards me.
I gladly took it and sipped, then relayed everything I’d discovered about Guy Quinn and Declan Tierney. I dove straight into the issues between Tierney and Michael Swann, then what little I knew about Alan’s connection to it all.
“I think there’s a lot there that I don’t know about yet,” I finished. “And I think finding out about their marriage is probably something better done on the grapevine. I doubt there’s much online.”
Gwen shook her head. “You’re right. I can’t say I know much about their relationship, but I know enough to give you both a starting point. Stephanie is quite a bit younger than Declan was—at least twenty years, I believe, maybe more.”
“I can’t imagine why they’re together,” Ash said dryly. “Her looks and his money, right?”
“Given how his first wife died, he probably wanted a trophy wife rather than one who’d get involved in his business,” I pointed out.
“Hmm. Do we really believe that was an accident?” Ash turned to me. “That’s a bit suspicious, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know, but two people very close to him with a financial interest in his business getting hurt on one of his building sites? It’s definitely suspicious.” I paused. “As far as Alan’s concerned, it makes me wonder who’d get the company when he dies. Is he married?”
“Yes,” Gwen answered. “Been married for thirty years, but I knew Declan’s father. The man was a shark. He wanted Alan for his brains.”
“But he didn’t leave school with any qualifications,” Ash pointed out.
“Because he was working a full-time job to help support his parents,” her grandmother replied. “Alan is an extremely smart man. He’s been running that company practically single-handedly in terms of the books for years, even before his accident. Declan was the face of the business, but Alan was certainly the brains.”
“Do you think Declan’s dad knew he couldn’t run the business effectively?” I asked her.
“Absolutely. The man was handsome in his younger years, but he was as thick as two short planks glued together.” Gwen reached over and scratched Tofu under the chin. “Alan was also desperate for success, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was easily manipulated into making sure his portion of the business was handed over to the Tierney family on his death.”
“So, Declan would have benefitted from Alan’s accident.”
“Indeed. And I’m almost certain there was a pre-nup when he married Stephanie.”
“Pre-nups aren’t valid in the UK,” Ash pointed out. “Is that why their divorce is… was… so vicious?”
“Pretty much,” Gwen confirmed. “Not to mention that Declan was cheating on Stephanie with another woman.”
I glanced at Ash. “Really?”
“He claimed it was after they’d split, but infidelity is infidelity in the eyes of the law. As long as they’re married, Stephanie can claim it.”
“But she’s living with another man.”
“That she claims is purely platonic. Unless there’s evidence that points otherwise, it’s just a good friend who’s taken her in in her time of need.”
“Which is irrelevant now,” Ash surmised. “Because she has everything. Was the divorce really that bad?”
“It was.” Gwen stopped scratching Tofu, earning herself a dark look from the purring chicken wing. “He was trying to deny her everything. They never had children, so he didn’t feel as though he needed to give her anything but the bare minimum, but her lawyer disagreed. It was going to be quite the fight in court.”
“Which would have cost her a lot of money,” I said quietly. “Do you think she could have done it?”
“I don’t know. I feel like it’s always the person you least expect it to be.” Gwen shrugged and finished her gin and tonic. “As far as Alan goes, he has just as much motive as Stephanie where finances are concerned. Declan was trying to screw him out of his fair share of the business, and Alan and Stephanie don’t get along at all.”
