Twenty Years a Stranger (The Stranger Series Book 1)

by Deborah Twelves

  I was nervous about this. I was crossing into a world I knew nothing about, but I had to admit that what Adam was saying made sense. He certainly had my attention, as he leaned against the bar with his arms folded, studying me and undoubtedly wondering whether I was up to all this.

  ‘Only snag is, you’d have to get Daniel to come to the house on some pretext so they can fit the tracker. Maybe tell him you’re ready to talk things through or something.’

  Pretty big snag - I thought to myself; and immediately opened my mouth in horror to object, but closed it again just as fast, as he continued, raising a hand to silence me.

  ‘Just hear me out on this. You won’t like what I’m going to say, but I honestly think you’re going about things the wrong way. Daniel is streets ahead of you at the moment. Let’s face it, he’s been conning you for years and you can bet your life he’s got some kind of escape plan in place. He must have known it would all go tits up someday. All his assets and his money will be protected somehow and you’re going to get nowhere by locking horns with him. You’ve gone in there all guns blazing with the divorce, but all that legal shit takes forever and he knows that. He will be using his time wisely, to hide things, move money around…it’s obvious. The bankruptcy crap is all part of the plan if you ask me. And who’s to say he won’t just do a runner to the States and leave you high and dry to face the taxman with all his debts here? My bet is on most of his money being over there anyway.’

  He stopped and waited for my reaction. I stared at him, deflated.

  ‘Thanks for that. That’s really cheered me up. In reality, I can’t stop him from doing any of what you’ve just said, can I?’

  ‘Maybe not, but you can be clever and play him at his own game. Make him think there’s still a chance for the two of you to stay together. Make him believe you could forgive him and take him back.’

  I thought I was hearing things.

  ‘Are you kidding me? Why the hell would I do that? I can barely look at him. I haven’t spoken a word to him since the day after the email.’

  ‘You need to brush up on your acting skills then.’

  ‘It’s not just that, Adam,’ I added, despondently. ‘It won’t work, because I don’t even think he wants me back. According to Lorraine, he’s running around after her, declaring his undying love and begging her to forgive him. He hasn’t done any of that with me. It’s as if he doesn’t care about me at all,’ I said, close to tears again.

  ‘I think the problem is you’ve backed him into a corner. You just need to show him a way out and I bet you anything, he’ll snap your hand off. Financially, the divorce is still a big risk for him. He stands to lose a lot if you can find the right evidence and, if what he says is true, he’s also got the taxman breathing down his neck. That email has taken him by surprise and caught him on the hop. Believe me, he’ll jump at the chance to make the divorce go away and regain some element of control over everything. You need to make him think he can trust you. Make him think you’re on the same side, like Bonny and Clyde, fighting to save everything from HMRC. Remind him about all the Irish businessmen who signed everything over to their wives to avoid taxes and try to get him to do that with you. It’s been in the news recently. Trust me on this. It’s the only way you’re going to find out what he’s up to and where he’s hiding stuff.’

  ‘I get what you’re saying, really I do. I just don’t think I could go through with it in all honesty. And don’t forget, he may be an arrogant arse-hole, but he’s not stupid. I’m pretty sure he’ll smell a rat if I suddenly do an about-turn and start being all reasonable with him.’

  ‘It’s worth a try though, isn’t it? From where I’m standing you don’t have a lot of options. We can sort the tracker for you, but you need to start speaking to him and drawing him in. Con him, just like he conned you all these years.’

  I tried to think beyond my loathing of Daniel.

  ‘I have to admit it would be amazing to be able to see exactly where he went every time I logged into the computer. I could bust all his secret hidey holes and he wouldn’t have a clue how I was doing it.’

  Melissa came in to do my gel nails for me as a treat and sat down, catching the end of the conversation.

  ‘Adam’s right Grace. Play the bastard at his own game. Imagine the satisfaction you’ll get out of conning him. If anyone can do it, you can,’ she said with a wink and a little smile.

