9
Ianto walked across the street to Rupert Noble's office. His secretary looked down her nose at him.
"Is Rupert in?"
"Mr Noble is extremely busy," she snapped.
"We're all busy, Liz." Ianto walked towards the interior door. "Shall you call him and see if he has time to see me, or should I just pop back and ask him myself?"
She glared at him and lifted the phone on the corner of her desk. "Mr Jones would like to know if you have time to see him."
He heard Rupert's enthusiastic response: tell him to come through. It'll be lovely to see him again.
"Mr Noble can spare you five minutes."
"Thank you, Liz," Ianto said as sweetly as he could manage. Ianto opened the door behind Liz's desk and walked down the corridor towards Rupert's office. He threw open the door before Ianto got there. "Ianto, how wonderful to see you again. I heard why you missed our appointment this morning. How dreadful for Dragon's Den."
"We just opened an hour or so ago," Ianto said. "We would love to see you over there."
"We?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. We are all very fond of you, Rupert. You know that." His shoulders slumped, and he pulled a hand through his perfectly styled blond hair. "I miss her, Ianto. I miss her so much."
Suzie had married again after her marriage to Rupert ended eight years ago. Her third marriage was her shortest —her marriage to Rupert the longest. Now she was working in the kitchen it was clearly… messy
"I never did really know what went wrong." Ianto said diplomatically, "I was away in service and… missed a lot I guess."
"Yes, you do," he said softly. "I spent too many hours at the office and not enough at home with Sue. She gets bored easily. I knew that. I should've tried harder."
"You both should've tried harder," Ianto retorted. "A marriage is about two equal partners. Not one that always gives, and another that always takes."
"Anyway." Rupert tapped his fingers on the desk. "You didn't come here to talk to me about old news. How can I help you?"
"You gave me a lot of very good advice when I asked you if there was anything specific we should all think about when setting up a business together. The police questioned me this morning because I found Roger's body. While I was out, they came to the Captainage again and told Jack they found dog paw tracks near the body."
"That's ridiculous. You have walked Myfanwy near the old town hall on numerous occasions. If the police want to talk to you again, give me a call, and I'll come over in an official capacity to support you."
"That's very kind, Rupert, thank you." Ianto smiled, but did not rise from the chair.
"You didn't come over here for that, did you?"
"No. We are trying to find out who killed Roger. Of course, we know it wasn't me, so we figured if we find out who it was, that will get the police off my back." Ianto huffed, then shrugged as he clarified "I know you can't tell me if Roger, or Hamish Carter, are clients of yours. However, I wanted to check the potential outcome for Elaine and The Silver Spoon following his death."
"Client confidentiality means I can't share what I discuss with my clients. I think you know I did the conveyancing for Roger and Elaine's house but other than that I haven't advised either Roger or Hamish in a professional capacity. Perhaps Roger used a firm in Scarborough for his business legal needs."
"Say Roger and Hamish decided they didn't want a partnership agreement because they had been friends for a long time, and a handshake was all they wanted between them. Am I right in believing that now Roger is dead, the partnership ceases to exist, and the business must be dissolved?"
"That's right." Rupert nodded. "In that scenario, Hamish would have to wind up the business. My understanding is Hamish is a silent partner and so has no hands-on knowledge of the business. I can't imagine either party would've wanted this as an outcome."
Ianto had thought as much, adding "And if there is a partnership agreement?"
"It will state clearly who Roger's share of the business will pass to. He might choose to leave his share to Elaine, in trust for his children, or he might have arranged for it to pass to Hamish. There are all sorts of things to consider in this scenario, such as whether the two men had equal, or unequal shares in the business."
Ianto held up a hand. "Stop. This is getting too complicated for me."
Rupert laughed. "As I advised when you first told me you were thinking of starting a business with your friends, you needed to make sure your intentions were encapsulated in a legal document. That way, someone else deals with the complicated legal framework, leaving the four of you to concentrate on running Dragon's Den, knowing that if the unthinkable were to happen, you are each protected by a legal document. You, Jack, Toshiko and Owen. True you and Jack own over 70% of the business but they still have some rights. Best friends now, but…. What about ten years from now if the business is still running?"
"Any bright ideas about how I can find out whether they had a partnership agreement?"
Rupert thought for a moment. "Perhaps simply ask them. If they both say the same thing, chances are they are telling the truth. Who else is on your suspect list?"
"Connor Watson. Rumour has it he is involved with Elaine."
Rupert nodded slowly. "That would make sense. Connor is very ambitious. He made several offers to Roger for The Silver Spoon."
"Connor wants to run a café?" Ianto asked with genuine surprise.
"No. Connor wanted the premises so he could expand his own business."
"How do you know that?"
"People often have conversations with me that they don't pay for. Those are not covered by client confidentiality."
"Thank you, Rupert, you have been a great help."
He waggled his eyebrows. "Have you now worked out who the killer is?"
"No." Ianto sighed as he rubbed his face. "I'm not any closer, but some things are now clearer."