“Jacinta came to me just after her first husband’s funeral. The initial reason was to hire our company to carry out restoration, renovation, redecoration and any other ‘ations’ we could think of, on her house. In passing she mentioned that she had been approached by Mrs Palmer who suggested that she could make a good living from marrying frail but wealthy men, shagging them to death and inheriting large sums of money. She, Mrs Palmer, hinted that she would like to expand on this comment if Jacinta could find some neutral territory where this could be discussed. Jacinta was understandably cautious, so I suggested that they could meet in my office. I chose a time when Stefan would not be here and the meeting was held. What Mrs Palmer did not know, did not suspect, was that the meeting was recorded.” He took a USB drive from his top drawer. “You have here Mrs Palmer outlining her plan to substitute the prospective husband’s medication to hasten his demise. Jacinta tells her that, with her pharmacist background, she would be the first person suspected. Mrs Palmer expressed confidence that she would never be suspected of anything as long as she followed orders. Jacinta chose not to follow instructions. In my safe we have every container of placebos that Mrs Palmer gave her, her prints will be all over them. There will be enough evidence to convict.” Sydney sat back, pleased that his plan had been successful.
Of course, Chandra and I were blissfully unaware of all of this until we, after a heart starter and shower, were seated at the table having a necessarily hurried breakfast and listening to the radio news, when we heard of the arrests.
A little more information came to light from the car radio as I drove her to her office. We got no further, having been interrupted mid-kiss in front of the office building by Gareth. “I need to speak to the both of you in my office, now.”
We were seated in his office. “I suppose that you have heard some of the news for the overnight happenings?”
“A little, yes.” Chandra said.
“A lot has come out of this. Mister and Mrs Palmer have both been arrested, she for murder, he as an accessory. Jacinta has had the charges against her dropped.”
“And here we were thinking that she was the bad guy in this.”
“That leads me to ask, what are your plans for the future?”
“In what way?” I asked.
“Do you plan to stay in Interior Design?”
“I like it, and having a job that you like is a bonus.”
“What about you, Chandra?”
“I love my job, I love working with you, but I also love working with Stefan and, it appears that I’m good at it.”
“I am going to offer a suggestion. Stefan, that door that you designed, how would you like to head a company and produce it on a large scale?”
“I don’t know. I would have thought that the requirements would be for someone with a manufacturing background would be a better fit. To tell you the truth, while I love design, I also love working with Chandra. I would love to do both.”
“So would I.” Chandra got from her chair and sat on my lap, her arms around my neck and her lips preventing any response from me.
“Okay, that’s enough of that behaviour. How would it be if both of you did both jobs?”
“What are you suggesting?” I asked.
“With both of you working, neither job will be full-time. By doing both, you could divide your time, that way I won’t have to put up with my daughter moping around because she’s not with you.”
“Sounds,” kiss, “good,” kiss “to me,” kiss, “how about you, my love?” Chandra asked.
“When do we start?”
“You’re already on the payroll.” Gareth said as he extended his hand. I shook it.
See what happens when you stick your nose in.