In her car from her apartment, it took Claire just short of half an hour to get to Canary Wharf. She took the lift to the fourth floor of this warehouse that had been converted into apartments, her anger growing. And the tension in her face was building for a short and ugly meeting. Her trust had been betrayed.
James came to the door on crutches and with his left arm hanging loosely in a plaster cast.
‘What a pleasant surprise. Come in,’ James said.
He leant to kiss Claire, but she stood back.
‘We just need to talk for a short while.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll soon be back on the site, and I’ll arrange a driver if I have to. The whole project is getting to a critical point. Everything needs to be rescheduled if we’re to finish on time. And I’ve still to take on roofers and more electricians. Their quotes should be in by the end of the week.’
Despite his difficulty in walking, James sounded in ebullient mood. He led Claire into the small kitchen-dining area and started to press a button on the Italian coffee machine.
‘How do you like your coffee?’ he asked.
‘I don’t have time for that,’ Claire said.
‘I hear that you haven’t been to the site for a few days.’
Claire did not move to sit but took a deep breath and walked towards the window that looked out to the river.
‘I have some serious things to say to you, so please listen carefully,’ she said with her back to him.
‘Yeah, I’m really sorry about the accident. Health and Safety will want to know about it. You must let me know when you’ve checked the site insurance because I’m claiming it all—’
‘James, stop.’ Claire turned and spoke sharply.
James looked up and stopped shuffling some papers on the table. He sat heavily on a wooden chair.
‘There’s been a fraud, a conspiracy on the site, and I know you’ve been part of it. You’ve been syphoning off cash, probably in collusion with some of the tradespeople. You were put in hospital after a sharp blade slashed across your back, and that wasn’t just because you told him you didn’t like his work. You can either own up to this now or—’
‘What on earth are you talking about? Why would I want to do that?’
‘At the beginning I had total confidence in you. And so did Rick. It’s a project you should have been proud of.’
‘I have nothing to do with the money. You run the bank accounts. And I’m coming back soon to finish it off. So, is this all you’ve come to talk about?’ James asked, his aggression rising.
‘Yes, it is. I’ve looked again at all the invoices you’ve given to me for payment. I’ve found duplicates, invoices that don’t even add up and even two that are fakes. They’re false – I’ve checked, and the builder just does not exist. And then there are the bank account changes you’ve been giving me. Mostly they’re all fakes as well. And I wonder why all the changed payments are to a bank account just a few steps from your front doorstep here in Canary Wharf.’
‘I’ve only signed off what I know the site should be paying. Nothing more and nothing less. And if I’ve made a mistake in signing off a copy, then I’ve told you before we need to correct it and go and get the money back. Let me know who they are, and I’ll call the builder myself tomorrow.’
‘James, no. You are not taking this seriously. This has been going on almost since the site was opened. It’s beyond simple mistakes. This is wilful fraud, planned and very blatant. I don’t know how much you’ve had out of it, but I’ve added up the total overspend that you’ve signed off. It’s big, over £100,000. I’ve got all the papers of the whole sordid story safely stored away. They’ll go to the police if necessary.’
‘Claire, you be careful. If you are accusing me of swindling, that’s not something I would take lightly. If you dare say this with anyone else listening, then I’ll sue you. I have a professional reputation to keep, and I’m not going to let that slip away from some unfounded, loose accusations.’
James was now hobbling on his crutch; his face was becoming red; and he stood in front of Claire as she moved towards the small hallway.
‘I don’t want you back on the site. From today, you are no longer employed on rebuilding Arrow Hall. And I’ve had all the locks, including on the office cabin, changed, so don’t try to come and get anything you want to take away to hide the fraud, because you won’t be able to.’
Claire spoke quickly. With James trying to deny anything she was saying, her antagonism to him had been rising as she had talked. But James was by now blocking her exit, holding his crutch across the doorway. She tried to push past him to the front door, but he pushed her back.
‘Before you go, I want you to admit you’ve got all this wrong. I want you to show me all the bills you think are wrong so I can—’
‘No, James. I’ve said enough. You know what you’ve been doing, so let me pass, please. I’ve got more work to do today.’
James clumsily stood on one foot and grabbed Claire’s arm. He put his face close to hers and shouted.
‘If that’s the case, I’ll get my lawyer to send you a letter. And this fancy fraud scheme you’ve made up’ll cost you a lot more money than you’re accusing me of thieving. So, what do you want?’
Claire recoiled, but James still had her arm in a tight grip.
‘Let me go or I’ll get the police.’
She took her phone from her pocket, but James knocked it from her hand and onto the floor. And as James tried to pull Claire back into the small kitchen area, she slapped his face with her free hand. It was enough to send him off balance and he fell heavily to the floor on top of his plaster cast arm. She trod over him, picked up her mobile phone and reached the front door within a few seconds. As she stood on the landing, she looked back at James, and he was scrambling to his feet. She shouted back through the open door.
‘You should know that if you try any legal bluff, I’ve seen proof in writing of what you’ve been up to. You’ve been right in the middle of a very nasty scam. And you’re going to pay for it.’
James did not answer. He was at the door on his crutches, staring at her. But Claire left him; she was now in a hurry. She walked quickly to the landing that led to the flights of stairs to the ground floor.
A few minutes later, out in the open, she was shaking. She walked across the wide concourse to the river edge where she stood to breathe in heavy doses of fresh air. Clearing this mess was far from settled. There was a big sum of cash that she had let slip through her fingers, and firing James today was the easy part. She still had to tell Rick that there was £120,000 from his bank now missing.
Recovering from his injuries, James was immobile. Holed up in his flat on the east side of London. James was finished. But there was more sharp noise to come. And shouting was all that Harry Stone would be able to do.