pieces for him when he was out of the office. She logged in as him – pretended to be him in chat rooms and forums that were about child abuse. She left a trail all over the Internet. It was easy for the police to follow it once they were tipped off. Ivan said that if it had been him, he would at least have made a token effort to cover his tracks, but no one listened – not the company, not the police, not the CPS. And that bitch got his job when he was kicked out, so she was happy.’ Claudia was flushed now, her eyes glittering as she spat out the last sentence.
‘Presumably you couldn’t prove any of this.’ Derwent sounded dubious.
‘She was too careful, Ivan couldn’t get anything on her. And the managing director flatly refused to believe she had been responsible. I found it hard too. I’d met her a couple of times – she’d come to dinner in our house. She even rang me after the conviction to tell me how sorry she was for me. As if I wanted her pity.’ She shook her head. ‘Ivan trusted her and so did I. That was the only mistake we made and it’s cost us everything.’
‘Why didn’t your husband fight the case?’ he asked.
‘Our solicitor was totally incompetent. She told Ivan the evidence was damning and his explanation wouldn’t hold up in court. She said that if he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity he’d get a reduced sentence – maybe even a suspended sentence. She said there wouldn’t be any long-term consequences if we got it all over with quickly. So Ivan pleaded guilty and got eighteen months, although he served only half of it. Then he got out and no one was interested in employing him. No one would return his calls. His career was dead. But Ivan never gave up. My father lent him the money to set up on his own and he worked tirelessly to pay it back. Gradually, he made something of this.’ She gestured at the door that hid her husband’s office from view. ‘It doesn’t look like much, but he was doing well. He was clever. Too clever to work for other people, actually. He was better off on his own.’
It sounded to me as if he had been a difficult employee. It also sounded as if he had been guilty. The story about his subordinate didn’t ring true to me any more than it had to his managing director, and I didn’t even know the girl. People did tend to assume they were invisible on the Internet. Even the technologically sophisticated like Ivan Tremlett could underestimate how easy it was to trace them, to follow their progress into the dark places where horrors were shared and sold, and to prove it in court. And thank God they did make that mistake, because it made our job that much easier.
‘He was quite devoted to his routine, by all accounts.’ I kept my voice gentle, a counterpoint to Derwent’s head-on approach. ‘Was that why you became concerned yesterday evening?’
‘He was like clockwork. You could plan your day around him. I did, actually.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘The boys had their tea when he came home. We both thought it was important for them to spend time with us, so we would sit at the table with them and talk while they ate.’
‘Was he good with them?’
She was on her guard immediately, staring at Derwent with hostile eyes. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Just that he had this place so he could get away from the boys, didn’t he? Did he find them annoying?’
‘From time to time. When he was trying to concentrate.’ Her body slackened, the tension leaving it slowly. But I thought she knew, as I did, that Derwent’s question about Ivan Tremlett’s relationship with his sons had been a pointed one. I wondered if she had trusted him enough to leave him alone with them, and the next thing she said answered that question neatly.
‘My mother lives with us. There’s a granny flat in the basement. She moved in when Ivan was arrested and she’s never left.’
‘What does your father make of that?’
She looked
‘Presumably you couldn’t prove any of this.’ Derwent sounded dubious.
‘She was too careful, Ivan couldn’t get anything on her. And the managing director flatly refused to believe she had been responsible. I found it hard too. I’d met her a couple of times – she’d come to dinner in our house. She even rang me after the conviction to tell me how sorry she was for me. As if I wanted her pity.’ She shook her head. ‘Ivan trusted her and so did I. That was the only mistake we made and it’s cost us everything.’
‘Why didn’t your husband fight the case?’ he asked.
‘Our solicitor was totally incompetent. She told Ivan the evidence was damning and his explanation wouldn’t hold up in court. She said that if he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity he’d get a reduced sentence – maybe even a suspended sentence. She said there wouldn’t be any long-term consequences if we got it all over with quickly. So Ivan pleaded guilty and got eighteen months, although he served only half of it. Then he got out and no one was interested in employing him. No one would return his calls. His career was dead. But Ivan never gave up. My father lent him the money to set up on his own and he worked tirelessly to pay it back. Gradually, he made something of this.’ She gestured at the door that hid her husband’s office from view. ‘It doesn’t look like much, but he was doing well. He was clever. Too clever to work for other people, actually. He was better off on his own.’
It sounded to me as if he had been a difficult employee. It also sounded as if he had been guilty. The story about his subordinate didn’t ring true to me any more than it had to his managing director, and I didn’t even know the girl. People did tend to assume they were invisible on the Internet. Even the technologically sophisticated like Ivan Tremlett could underestimate how easy it was to trace them, to follow their progress into the dark places where horrors were shared and sold, and to prove it in court. And thank God they did make that mistake, because it made our job that much easier.
‘He was quite devoted to his routine, by all accounts.’ I kept my voice gentle, a counterpoint to Derwent’s head-on approach. ‘Was that why you became concerned yesterday evening?’
‘He was like clockwork. You could plan your day around him. I did, actually.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘The boys had their tea when he came home. We both thought it was important for them to spend time with us, so we would sit at the table with them and talk while they ate.’
‘Was he good with them?’
She was on her guard immediately, staring at Derwent with hostile eyes. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Just that he had this place so he could get away from the boys, didn’t he? Did he find them annoying?’
‘From time to time. When he was trying to concentrate.’ Her body slackened, the tension leaving it slowly. But I thought she knew, as I did, that Derwent’s question about Ivan Tremlett’s relationship with his sons had been a pointed one. I wondered if she had trusted him enough to leave him alone with them, and the next thing she said answered that question neatly.
‘My mother lives with us. There’s a granny flat in the basement. She moved in when Ivan was arrested and she’s never left.’
‘What does your father make of that?’
She looked
Similar Books