  I began to wonder if this crazy plan could actually work. Finally, I would have the upper hand. Surely I could pull it off if I set my mind to it. I just had to believe in myself.

  ‘All you need to do is get him to come over to the house and then go out for dinner with him, in your car obviously,’ Adam continued. ‘While you’re out, I’ll arrange for a couple of the guys I know to slip over to your place and do the business. He’ll be none the wiser.’

  I finally decided to take a risk and back myself, and it felt good.

  ‘Go on then. Let’s do this,’ I said, impulsively.

  The balance of power was about to shift.

  ‘Just one word of caution though, sweetheart. Always remember who you’re dealing with and be on your guard. Don’t let him in the house when you’re alone.’

  ‘I’m not scared of him,’ I retorted.

  ‘Well, maybe you should be. None of us know for sure what he’s really capable of. Don’t forget, I grew up with him and his brother in this village. A lot of people around here thought he was a wrong ’un and the rumours were rife when his mother suddenly disappeared without a trace. Very strange business, that was. Then there was the fire. Kieran was the scapegoat for that but, in reality, I think he got off lightly when he walked out of there alive. At least he’s here to tell the tale, unlike poor Julia of course. Did she really commit suicide or was she pushed?’

  He held up his hands as I pulled a face.

  ‘Hey, I’m just playing Devil’s advocate here.’

  I laughed out loud.

  ‘Oh come on, Adam. Daniel is many things, none of them good, but do you honestly think he’s capable of murder?’

  ‘I think any one of us is capable of murder if we’re pushed too far. Just be careful is all I’m saying. And remember you can call us here any time of the day or night if you’re scared or there’s any kind of problem.’

  ‘I will, I promise. And thank you for being so totally amazing, all of you. I have no idea what I’d do without you guys.’

  He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and left me enjoying some girlie pamper time and chat with Melissa.

  The hardest part of the tracker plan was obviously having to engage with Daniel again. I had to make him believe I wanted to talk about things ‘like grown-ups’. The story was that I wanted us to try to agree, without solicitors interfering and bleeding us both dry. I practised my dialogue over and over again before making the dreaded phone call to tell my treacherous husband I was prepared to extend an olive branch of sorts. My words sounded false to my own ears, but I persevered, laying down clear ground rules from the start.

  ‘We need to go out for dinner so we can talk on neutral territory. You’re paying by the way and it won’t be cheap,’ I sniped.

  I struggled to be polite, let alone nice. I told myself sternly that I needed to try harder if this was going to work, but to my amazement, Adam was right. Daniel seized the wilting, half-dead olive branch eagerly with both hands and apparently could not believe his luck.

  ‘Of course, no problem. That’s the least I can do. Glad you’re seeing sense about all this at last.’

  He had been emailing and pestering me regularly about there being no point in using solicitors when we could sort things out by ourselves. He promised to see me right and settle fairly if I would just call off the dogs and wait two or three years. Of course, he only had my best interests at heart.

  Not.

  Up until then, I had ignored all communication on the advice of my solicitor, simply passing everything on to her, but Daniel was obviously arroga
nt enough to believe in his own powers of persuasion in winning me round.

  Our first meeting was scheduled for a Tuesday at 6.30 pm. I was taking no chances and was already half way up the steps to the driveway of the house by the time he switched off the engine. Adam’s words had rattled me despite my bravado and I had no intention of allowing Daniel to set so much as a foot inside my home territory.

  ‘Let’s go to The Ram’s Head. I’ve booked a table. I’ll drive.’ I had no desire to waste time with small talk, but I forced myself to calm down and remember the bigger picture. He had to believe I was serious about this because Adam had told me that changing the trackers over would need to be a weekly event in the diary.

  The waiter gave us a cosy little table for two in the window, clearly assuming this was some sort of romantic date night. How wrong he was.

