Free Unravel a Crime - Tangle With Women by Neil Wild Page B

this one, and so we're going to give it to the Police!"
    "You can't be
serious", laughed Lisa.
    "Unfortunately, I am. We
appealed and of course were successful in getting the conviction quashed. What
chance do you think we have with Newberry and a three million pound, or
whatever it is, fraud charge against him. Do you know what the magistrates will
do? They'll say to themselves, 'if there's three million involved, then there
must be something in it.' They wouldn't dare dismiss charges in a case of that
magnitude. "
    "So what are you going to
do."
    "The only way out of it
would be to try and demonstrate to the Prosecution in some way that they don't
stand any real chance of success, and persuade them to drop the charge.
Unfortunately and at the moment I don't think that we are able to do
that."
    "I wonder if I can make a
suggestion?" Asked Lisa slowly.
    Brakespeare smiled
quizzically.
    Lisa continued. "While
you were out, I thought that I might have a look at some of the papers."
    "Oh" Brakespeare
said with interest, "Go on."
    "Well as I understand it,
this man Black, who says that David Newberry's valuations are fraudulent,
originally valued the properties about a year ago. He was then asked to give
retrospective valuation for two or three years ago."
    "That's how I understand
it. "
    "Well, everyone knows
that property prices have been falling." She paused as if to make sure
that she had properly paved the way for whatever point she was about to make.
    Brakespeare nodded, "All
property prices fell - it was the state of the market. "
    "And so you would expect
that the fall would be consistent." She said slowly.
    "Meaning?"
    "That all properties
would have fallen by roughly the same percentage."
    "Well, more or less
depending on the area. Property prices fell more in some areas than others.
"
    "But these are all
properties in London, in fact West London. "
    "So they should all fall
in value by more or less the same amount."
    "But not according to Mr.
Black."
    "What?!"
    Lisa pointed to a sheet of
paper on his desk that Brakespeare had not noticed.
    "What's this? "
    "I put the figures on a
computer spreadsheet, and this is what the result is in respect of the
properties supposedly mis-valued. Black has some properties actually increasing
in value over the last three years. Look"
    She came round to
Brakespeare's side of the desk and put the paper in front of him. As before, he
showed no inhibitions in letting her body touch him as she demonstrated the
figures she had printed out from her computer. Brakespeare wished that he had
the courage to put his arm her.
    The sheet listed all the properties
which Black had valued. In one column she had entered Black’s retrospective
valuations, and in the next she had entered his later and current valuations.
In a third column of the spreadsheet she had calculated the percentage increase
or decrease between the two valuations..
    Sure enough, Black showed the
properties increasing in value.
    Brakespeare was getting
excited. "What's the average increase?"
    "11 % over the four
years" .
    "What we need is some
data as to what actually happened to house prices at this time."
    Lisa smiled. "I've
already found that. The National publishes little brochures now and then, with
information as to house prices. They’re also on the website"
    "Oh, yes, I've heard news
items on the radio and television quoting the National's figures."
    "Have you ever been in
Dick Ridley's room?"
    "Not yet."
    "Well he throws
absolutely nothing away, and files things meticulously. He had no problem in
finding the brochures for me, and bingo, this is what they say. "
    She lifted the spreadsheet,
and beneath it was another sheet of paper in which she had analysed the
National's own figures.
    Brakespeare stared at them.
"I don't believe this. "
    "It's true. According to
the National, over the last four years house prices in inner London fell by 20.6%
and in Outer London by 13.6%"
    "Well either way, the
average fall is, what,