Changing Lara

by Anna Jacobs

  ‘Does she know about this place?’

  ‘She’s been here once but I’m not sure she’ll remember the address. I drove here and she spent most of the journey fiddling with her smartphone. She’s definitely not into scenery and wildlife.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Lara sat drumming her fingers on the table for a moment or two, then cocked her head to one side. ‘How about for a start, you suggest to Euan that he gets his security people to keep a better eye on all the houses. That won’t cost you anything.’

  ‘Why would he do that?’

  ‘He won’t want potential buyers to hear that these houses are easy to burgle and he’s got a lot of building materials lying around.’

  ‘Ah. Good idea.’

  ‘But as I said before, you do need better locks and bolts on the outer doors, Ross.’

  ‘I agree. And so do you. I’m sorry for not listening to you before.’

  ‘We’ve both been busy.’

  ‘Let’s go out and buy some this morning.’

  ‘We should talk to Cindy first. She might want to improve her security as well. It may be cheaper if we all work together.’

  He chuckled. ‘I can fit them and I promise not to charge you for doing it. I’m fairly handy around the house. I’ve had to be with an old house to maintain. Um, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how valuable is that silver of yours?’

  ‘It’s decent stuff, a few thousand pounds in all. I don’t want to lose it for other reasons, though. I only kept things that were truly meaningful to me when I started working overseas. It’d hurt like hell to have those pieces stolen.’

  He put his arm round her shoulders and gave her a quick hug. She seemed so very confident, but when you got to know her, you found out she had the usual human collection of weaknesses.

  She hugged him back this time, looking at him almost shyly as if unused to demonstrative behaviour. ‘Stupid of me to care so much, isn’t it?’

  ‘No. Just proves you’re normal. Anyway, who’d want to be with a person who had no weaknesses? A superwoman would give me an inferiority complex.’

  ‘You always make me feel better about myself.’

  ‘Do I? That’s good, because you have the same effect on me.’ He smiled warmly as he stepped away from her. ‘Let’s go and see Cindy straight away, then we’ll call at the hotel to see Euan on our way out to buy some bolts.’

  Cindy was in total agreement with them about the need to have better security, but she could afford to have a proper monitored system installed and her son had already arranged to have one fitted, so she didn’t need Ross’s help.

  When they stopped at the hotel to let Euan know about the prowler, he expressed surprise but thanked them for the information. ‘You can be sure I’ll arrange for better patrols, especially now that we’re building more houses. My main office should be OK because it’s in the hotel and there’s nothing valuable left in the sales office, but building supplies have to be left outside and often get targeted by thieves. The prowler might have been sussing out what was lying around.’

  ‘It’s sad when you can’t even build new homes without such precautions,’ Lara said.

  ‘Tell me about it.’

  Pleased with that response, Ross drove to a well-known hardware store on the outskirts of Swindon, a huge echoing cavern of a place which had everything they needed.

  After loading their purchases in the car, he suggested nipping into the nearby shopping centre for some food supplies.

  As they walked round, he couldn’t help noticing how frugally Lara spent her money. She selected mainly things on special, then stopped to study the oddments on the clearance stand. He wished he could help her but he knew how fiercely independent she was, so didn’t even offer to treat her to anything. At least the job he’d given her was a help.

  She didn’t mention her predicament and he admired how brave she was being about her losses and current situation.

  He couldn’t help thinking about their relationship again as he dropped her off and went into his own house for a midday meal. The more time he spent with Lara, the more he liked and admired her. He might be wary of rushing into a relationship with anyone, but he wasn’t stupid enough to deny his feelings, either.

  He was already sure that Lara wasn’t like Nonie Jayne, but he was still getting to know her and still letting her get to know him. People of their age didn’t confide in one another as freely as youngsters did. When he and Diana had met, they’d blurted out their deepest dreams and hopes without a worry about betraying their weaknesses.

  What did Lara think of him? Did she see him as an idiot who’d married a rapacious woman for her looks? Or just as bad, did she consider him a weakling who kept having to rest and take naps?

  Maybe he should try one of these other medical approaches to ME. He’d ask Lara who her friend had gone to for help. It wouldn’t hurt to make enquiries.

  But it might hurt to get his hopes up – and fail to make any further progress.

  Nonie Jayne phoned the private investigator who’d been helping her intermittently to find out where things were at. When Peter’s secretary answered, she asked to speak to him.

  ‘Sorry, Ms Larson, but my employer is away on a case and won’t be back for a week.’

  ‘But he was in the middle of doing something for me!’

  Silence, then, ‘Just a moment. I’ll check the files.’

  Nonie Jayne tapped her fingers on the table, annoyed by this. She’d paid Peter Sangley well to help her and been assured that he’d be there for her any time.

  ‘Ms Larson? I’m sorry but he’s not left you any messages. What he has left is a reminder of how much you owe him.’

