‘We’ve discussed the difficulties your business faced – none of them of your own making – and the way you maximized your credit to stay afloat.’
‘We know you took your responsibilities to your staff very seriously,’ Charlie said, overlapping. ‘Many of them had families just like you and they needed to be paid. But the money just wasn’t there, was it?’
A beat, then Thomas nodded.
‘What were you going to do?’ Charlie continued softly. ‘How were you going to keep going?’
There was a long pause as Thomas Simms struggled for an answer. Then:
‘Keep digging.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Keep digging myself a bigger fucking hole to jump into.’
‘I don’t follow, Thomas. What do you mean by that?’ Charlie prompted. She could tell Helen was following the conversation intently, waiting for Thomas Simms’s next move.
Another long pause. A furious internal debate seemed to be taking place within the bereaved husband. Charlie half expected a bitter ‘No comment’ but then suddenly Thomas blurted out:
‘I kept borrowing, didn’t I?’
‘More credit cards?’ Helen replied.
‘No. I… I couldn’t get any more. Too many unpaid bills. Bad credit history.’
The bitterness oozed from him. Helen could tell he blamed the moneymen for his current predicament.
‘Who did you borrow from, Thomas?’ Helen pressed gently but insistently. ‘Those unaccounted-for cash payments – where did they -’
‘A loan shark,’ Thomas interrupted. ‘A bloody loan shark.’
His face was turned to the floor – the full extent of his shame was now becoming clear.
‘We’ll need a name,’ Helen said as neutrally as she could. The mere mention of loan sharks had her alarm bells ringing.
‘I can’t give you a name.’
‘Why not?’
‘I just can’t.’
‘Not good enough, Thomas,’ Helen replied. ‘If you’ve borrowed money from an unregistered lender, then we need to know. If you’ve been threatened, we can offer you protection -’
‘I think it’s a little late for that, don’t you?’ was the bitter response.
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Nothing,’ he replied after a brief pause. ‘Nothing at all.’
‘ Were you threatened?’ Helen persisted.
Still nothing from Thomas Simms.
‘Give us a name and we can help you. If there’s been any harassment or threats, we can have them for intimidation. We have the powers to deal with these people. Please, Thomas. Tell us what happened.’
‘I… I borrowed five grand from a guy – just to tide me over. The business was in trouble, Luke’s school fees are astronomical, then there’s Karen, Alice… I thought it would be a one-off. But then I borrowed another five. Then another.’
