Page 23 of The Hampton Beach Café 5
Frances frowned, confused.
“These reports look genuine,” she said, puzzled.
Alex nodded, his expression mirroring her confusion.
“They do, but something doesn't add up,” he said, furrowing his brow.
Frances studied the reports closely, and then she had a sudden realization.
“Wait a minute,” she said, her voice rising with excitement. “Look at the names on these reports. They're all from the same building inspector.”
Alex nodded, catching on to her discovery.
“But that's not possible,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “There's no way one building inspector could have inspected all these properties––there are hundreds, and they’re all dated in the last six months.”
Frances and Alex exchanged glances, their minds racing. It was becoming clear that the reports were likely falsified, but they couldn't figure out how Clarkson had managed to pull it off.
“We need to dig deeper,” Frances said, her determination reignited. “There has to be a way to prove that these reports are fake.”
Frances nodded, a mix of sadness and anger washing over her.
“Hang on, let me just look something up,” she said.
Pulling her phone out, Frances typed something into the search screen and frowned at it as it seemed to take forever to load.
“I was right… McPherson's, it's the same company that told Martha that the shop's foundations were rotten. Look at the logo––it matches the website. The whole page looks so legit, but I also found it on the business register… the business registration number expired fifteen years ago…”
Alex's expression hardened, and he clenched his fists.
“This is definitely not a coincidence,” he said, his tone dripping with frustration. “Clarkson is using a dead business name to deceive people.”
Their eyes met over the folder as Frances looked up at him. They had both moved closer to see the screen, and now their faces were only an inch or so apart. It was the worst possible timing––she knew that she should be focused on the evidence they’d found… but he was so close, and all she could think about was how the world stopped that night on the beach when he’d kissed her...
“We should go…” Alex said. “Take some pictures of these.”
“Why not take them?” she asked, her mind snapping back to reality.
“We can say we came to visit him to talk about something––the front door was open after all––and we stumbled on them,” Alex said. “Taking them though, it feels more like stealing.”
He had a point, but…
“But what if he finds out that we know, and destroys them?”
Alex was quiet for a moment.
“Scan them with your phone camera, but also take photos of them in the office––if he destroys them, it will be more evidence he’s dirty.”
Frances nodded, spreading the documents out in front of her, and, using her phone, took a long video of them all. Then, focusing on it, she snapped some closer photos to show the details.
When everything was documented, they stacked them back up and slipped the folder back where they had found it.
FOURTEEN
Frances and Lucinda stood side by side in the kitchen of Café Bruno, flipping through photocopied records and documents with a tangible sense of urgency. While Frances and Alex had been rifling through Clarkson’s office, Lucinda had been at the council office with Kennedy. She had found exactly what she had expected––suspicious transactions involving properties in their local area.
“Look at this,” Lucinda exclaimed, pointing to a particular document. “Several of the empty houses in the highest-value areas as well as the back streets have been purchased by companies owned by Clarkson––either that or I can link them to one of his shell companies.”
Frances nodded, her eyes scanning the information on the document. “This is so messed up,” she said, her voice filled with emotion. “I cannot believe that Clarkson has been quietly acquiring properties in town… well, actually, no, that’s a lie. I can believe it … I just don’t want to.”