  As soon as we were seated, I excused myself and went to the Ladies to call Adam, as planned.

  ‘Adam, it’s me,’ I whispered furtively into the phone. ‘I did it. We’re in The Ram’s Head now. We came in my car as you said, so his car is on the drive. There’s no CCTV at the house, but remember I told you the security light will come on. Text me when it’s done.’

  ‘Okay sweetheart, well done. I’ll text. Remember your poker face and be careful.’

  ‘Will do.’

  I ended the call and checked my face in the mirror, feeling like a spy in a James Bond movie. I adjusted my expression to get what I thought was the right balance of sadness and vulnerability for the ‘tragic heroine’ I needed to play when I returned to our table.

  I looked at my husband, the stranger, and objectively studied every inch of his face. He looked noticeably older and more tired than I remembered. Not surprising really. I tried not to show my anger, but it was harder than I had anticipated keeping my temper as he tried to wheedle his way around me.

  ‘We don’t have to go through with the divorce you know,’ he began, pausing to gauge my reaction. ‘The only winners in all this are the lawyers.’

  ‘I know that, I’m not completely stupid. So what do you suggest we do then?’

  I could hardly wait to hear his master plan.

  ‘The thing is, I’m in real trouble financially.’

  ‘Oh do me a favour,’ I interrupted, sarcastically.

  ‘No really, they’re trying to make me bankrupt. The truth is Grace, I’m just not in a position to give you anything right now, but what I suggest is that we agree on a settlement between us, even get it drafted by a solicitor if you want and I’ll be able to get you your money in the next three years…five at the most.’

  He paused again, before continuing with what he presumably thought was a convincing argument.

  ‘Who knows, maybe by then we’ll have changed our minds and decided to stay together.’

  I wanted to spit in his face and tell him that Hell would freeze over first. Inside I was raging at the audacity of the man, but I forced myself to keep my temper.

  ‘I had no idea things were that bad. You should have told me. We were supposed to be a team.’

  ‘I know, I’m sorry. I suppose I was ashamed. I didn’t want to lose you.’

  He paused again, waiting for a reaction, but I remained silent.

  ‘You’re the best bowman I ever had…,’ he added, in a poor attempt at humour. It was the same old line he always trotted out when he wanted to get around me.

  ‘We’ve been through so much together,’ he persisted. ‘Surely you don’t want to throw all that away?’

  Priceless!

  ‘I’m pretty sure you’re the one who threw everything away,’ I retorted.

  As I waited for that to sink in, I had to admit that Adam’s theory was right. Daniel was clutching at straws for damage limitation. Maybe this would be easier than I had thought. I offered him the tiniest glimmer of hope.

  ‘I’ll think about what you’ve said and we’ll talk about it again next week. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That’s all I can give you at the moment. Let’s enjoy our meal at least.’

  I put on my best-injured expression.

  ‘Are you still in contact with the woman who sent the email?’ I asked slyly, unable to resist.

  He shuffled uncomfortably on his chair, pondering his response.

  ‘Not really. Only for the legal stuff about the house and my personal belongings that she refuses to give back. I don’t know what I was thinking when I got involved with her, to be honest. I was confused. When I look at her now, I’ve got no idea what I saw in her. I’ve already told her it’s over between us.’

  - Really? That’s not what she said.

  ‘Did she accept that?’ I asked innocently.

  ‘Well, she’s got no choice. Look, I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but if you could find any way for us to move forward and stay together...I’d be the luckiest man in the world.’

  ‘Yes, you would. But like I said, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.’

  Somehow I managed to get through the next couple of hours without screaming or stabbing him, although his steak knife did look particularly attractive to me on several occasions.

  I made it clear that the evening was over as I parked on the drive next to his car, then I stood and watched him drive away, having agreed to meet again the following Tuesday.