  She ignored that. She never paid bills until the last minute. ‘Well, perhaps you can help me. I’m trying to find my ex-husband and I know Peter had a lead. There was an old aunt Ross used to visit and he said he’d go there one night and see what he could find out. If you can just give me her address, I’ll take it from there and—’

  ‘I’m afraid I can’t do that without Mr Sangley’s authorisation.’

  ‘But how am I going to find my ex if your company doesn’t help?’

  ‘I’m sorry but I can’t go against the rules. Perhaps you could phone next week? Mr Sangley will be back then and you can speak to him yourself.’

  Nonie Jayne slammed down the phone. She was sure Peter had said he was going to check out Ross’s new address one evening.

  Why had he not left a message? Then she remembered that she’d spoken quite sharply to him last time because he’d phoned her at some unearthly hour of the morning. Surely he hadn’t taken a huff at that? When she spoke to him, she’d arrange to pay the darn bill. That ought to put him on side again.

  She decided to mention the bill, so picked up the phone again. This time she got an answering service so had to leave a message on that, asking the secretary to phone her back ASAP.

  The rest of the day passed and there was no return call, which annoyed her still further.

  In fact, she was getting sick and tired of this country. People did everything at half-speed and wanted paying before they’d even finished a job. Should she go back to the States straight away?

  No, Gil had said he could help her. She’d give him a try first. If he didn’t move things forward and help her to get what she was due from Ross, she’d definitely leave the country and get on with her life.

  She didn’t usually act so carelessly but she had been feeling low ever since that arbitration meeting. The only person who seemed able to cheer her up was Gil and he was pushing her to do things she wasn’t sure about.

  Well, she could always change her mind, couldn’t she? And leave the country if necessary. Flights to the States were always available.

  On that thought she picked up her phone and rang Gil, who said he’d be happy to help and would be round in half an hour.

  Gil arrived exactly twenty-seven minutes later and when the people at reception phoned up to let her know,
she told them to send him up.

  She gestured to him to sit down and didn’t waste any time with greetings. ‘You said you could help me. How exactly?’

  He looked at her thoughtfully, then said, ‘You seem like a woman who doesn’t always approve of the stupidity of the law.’

  ‘Tell me about it! Especially here in the UK. Which doesn’t mean I like to break it, not exactly.’

  ‘I agree with you absolutely, so I sometimes find ways to go round the formalities.’

  ‘What exactly does that mean?’

  ‘It means there are times when I take what I feel is owed to me.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  He grinned. ‘Oh, come on. Stop pretending. We’re in the same line of business, you and I, only I work with rich older women and you work with rich older men.’

  She stared at him open-mouthed, not knowing what to say to that. Was it really so obvious what she was doing?

  ‘I’ve recently been let down by a female I thought I had in the bag, so to speak. And it had cost me a fortune to set her up. Her niece turned up, took one look at me and whipped her aunt off for a holiday in Spain. If I help you to get hold of what’s, um, owed to you and then sell it safely for you, we may both come out of the current dip in our finances a lot happier.’

  ‘Hmm. And how will you benefit from that?’

  ‘A few other things might fall into my hands at the same time.’

  She didn’t want to get involved in outright theft, but when he winked, she laughed and so did he. Oh, why pretend? She got sick and tired of pretending. ‘All right. You’re on, Gil. But you’d better find a safe way to do this because I’m not taking any risks.’

  ‘Have you any idea where he is now?’

  ‘Sort of. I think he may be living in his aunt’s house while those film people are using his house. Unfortunately Ross doesn’t have to share any of that inheritance with me. I visited her once with him and her house was full of valuable ornaments. Well, they looked valuable to me and I can usually tell.’

  ‘Whereabouts was this house?’

  ‘In some sort of retirement community or whatever they’re called here.’

  ‘What was her name?’

  ‘Iris.’

  ‘Surname?’

  She shrugged. ‘I didn’t pay attention. There was no reason to at the time because I didn’t intend to visit her again.’

  ‘His full name?’

  ‘Ross Quinton Welby.’

  ‘Any idea where the retirement community is?’

  ‘No. But it’s not too far away from here because it only took us about half an hour to drive there, or maybe a little longer. Oh, and there was a golf course there and a hotel.’

  ‘Should be easy enough to find. Leave it to me.’ He stood up.

  ‘Wait. I already found the names of a few retirement communities online and I tried phoning them but they wouldn’t give me any information about residents on the phone.’

  ‘Let me have a try. I’ll need to get a friend to do it for me. He’s brilliant with computers. Let me phone him, then you and I will figure out how to spend a few quiet hours. You must be getting bored with hanging around.’

  He gave her another of those winks and ran one fingertip down her arm, but she drew back at once. ‘I’m not getting into bed with you.’

  ‘Aren’t you tired of sleeping with old men? Don’t you want to just enjoy yourself for once?’

  ‘Ross wasn’t old. And he wasn’t incapable of giving a woman pleasure.’

  ‘Well, my ladies were old, and I like young, firm flesh now and then.’ He shrugged. ‘You and I will share a bed one day, I’m sure. I can wait.’

