‘Okay. Why?’
Monique shrugged. ‘Why not?’
‘You tell me. Tax dodge?’
‘No. I’ve always paid my taxes in full.’
‘So what was it then? Just stealing money for the fun of it?’
‘I told you. Martin knew. You can’t accuse me of stealing something from someone who knew about it and let it happen.’
‘We’ve only got your word for that, haven’t we? Martin, quite conveniently, happens to be dead. In any case, Sandra Forbes is also a director of Allure Design. Did she know you’d been embezzling funds?’
‘Detective Inspector,’ the solicitor grumbled.
‘I don’t want to answer that question,’ Monique replied.
Caroline jotted some notes on the pad in front of her as she spoke. ‘Okay. I’m sure your solicitor will make you aware of this if he hasn’t already, but Martin Forbes having been an accessory to your act of fraud perpetrated against a company co-owned by his unknowing wife doesn’t absolve you of any liability in that regard. Just so we’re clear. But let’s circle back round on this. Your relationship with Martin. Did that begin before or after you started this little scheme?’
Monique swallowed. ‘After.’
Caroline and Dexter exchanged a brief glance. ‘I see. And were you as keen on the idea as he was?’ She watched as Monique tried desperately to hide her reaction, lost in the confusion as to what she should be willing to tell them. ‘Did he coerce you into a sexual relationship in exchange for allowing the embezzlement to continue?’
Monique’s jaw began to tremble as tears filled her eyes. Eventually, she closed them and nodded.
Caroline looked at Dexter again. They both knew what the implications were. If Martin Forbes had coerced Monique into regularly having sex with him, effectively in exchange for money, it shifted the power dynamic substantially. But it also gave her a prime motive for murder.
‘Okay,’ Caroline said, now acutely aware of her duty of care towards Monique. ‘How do you feel? Are you happy to continue or would you like a few minutes?’
Monique shook her head and sniffed. ‘No. It’s fine. I want this all over with as quickly as possible.’
‘Alright. In that case, I’m sorry to have to ask you this, but can you tell me where you were between six o’clock yesterday evening and nine o’clock this morning?’
‘At my mum’s in Corby, for most of it.’
‘Most of it? Can you be a little more specific please?’
Monique sighed. ‘Okay, well I left work at the usual time and went straight round there. I stayed overnight until I left for work this morning. So no, it’s physically impossible for me to have killed Martin, if that’s what you’re asking.’
‘We are going to need to verify that, Monique. I hope you understand.’
‘Verify it all you like. I stayed over because my dad’s in hospital. They had a break-in a few years back, and the guys beat my dad to a pulp. It made the papers and everything. He had a bleed on the brain. He’s never been the same since. He gets seizures every now and then. Every few months, perhaps. Each time he does, he has to stay overnight in hospital for observation. Mum called me yesterday afternoon to say it’d happened again, so I stayed over with her. She’s petrified to sleep in the house on her own after what happened. Especially when the whole reason dad’s not there is because of the break-in.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Caroline said, mentally noting that it wouldn’t be difficult to confirm all this from police reports and hospital records.
‘And if you need proof,’ Monique said, as if reading Caroline’s mind, ‘that won’t be difficult either. They’ve done the place out like Fort Knox since that day. CCTV cameras, video doorbells, the lot. I was probably on more cameras and screens last night than Richard Osman.’
Caroline nodded. They’d have to access the footage as quickly as possible to verify her alibi, especially in light of the revelation that Monique had been a victim of sexual coercion. Caroline didn’t like to use the word lightly, but there could be a strong argument for calling it rape by deception or fraud.
‘Okay. We’re going to need to check the footage and confirm everything at this end. We’ll pull out all the stops to do that as quickly as we possibly can.’
‘Will I have to wait here, or can I go?’
Caroline pursed her lips. They hadn’t yet got any proof of what Monique was saying, and even if she could prove her whereabouts it didn’t clear her of conspiracy or some level of involvement. ‘We’ll need you to hold on a little longer, if that’s okay.’
Monique slowly nodded. ‘Yeah. Yeah okay. Just… try and be quick. Please. I really want to see my dad.’
13
As much as she wanted to push forward, Caroline felt powerless. Officers had been despatched to Monique’s mother’s house in Corby and the security footage had proven that Monique wasn’t their killer, having spent the whole night at her mother’s.
More than anything, it had given them their first real glimpse into the sort of man Martin Forbes had been, and it hadn’t exactly reduced the field of potential suspects. For now, though, it was a waiting game.
Caroline had been forced to put the brakes on the planned full forensic analysis of Allure Design’s computer systems and accounts. Now that it would be merely speculative, she simply couldn’t justify the expense on what were already extremely tight policing budgets. In any case, she’d decided to proceed with obtaining a backup of everything from their systems, just in case it was needed further down the line. If nothing else, it would ensure nothing was ‘accidentally’ lost or misplaced.
It was often the case that investigations relied on third parties cooperating quickly and effortlessly, and delays and roadblocks were, at times, unbearable. With Allure Design’s IT manager, Tom Mackintosh, still being on holiday, there was very little they could do until he returned.
In the situation where they were pretty certain conclusive
