Rival Sisters

by Louise Guy

  ‘Found what you were looking for, love?’

  Nat continued to scan the messages, just grunting a yes to Phyllie’s question.

  She got down to the bottom and saw a brief exchange between Eliza and Suze that made her draw breath.

  BrownDog40

  Spoke to Jacob and excited about investing. We’re meeting tomorrow morning at a cafe near where I work. Wondered if you were free to join us? I would love to meet you.

  LizaE

  I’m free! Send me the details, and I’ll meet you and Jacob. Should we see if Lia’s free too?

  BrownDog40

  Let’s keep this between us this time (sorry Lia if you are reading this!). I don’t want to share too much about the details of my investment. I imagine she’ll be working anyway.

  LizaE

  No worries. Sure, she’ll understand. Great to hear you are planning to invest. Perhaps we’ll organise a celebration on the weekend once your investment is returned. Would be great for all three of us to meet.

  BrownDog40

  Sounds perfect! I’ll look forward to that. Champagne all round.

  LizaE

  The real stuff too, not just sparkling wine. I’ve always wanted to try Cristal but could never justify it before.

  Nat watched as their conversation petered out and they said their goodbyes and how much they looked forward to meeting the next morning. Suze had sent through the details of the cafe they were meeting at. The address was very close to Hannah’s office. She’d never had a reason to visit Hannah at work but did know she was based somewhere around 300 St Kilda Road, which was where the cafe was. She wondered what she should do. It appeared Suze was genuine and knew nothing about the set-up. It also seemed she was about to hand over an amount of money for investment.

  ‘You okay, love?’ Phyllie broke into her thoughts. ‘The frown on your face is likely to stay there permanently, looking at how deep those lines are etched.’

  Nat relaxed her face, realising just how tight her entire body was. She was wound up with fury and concern.

  ‘You chatting with those poker girls again?’

  Nat shook her head. ‘No, just reading their conversation. The whole investment thing went a bit pear-shaped.’

  ‘Oh no, you didn’t lose any money, did you?’

  ‘No, I never put any of my own money into it. Others have though, and they stand to lose a lot.’

  ‘There are never any shortcuts to making money,’ Phyllie said. ‘It comes down to hard work and being smart. Sure, you can invest and increase your nest egg, but it doesn’t happen overnight. You ride the highs and lows of the market like anyone else.’

  ‘Some people make a lot of money.’

  ‘And they lose a lot too. If it was easy to make millions overnight everyone would be doing it. You keep that in mind, won’t you?’

  Nat nodded. Phyllie was right. She should have woken up earlier to how unrealistic the entire idea was. She guessed she wanted to believe badly enough that there were kind people out there, like Eliza and Jacob had presented themselves to be, and that it was possible to turn her finances around.

  ‘I know you said you’d had dinner, but I’m going to make myself something. Did you have enough earlier, or would you like a little snack?’

  ‘Funnily enough, I am hungry. Ridiculous considering I ate the shepherd’s pie.’

  Not ridiculous at all considering you ate the pie over twenty-four hours ago. Nat hoped that the doctor wasn’t going to find anything too wrong with Phyllie, but she was concerned that he might. The mix-ups and forgetfulness seemed to be happening more frequently. Was it happening before but none of them were aware because they weren’t with her full-time? ‘I’ll put some cheese and crackers together with some fruit and nuts.’

  Phyllie held up her empty tumbler. ‘Add a top-up of whisky and it sounds divine.’

  Nat called in sick at work, and arrived at nine thirty the next morning at the address Suze had given Eliza. She’d left Phyllie nursing a headache, which was not surprising after drinking whisky on an empty stomach. She’d made Phyllie laugh when she’d handed her a strong cup of coffee and declared a hangover at eighty-nine to be something to strive for. Now she wasn’t smiling, instead she was a bundle of nerves. She hoped Suze would be early and she’d be able to talk to her first. The problem was she had no idea what Suze looked like. At this point, however, she was happy to approach any woman on her own and ask her. It was too important not to. She’d know who she was the minute Eliza and Jacob turned up to meet with her, but that wouldn’t be the right time for the conversation.