  The second his car had disappeared off down the road, I raced excitedly down the steps and in through the back door of the house. I grabbed my laptop, typed in the login details Adam had given me and waited. Sure enough, there it was. A little green cursor called Daniel 1 flashed on the map. It showed him heading off in what looked to be the direction of Stainsford or The Whale’s house. I sat back and stamped my feet on the floor in excitement like a little girl. The first part of my comeback plan had worked.

  Fuck you, tosser!

  Over the next few weeks, I watched his movements avidly, making copious notes for myself and recording the various locations he visited. A pattern was emerging and I had several places marked down as ‘key locations’ to be followed up on.

  As I suspected, there were regular visits to 12b Channing Street. I was pretty sure the visits had nothing to do with legitimate business, so as soon as an opportunity arose I headed down there for a proper recce.

  I had planned it all carefully, waiting until the tracker told me Daniel was well out of the way somewhere near Aberdeen, Scotland. What he was doing there was anybody’s guess. Business? Another woman? Drug running? I didn’t know and I didn’t care. The important thing was that I knew exactly where he was because I was now monitoring his every move on my computer screen.

  Daniel had not chosen the most salubrious area of Stainsford for his secret hideaway and my red Porsche looked ridiculously out of place in the seedy little street of shops with flats above them. I made a mental note to borrow a less conspicuous car for any future visits.

  There was a little hardware shop on the corner and I decided that was as good a place as any to start my investigations. A tall, ginger-haired man who looked about twenty-five was cutting a key with his back to me. He stopped what he was doing as I entered and turned to serve me. I could see an older man busy doing something in the back.

  ‘Can I help you?’

  That was the first problem. I hadn’t really planned any pretext for going into the shop. Rookie error.

  ‘Erm, have you got any superglue, please?’

  I asked for the first thing that came into my head.

  As I paid for the unwanted glue, I attempted to ask casually about number 12a, making up my story as I went along. I told him I understood it to be the office of a packaging company that owed my boss money and I had been sent to speak to the director. He looked at me strangely and I knew I sounded dodgy as hell, not to mention a highly unlikely debt collector, but he seemed happy enough to part with information.

  ‘It’s a private flat, as far as I know, not an office. The guy who lets it comes in here quite a bit to pick up parcels I’ve taken in for him.
He’s a tall bloke, oldish, grey hair. He gets a lot of parcels, but the address on them is always to him personally, rather than a business address, so I think your information might be wrong.’

  I smirked at the description of Daniel, but I had no idea what to say in response to that. What happened next could only be put down to some sort of sudden rush of blood to the head. I lowered my voice conspiratorially and leaned closer over the counter to confide in him. It was a well-known technique on the TV crime dramas I watched: tell your suspect a bit of a secret to draw them in and then they will immediately tell you something in return. Not that the lanky, ginger guy was a suspect exactly, but he was certainly a potential source of further important information. I pressed on with my part of the bargain.

  ‘Look, I’m going to level with you here because you look like a decent guy. The man you were talking about, he’s my husband and he’s been cheating on me with loads of different women. And he’s hiding money from me. There’s lots of other stuff as well, so I really need to find out what’s going on,’ I blurted.

  The older man emerged from the back.

  ‘Is everything okay?’

  He looked at me suspiciously and I was brought sharply to my senses. The only sensible option was to leave immediately before I could do any more damage to my cover. I couldn’t risk either of them saying anything to Daniel before I got the chance to go back there or my whole plan would be ruined, thanks to my own stupidity.

  ‘Yes, great thanks. Just came in for some glue,’ I said, in a voice that was far too jolly and an expression that may well have placed me firmly in the camp of the criminally insane. I was reminded of Baby’s infamous and cringe-worthy line in Dirty Dancing:

  I carried a watermelon.

  I held up my purchase to prove I was telling the truth as I backed away.

  ‘Bye then. Have a good day,’ I said cheerily.

  I was mortified as I hurried back to my car to escape, but as I opened the door, I was startled to see my new found confidante running after me.