He didn’t ask me how I’d found out.
‘Don’t you think it’s strange that there were drugs in Amy’s system, stuff that would have slowed down her response times if taken with alcohol? Medication that we can’t find a prescription for?’
‘I’m sure they’ll work it out. There has to be some explanation.’ He kept his back to me.
‘And her front wheel was loose. Possibly damaged on purpose. What if her death wasn’t an accident?’
There, I’d said it. Mike stopped washing and slowly twisted the cloth to squeeze out the water. He said nothing.
For all Mike knew, the police had spoken to me. It was time to get creative with how much I knew. ‘They’re worried Amy might have been upset about something. Can you think of any reason why she was distressed?’
He turned to face me, his lips pressed together, transforming his mouth into a small white line. ‘She wasn’t worried about anything, I told the police that already.’
‘They think that she could have been stressed about money.’ I kept my eyes on him. ‘They seem to think that the two of you were having financial difficulties. Are they on to something…?’
Mike’s hands balled into fists at his sides. ‘The business hasn’t been doing great, but nothing to worry about.’
‘Did Amy know you were in trouble?’
‘I wouldn’t call it “trouble”. I don’t know what the police said, not that they have any right to share my company’s financial performance with my wife’s family, but it’s just a short-term cash-flow issue, really – it’s not a big deal.’ His face was getting red and he exhaled, a hiss of steam, as he eased himself into a chair.
‘How much are you talking about?’
‘Excuse me? Do you really think that’s any of your business?’
‘It is my business when my sister has died in mysterious circumstances and lo and behold, there’s a huge insurance payout that nobody knew about—’
‘How dare you!’ Mike slammed his fist on the table. ‘How dare you speak to me like that in my own home!’
‘What are you hiding, Mike? What are you worried they’ll find out about?’
His eyes narrowed and his fists balled so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
I held his gaze, my arms crossed tightly in front of my chest to hide my shaking hands. My breath was coming in short, sharp gulps and it took all my strength to hold my stance.
For a moment, I thought he was going to hit me. Then he crumbled into tears, burying his face in his hands.
‘Mike, stop – the kids will hear,’ I said, edging cautiously towards him.
‘I’m sorry, Izzy, I’m sorry about everything,’ he sobbed.
I desperately wanted him to quiet down. I needed for us to not be interrupted. ‘What is it, Mike? What have you got to be sorry about?’
He sat back and took a deep breath.
‘There have been some problems,’ he said, in a shaky voice. ‘I owe some investors, but I have nothing left to give them. After what happened with Amy, I figured I could at least use the insurance to settle our debts and get the business back on track, but when I realised that she’d tied up the money, I freaked out. I’m sorry. I’m trying my best to fix it.’
‘But why did you guys have such a big insurance policy in the first place?’
‘A few years back, I took a couple of gambles and lost. I messed up. At one point, we even had to remortgage the house… When Amy found out what I’d done, she hit the roof. I got to a low point, Izzy. Really low. Amy was worried that something might happen to me, or that I might do something stupid. Like, really stupid.’ He collapsed, sobbing into his hands.
Amy had been worried that Mike was suicidal?
‘So the insurance was her idea?
‘Yes!’ he wailed. ‘She was worried about how much I’d borrowed and how much I owed, and that she wouldn’t be able to pay it back on her own if I wasn’t there.’
‘But why did she have such a big policy on her life, too? If it was you that she was worried about?’
‘I don’t know, it just made sense at the time. All our assets are shared, anyway.’
Something still didn’t quite make sense. The payout was way more than they had ever borrowed. And why had she changed her will without telling him?
‘You don’t think I… did something to hurt Amy, do you?’ He looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes and I saw his terror.
‘No, of course I don’t,’ I said, unconvincingly.
‘Because I would never hurt her. I would never hurt Amy, you should know that.’
I knew no such thing. Mike’s financial problems and the insurance payout were huge red flags to me. But he looked exhausted, and his devastation was plain to see. I would have to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, even if I knew I still wasn’t getting the whole story.
‘That’s why I had to go to Amsterdam,’ he continued. ‘I’m talking to one of our project’s creditors about holding off the repayments for a while. I’ve got a deal that will pay out soon, and then I’ll be back on track.’ His words were hollow.
‘I want to help you. We’re in this together. But please, don’t hide things, you have to be honest with me,’ I said, not believing that he would.
‘I know,’ he said, sniffing as he poured himself a glass of water. ‘I promise, I’ll do better from now on.’
‘Oh, there was one more thing,’ I said, trying to sound casual. ‘Apparently the police signed over Amy’s personal belongings to you. I was wondering if I could take a look? I don’t think I’ve seen them yet…’
Mike looked confused and then remembered something.
‘Yeah, they did give us a box of things. Two days after the accident. I was too upset to open it. Your mum took it home with her.’