  She swung open the door of Cafe Reiki and stepped inside. The smell of ground coffee beans instantly made her mouth water. A coffee would go down nicely right now. Two women were sitting together at a table and a couple of solitary men at others, but that was all. She walked over to the women, on the off-chance Suze had come with a friend.

  ‘Excuse me, would either of you be Suze?’

  They shook their heads, looking at her strangely. She retreated to the counter and ordered a long black. She’d get that and then wait outside out of sight in case Eliza or Jacob turned up early. The coffee took a few minutes, and only one other man entered the cafe in that time. She’d tried to contact Suze first thing that morning with a private message providing her phone number and asking her to ring her urgently. She hadn’t heard back. Logging in to the chat room, she saw Suze was still offline and there was no guarantee she would read the message from Nat before she had her meeting.

  She thanked the barista and paid for her coffee before taking it out to the street. The traffic was heavy, and the dinging of trams as they zoomed along the median strip made Nat realise that Suze, Jacob and Eliza could appear from any direction, using a range of transport modes.

  ‘Lia!’

  Nat froze. Jacob’s deep, rich voice was unmistakable. How was she going to explain what she was doing here? She turned, and he enveloped her in a bear hug.

  ‘It’s so great to see you again.’

  Nat nodded, forcing a smile to her lips. She was staring at the bastard who’d robbed her father. ‘You too.’

  ‘Eliza didn’t mention you were joining us.’

  ‘She doesn’t know. I noticed her message with Suze about meeting up and thought I’d at least stop and say hi. My sister works nearby, and I had to drop something off to her. I don’t think Suze wants me hearing the details of her investment, so I’ll say hello and be on my way.’

  ‘Don’t be silly. Suze can write the figure down if she wants to keep it private. Eliza was talking about celebrating on the weekend with all of us, so this can be the preliminary one.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘Let’s grab a table inside, shall we. It’s chilly this morning.’

  Nat followed Jacob into the cafe and sat opposite him, her back to the door.

  ‘Your funds should clear tonight.’ He grinned. ‘I hope it’s helped you out. And I’ll have the return information for your dad later this afternoon. It’s looking good at this stage.’

  God, how she’d love to pick up the napkin dispenser and smash it into his face. But she couldn’t. Instead, she tried to look as excited and grateful as possible. As Hannah had said, she couldn’t let on that she knew anything. Not if it had the potential to affect the investigation. ‘The money would make a huge difference to my life.’

  ‘Will, not would! Hey, there’s Eliza, and I assume that’s Suze she’s got with her.’ He stood and waved.

  Nat swivelled round in her chair. What the hell? That definitely wasn’t Suze. Why on earth was Hannah walking in with Eliza?

  Hannah hesitated when she met Nat’s gaze. Her face paled, and she gave her head a slight shake, her eyes boring into Nat’s as if she was trying to communicate something. She needn’t worry, Nat wasn’t going to say anything. She honestly had no idea what was going on.

  ‘Lia!’ Eliza hurried to the table and hugged Nat. ‘I didn’t realise you were coming. It’s so good to see you.’r />
  ‘She wasn’t,’ Jacob said. ‘Her sister works nearby, so she thought she’d stop off and say hi before dropping in to see her. She wasn’t planning on staying, but I’ve convinced her otherwise.’ He reached out his hand. ‘You must be Suze.’

  Nat watched as Hannah shook his hand and smiled. ‘Nice to meet you, Jacob.’ She turned to Nat. ‘I’m so glad you did decide to stop by, Lia. I feel like I already know you.’ She leaned closer to Nat and hugged her. ‘Play along,’ she whispered in her ear.

  ‘Shall I organise coffee?’ Eliza suggested.

  Jacob shook his head. ‘You three ladies chat and I’ll place the order. Lia, did you want another?’

  Nat shook her head.

  ‘Suze, what’s your poison?’

  Hannah’s response blurred as realisation hit Nat. Hannah was Suze! She’d been communicating with her own sister in the chat room and Hannah had never said anything. Even when she’d delivered the news to both Nat and their father, she hadn’t told her. She closed her eyes momentarily. How was this even possible?

