Read Online Falling by Gordon Brown - Free Book Online Page B

one.There is a retch from the man on the ground and the policeman turns towards
the noise. The man on the ground spasms. His head flips round.
    Leonard.
    I walk away.
    This time I keep going until I
reach the corner of the building next to the lane. I feel numb. I’m usually
cool under pressure. Now I’m not. What is going on around me is too fast and
too out of control. I need space to think. To address the situation properly.
    I try and take the positive from
the moment. Leonard isn’t dead. Not yet. I saw him move. This may not be as bad
as it could be. Except I know I am in straw clutching territory. The retch was
not a good sound. The spasm looked terminal. There was way too much blood on
the pavement. Leonard might not be dead but he is as good as. I close my eyes
and step into a quieter, more ordered world. Think.
     
    ‘As of last week I have
sent several electronic copies of accounts concerning certain of your business
transactions to some key strategic locations.’
     
    Several. Not one or two but
several. Key strategic locations. Several strategic locations. How many is
several?
     
    ‘I have also taken the
liberty of confiding in a work colleague who has placed a hard copy set of the
same accounts in a place of his own choosing’
     
    Who is the work colleague?
     
    ‘All the accounts are
strictly protected by a password. If the individuals are not given the correct
password when contacted the accounts will be sent directly to the
authorities.  If I die or vanish - the strategic locations have
instructions to release the accounts to the authorities within forty eight
hours.’
     
    That means I have two days. Two
days max. Maybe less. Once Leonard’s death is reported what’s to stop his
‘strategic locations’ releasing the accounts straight away?
    The need for action is intense. I
have to get into Leonard’s office. He will have kept a record of his plan
somewhere. But I need to move now. I have no idea how long it will take the
police to ID Leonard. When they do they will go straight to Cheedle, Baker and
Nudge’s offices. I need to get there first.
    I work my way back to the main
entrance, through the doors and to the lifts. Behind me the ambulance is just
arriving. The policeman and guard are still beside Leonard. There is a lift
waiting and I ride up to Cheedle, Baker and Nudge’s floor.
    The reception is clean, tidy and
insipid. They are not a big money operation. The receptionist recognises me. No
issue there. I’m a client after all. She tells me that Leonard is out at the
moment. I tell her I know. I tell her that Leonard has asked me to wait in his
office. She nods. I walk through the doors to the main office. I walk quickly
down the hall. I slip into Leonard’s office. Leonard shares it with two other accountants.
Neither is in. I close the door and think about blocking the door with a filing
cabinet. I decide against it. If anyone came in, furniture-moving would make me
look suspicious.
    The office is old school. No
Boston Legal type glass walls. Half panels of painted Gyproc at the bottom and
heavily frosted glass at the top. The type of frosting that lets you see shape
but no detail. The door is fake oak. The only way to see what is happening in
the office is to walk in.
    Leonard’s desk is next to the window.
His laptop is lying open on top of it. I close it and place it on the edge of
his table. It’s coming with me.
    I start with his top desk drawer.
I work my way down the drawers. I’m not sure what I’m looking for. Six drawers
are opened and searched.  I find nothing that looks like it might contain
the details that I need. I switch to the filing cabinet. I hear soft footsteps
approaching. I freeze. A shape slides by the frosted glass. The footsteps
recede. I try the top drawer on the filing cabinet. It is locked. I daren’t
force it. Anyway the chances are that his details are on his laptop. Leonard is
a bit of a tech geek. He is a Blackberry convert. I’ll put twenty