Curiouser and Curiouser

They sat talking about the things that the two detectives had found out and also but the extra things that Greg had discovered.  For instance, he discovered that the wife had a twin sister who lived close by and she and her husband had two boys,  and an aged father who lived in a retirement home.  So that Barbara had a family whom it appeared were devastated at their loss.

He also found from some of the things that Barbara had let slip that she worked in a solicitors’ office in Holborn,  It would be quite difficult to track down which one, but with the help of Cathy’s friend he was sure they could do it.

Then Sandy suddenly remembered the email.  She had managed to put it out of her mind while they were discussing the new developments.  But now she hurried to the printer and brought it over.  She read it out loud.  The other two looked stunned as did Sandy.  Barbara was not Sandy’s daughter but had tried to pass herself off as her.  She had known Sandy’s daughter and was her friend.

What to do about this?  Had she committed a crime?  It appeared not but Greg said that Cathy should check with her policeman friend   Cathy and Greg talked about what they should do.  Should they confront Barbara and find out what she really had in mind when she started this.  Sandy suddenly joined the conversation “But she hasn’t done anything wrong.  Nobody has been hurt.  She just wanted to be part of a family”

Greg looked at Sandy as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying.  “So do you want to just let this go?” he asked.  “Don’t you think we should check whether she should be charged with an offence? And what will you tell Ian and Val? They have a right to know that this fraudster had been trying to get into our family.  To become a part of all our  lives.  I think she should be made to answer for her actions.”

In turn, Sandy couldn’t believe what Greg was saying.  “She’s just a confused, young woman, who wanted to be part of a family.  A family she has never had.  How hard her life must have been. Shunted from foster home to foster home.  She just wanted to be part of a normal family.

“Imagine how she envied the other Barbara. She had also been given for adoption but she had landed with a loving family and she also had come close to finding her birth mother.  How would that make her feel?”

Cathy asked “So Sandy, what would you like to do?  You are the one most affected by this woman and her deceit.”

“I don’t know.  I think she has had a very raw deal in life and I don’t want to make her life any more difficult.” Sandy answered “I think I should respond to her email.  Telling her how upset I am that she felt it was alright to act in this way.  I will also tell her I would really like to meet her again and talk about it. I would really like to know what she was thinking about when she started out to deceive me.”

Greg and Cathy sat quite still and looked at Sandy.  They both spoke

“What will that achieve” asked Greg and “If you think it wise then that’s what you should do” said Cathy.

“Yes.  It is what I want” said Sandy.

After talking more about this Sandy’s decision was acted upon.  Between them they came up with the wording for an email which Sandy wrote and sent to Barbara.

Having had another cup of tea and a stilted conversation about other things, Greg and Cathy left after Sandy promised to call them as soon as a reply to her email was received.

“Friendship makes prosperity more shining
and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it.”
Cicero, 44 B.C.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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