  ‘You okay, Lia?’ Jacob asked.

  Her eyes flicked open and she did her best to smile. ‘Yes, sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind, that’s all.’

  Jacob smiled back. ‘Let me get the coffee while you ladies make yourselves comfortable. Hopefully we can help Lia relax too.’

  ‘How exciting is this?’ Eliza said as he disappeared towards the counter. ‘I can’t believe how our lives have been turned around in such a short space of time. And I feel like I’ve gained two new best friends in the process. To be honest, I was only looking for friendship; the financial side of it is just a massive bonus.’ She laughed. ‘And to think we met in a gambling addicts’ chat room. You never know what life is going to bring.’

  Hannah and Nat both laughed along with her. She was good, Nat had to admit. In one way it was a relief to see how easily this woman could fool you. Part of her was still questioning whether Hannah’s fraud guy had got it right or not. At least one thing was guaranteed, Suze wasn’t there to invest money.

  Jacob returned to the table. ‘Coffee will be a few minutes. Now, Suze, we’re here to talk about your investment. Feel free to write down any figures if you’d like to keep them discreet.’

  Hannah shook her head. ‘No, that’s okay.’ She smiled at Nat. ‘Lia’s been very open with the financial side of her investments, and I’m happy to do the same.’

  Not quite what her message had said the previous night in the chat room, but Nat now understood why. She didn’t want Nat to know she was Suze. It raised a million other questions. Why was Hannah in the chat room to start with, and why hadn’t she told Nat that she was Suze when she’d worked out who Nat was? Had Phyllie set her up? Told Hannah to spy on her in the chat room? Phyllie was the only person who knew about it. That didn’t seem likely though, especially as Hannah was in the chat room the first day she’d gone there herself. She suddenly sucked in a breath. Had Hannah shared real information? So the story about her husband and his biological father being a rapist was actually about Damien? She looked across at Hannah, who frowned at her. She was glad of the distraction of Jacob talking.

  ‘Suze, ask me any questions you need to about the investment. I can answer most of them and provide you with supporting documentation. The firm does take four percent of any gains during the salmon run. It’s about double our usual fee, but this is an offer we only make to select clients. You pay a premium for this.’

  Hannah asked questions that she’d obviously thought through before coming. They sounded like reasonable questions anyone would ask before investing. The final one she asked related to the term of the investment.

  ‘Is it true my money will only be invested for twenty-four hours?’

  Jacob nodded. ‘If it goes into our account today it will be invested immediately. We have a portfolio opening at four p.m., which will provide its return by four p.m. tomorrow.’

  ‘Perfect timing to celebrate on Sunday,’ Eliza said. ‘I thought we could meet for a picnic in the botanical gardens. It will be chilly, but the forecast is for sunshine, and I’m happy to bring the food and the Cristal, as discussed.’ She winked at Nat. ‘What do you all say?’

  ‘As long as I’m in a position to celebrate then, yes, I’ll be there,’ Hannah said.

  ‘You didn’t mention how much you were going to invest, Suze?’

  ‘One hundred and sixty thousand.’

  Eliza gasped. ‘Really? You’re going to risk that much?’

  Jacob frowned. ‘She’s right, Suze. That is a lot. I’m more than happy to accept it, but only if you guarantee you could survive if the investment didn’t work out.’

  ‘Perhaps she should split it across a couple of different portfolios?’ Eliza suggested.

  ‘It doesn’t make any difference with the salmon run,’ Jacob said. ‘When one portfolio collapses, the whole lot will too.’

  Nat watched the supposed brother and sister team working them. You would think this was a genuine conversation, not a complete set-up.

  ‘I’ll keep it as one,’ Hannah confirmed. Her phone pinged with a text message. She checked it, frowned and placed her phone back in her bag. ‘Sorry, I’m going to have to go. Emergency at work.’ She looked at Nat, her eyes trying to convey a message. Did she want Nat to stay with them or leave? She couldn’t tell. Jacob decided for her.

