Page 74 of The Final Vow

‘Legitimately,’ she said.

‘I don’t doubt it.’

She took another drag on her cigarette. Sucked it down to the butt then stubbed it out. ‘Banks in Dumfries are happy to loan to wedding venues,’ she said.

‘And is that what you did?’

‘Aye. I had to accept a higher interest rate, as I’d never run a business before, but that isn’t unusual.’

‘What collateral did the bank require?’

‘The venue.’

‘So, if you default on your loans, the bank can seize the Smithy’s Forge?’

‘Aye,’ she said. ‘And my house.’

‘Your house?’

‘I had to put that up as well. The venue needed refurbishing. It was looking a bit tired.’

‘The loan was secured using the wedding venueandyour own home?’

She shrugged. ‘It didn’t seem such a big deal at the time,’ she said. ‘Wedding businesses in Gretna Green don’t fail.’

‘How much is there left to pay?’

‘A lot. More than half.’

‘Does the business have reserves?’

She shook her head. ‘I used up my reserves during COVID. The government helped, but they couldn’t do everything.’

‘Have you missed any payments yet?’

‘Three.’

‘And?’

‘And the bank has already called. All nicey-nice, but they mentioned options the last time they called.’ She wrapped ‘options’ in air quotes. ‘And we all know what that means.’

Poe nodded. He did. They all did. He took his time with the next question; aware he was about to suggest something probably better left unsuggested. ‘Ifwe don’t catch whoever is shooting people, Mrs Addy, andifthe bank seizes the Smithy’s Forge and your house to recover their loan, what will you do?’

She reached for her cigarettes. Lit one and said, ‘Pray I get the cancer.’

Poe nodded. That’s what he’d thought. ‘Will you excuse us a moment, Mrs Addy?’

He looked at Mathers and Flynn and tilted his head towards the door. He got up and walked outside. As soon as they’d joined him, he said, ‘We’ve been looking at this all wrong. This isn’t an unhinged lunatic on a killing spree. Nor is it someone hiding one murder in among a bunch of other murders. And that’s because the murders aren’t his primary objective.’

‘What are they?’ Mathers said.

‘They’re a means to an end.’

‘Spit it out, Poe,’ Flynn said.

‘This has been about one thing – destroying Joanne Addy’s wedding business. It’s about shattering her dreams. Turning her out on the street.’ He glanced through the window. Addy was lighting yet another cigarette. ‘Ezekiel Puck is pushing his ex-wife towards suicide.’

Chapter 61