lot of nodding going on. Then the staff member picked up a phone and spoke for a moment before passing something to Mia and pointing her in the direction of the lifts.
‘Excusez-moi, monsieur.’ The doorman approached Connor. ‘Avez-vous besoin d’aide?’
‘I’m fine. Thank you.’ He took out his phone and pretended to scroll through the screen. ‘Just checking I’m in the right place.’
‘You need the Westminster Hotel?’ the doorman asked.
‘Yes.’ Connor looked beyond the man, making sure Mia had disappeared. ‘I see I’m in the right place. Thank you.’
The door man nodded and went back to his post to open the door.
Surely Mia wouldn’t have booked in here when she had her own room at the Ritz?
No. She carried nothing more than her handbag.
She had to be meeting with someone but who was it and how the devil was he going to find out?
While he took a discreet seat in the corner of the lobby bar where he could see Mia if she emerged from the lifts, his phone rang.
‘Hi Tony. You have answers already?’
‘Some answers and a whole lot more questions.’
Tell me about it. ‘So have I. I’ve just followed Mia to the Westminster Hotel.’
Tony made a disgruntled sound. ‘I’m not certain following her is the wisest course of action.’
The ominous words and hesitation in Tony’s tone ramped up Connor’s unease. ‘Tell me what you’ve found.’
‘Firstly, I checked the electoral roll and found only one Mia Simms listed in London.’
‘There’d be an address listed on the roll, right?’
‘Yes and you’re not going to believe where she lives.’
Connor closed his eyes briefly as he leaned back in the chair. ‘Tell me.’
‘Just around the corner from your grandmother.’
A frown pulled at his forehead. ‘That’s one of the most expensive suburbs of London.’
‘She lives in the Nova Apartments.’
He knew the apartments. They were a fairly new development right on the corner of Palace Street and directly across the road from Buckingham Palace Shop.
‘They’re absolute luxury living,’ Tony said. ‘Views of Belgravia and Buckingham Palace Gardens mean they rent for thousands of pounds per month.’
‘Way over what she could afford on her income from Stewart Corporation,’ he confirmed. ‘How is she affording it?’
‘The apartment she lives in is owned by the Harcher Trust.’
Harcher Trust. ‘I know that name.’ He frowned as he tried to remember in what context he’d heard of it.
‘That’s interesting, because it’s a private discretionary trust fund set up in the Cayman Islands.’
The mystery around Mia became murkier.
‘Do you have any idea who the trustees are?’
‘No and I’m not likely to find out. These trusts are created with a private document to which the settler, the trustees and any protector are the only parties. Information relating to this type of trust is not accessible by the general public. We’ve pulled every string and have drawn a blank.’
Connor swore.
‘Also, it looks like she’s living at the apartment rent-free.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘I’ve looked at her bank account. Those are strings I can pull … off the record,’ he explained. ‘Her account’s been building steadily since she started working for your company. The income goes in every week and very few deductions are made. From the transactions listed, she’s spending her money on weekly groceries and that’s about it.’
Well, she certainly hadn’t been spending her income on fashion or at the salon. ‘I suppose she would’ve had an inheritance when her parents died.’
‘Possibly.’ The scepticism in Tony’s voice was unsettling. ‘It could be she comes from a wealthy family but her background is a real blank.’
‘What do you mean?’ Unease beat harder through his blood.
Tony released an audible breath. ‘The records from the boarding school she attended when she was sixteen check out, but it’s a very exclusive school and the cyber security is so advanced we haven’t been able to find out who was paying the fees.’
‘The money must have come from an inheritance, she would’ve had a guardian by then. What else did you find?’ He was growing increasingly impatient to uncover every jigsaw piece he could to complete the puzzle that was Mia Simms.
‘The first school listed in her resume burned down and all student records were lost. Tomorrow I’ll send a couple of people to the township to interview anyone who was at the school at the time Mia Simms was supposed to have been there. They’ll be asking if people can remember her or her parents.’
‘You sound sceptical.’
‘I am.’ ‘Why?’
Tony cleared his throat. ‘I left the most alarming thing until last.’
Connor had to consciously relax his fingers as