  ‘I’ll get our coffee to go, in that case.’ He stood and embraced Hannah. ‘You’ve got the details for the transfer but feel free to call me if there are any problems or you have any concerns.’ He turned to Nat. ‘And it sounds like we’ll meet again for a proper celebration on Sunday.’

  Nat did her best not to cringe as he kissed her on both cheeks, and then Eliza did the same. ‘I’ll message you both with a time and meeting place for our celebration,’ Eliza said.

  ‘I’ll walk out with you,’ Nat said to Hannah. ‘I need to go and drop something to my sister anyway.’

  They waved goodbye and walked out on to the street.

  ‘Keep walking,’ Hannah said. ‘Don’t ask any questions at all. Just stay beside me.’

  Her tone was serious and commanding. Nat didn’t question her, just did exactly what she said. Hannah walked to the next building and turned into an entrance way. She hurried up a flight of stairs to a small balcony that overlooked the street below. They had a clear view of the front of Cafe Reiki. She gripped Nat’s arm tight. ‘Just wait.’

  Nat did as she was told. She had no idea what she was waiting for, but her heart was pounding and a trickle of sweat ran down her back. Considering how cold it was that made no sense at all.

  A small group of men approached the cafe as the doors opened and Jacob and Eliza stepped out. Coffee cups in hand, they were smiling and laughing together.

  ‘Dogs,’ Hannah hissed.

  They stopped as the men approached them, their smiles fading quickly. Jacob glanced around, dropped his coffee and ran. He wasn’t fast enough. One of the men chased him and tackled him to the ground. Within seconds he had his hands cuffed behind him.

  Eliza didn’t run. She retained her coffee in her hand and allowed one of the men to guide her by the elbow to the street, where two black four-wheel drive vehicles waited. Jacob was helped into the back of one and Eliza the other. The doors shut and the vehicles pulled out into the traffic.

  ‘Holy shit!’ Nat turned to her sister. ‘You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?’

  Hannah nodded. ‘The police came and spoke to me last night and talked me through what to expect. The text was from them, telling me to leave the cafe. They’ll be in touch with both of us later this morning to get statements. Now come on, let’s go back to the cafe and have a coffee, or something stronger if they’ll serve it this early.’

  They walked in silence, and once inside Nat sank into a seat while Hannah ordered. She came back to the table with two shot glasses and passed one to Nat. ‘I don’t know about you, but my legs are shaking so hard right now
. I’m probably going to need a few of these.’

  Nat took the shot and threw it back, the whisky burning the back of her throat.

  ‘Coffee’s coming, but do you want another?’

  Nat shook her head. ‘No, I want an explanation. What the hell has been going on, Hannah? Or should I say Suze?’

  Hannah sighed. ‘I’m sorry, okay? I had no idea you were Lia to start with. We’d been chatting for quite a while before I realised. When I did, I thought how nice it was to be getting to know you again. I felt like we were becoming friends and I enjoyed it. Of course, I had no idea that Eliza was setting us up.’

  ‘So the information you shared with us, about your husband and marriage problems, that was all true?’

  ‘Everything I said in the chat room was true, other than my name and relationship to you.’

  Nat reached across the table and laid her hand over Hannah’s. ‘Oh Han, I’m devastated for Damien. How’s he handling everything?’

  Tears spilled down Hannah’s cheeks. She extracted her hand from Nat’s and wiped her eyes. ‘Sorry, the last few days have just been too much.’ Her phone rang as she pulled a tissue from her bag. ‘It’s Julian, my friend from the fraud company. I’d better take it.’

  Nat waited, still trying to piece together precisely what had happened as Hannah took the phone call. She was mainly answering yes and no, so it was impossible to know what was going on. She hung up and looked at Nat.

  ‘They’ve been taken into custody, as we just saw, and their company and accounts have been frozen. Julian’s confident that Dad and Sue might see their money. The account hadn’t been emptied. It might be tied up for some time while they’re prosecuted, but there’s a strong chance it will be returned.’

  A broad smile broke out on Nat’s face. ‘Thank God for that. Do you want to ring them now and tell them?’