  ‘I don’t know you well enough.’ She’d learnt years ago that if you gave in too soon, you lost your main bargaining chip. ‘I think I’ll go shopping to fill in a few hours.’

  ‘Let me make a phone call, then I’ll take you. I’ve got my car outside.’

  ‘Oh. Well, all right. Thanks. That’d be a help.’ It puzzled her that he was sticking so close, but she was fed up of staring at the TV screen and she did enjoy her little shopping trips. This man wasn’t likely to buy her anything worthwhile, though, because he’d said he was short of money. Pity.

  They strolled round the shopping mall, which proved to have only ordinary stores. She’d not be seen dead in such cheap, uninteresting clothes, so she didn’t see anything she’d want to buy.

  ‘I’ll have to do some serious shopping in London before I go back to the States.’ It was about time she started to prepare for her next search for a husband. Waiting around here was getting tedious and she still wasn’t sure it was worth pursuing Ross.

  Should she cut her losses and return to the States straight away? No. She might not get anything else out of Ross, but if she could figure out a way to get back at him she would, because he deserved it.

  After a while, she and Gil found a nice café on the mezzanine level overlooking the main concourse and when they got chatting, she told him about Ross and the silver she’d taken. She hadn’t thought he’d notice such small pieces.

  Gil looked at her thoughtfully. ‘They sound to have been quite rare pieces to me. If you’re going to take an interest in silver, you really should get a list of hallmarks and learn about which ones are more valuable.’

  ‘I’m not interested in silver, just in what it’s worth.’

  ‘Same difference.’

  ‘Well, I prefer jewels anyway.’ She had a few nice pieces stashed away in her other bank, in an account under her real name.

  As she waited for her mocha surprise, idly watching people pass by below, she stiffened suddenly and leant forward. It couldn’t be … but it was … ‘What a bit of luck!’

  Gil leant forward to look in the same direction. ‘What are you staring at?’

  ‘That guy in the striped polo shirt is Ross but I don’t know who the dowdy female is.’ From the way Ross was smiling at her, he was attracted. It made Nonie Jayne suddenly furious that he’d found someone else so quickly.

  ‘Who is she?’

  ‘How should I know?’ She watched them go into a cheap café and sit there chatting.

  She moved back to let the waitress put down her coffee, then leant forward again.

  Gil grabbed her arm to get her attention. ‘Do you know what his car is like?’

  ‘Of course I do. Old. I tried to get him to change it for a newer model but he insisted on keeping it, said it was an old friend. If I were near it now, I’d run my keys along the side of it. That’d really upset him.’

  Gil tapped her hand. ‘Pay attention, Nonie Jayne. If we follow his car and he goes home, we’ll know where he lives.’

  ‘Oh. Sorry. Good idea.’

  ‘Come on! Let’s search the car park and wait nearby.’

  She looked regretfully at the coffee, took a big gulp and left the rest before following Gil outside. He drove slowly along every row of parked cars but there was no sign of Ross’s old rust heap.

  ‘You’re sure you’ll recognise it?’

  ‘Of course I will.’

  ‘There’s another small parking area to the side. Let’s try that.’ Gil turned into it.

  At first she thought they’d failed to find it and was worrying that Ross would have left the shopping mall, but then, in the back row, she saw it.

  She pointed. ‘That’s my ex’s car. Have I time to ruin his paintwork?’

  Gil held back a sigh. What an irritating woman she was! She might be beautiful but she hadn’t been gifted with brains to match her face. Good thing he was used to pandering to foolish women. He spoke in the teasing tone that they seemed to love. ‘Dear me, you are vindictive. But you don’t want to do that. He might call the police. All we want today is to follow him and find out where he lives.’

  ‘Pity.’

  ‘You’re going to have to crouch down in the back.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘And cover yourself right up.’

  ‘But that’ll mess up
my hair.’

  ‘The problem is, you’re too beautiful, Nonie Jayne. People will notice your face and remember you. Wait a minute.’ He got a ragged blanket out of the boot and held the passenger door open. ‘Get into the back now and prepare to duck down if I give the word. And do not bob up again until I tell you it’s clear.’

  ‘This blanket smells of oil.’

  ‘Do you want to find where your ex is living or not? If not, I’ll drop you back at your hotel and go on my way.’

  ‘Oh, very well.’ She let him close the back door of the car.

  ‘Get down!’ Gil yelled almost immediately as he caught sight of the people she’d pointed out coming away from the shopping mall. He flicked a quick glance backwards to check that she’d pulled the blanket over herself and, thank goodness, she had.

  He started the engine as the others got into Ross’s car and followed them slowly out of the car park.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she called.

  ‘I’m following them. Stay down.’

  ‘Well, I hope they go straight back to wherever it is. This car needs cleaning out and it’s uncomfortable crouching down. I’m going to get my clothes all crumpled.’

  ‘Worth it, though, eh?’

  Her only reply was a loud sigh, which sounded like a child being denied a treat.

  ‘Try to find a more comfortable position and stay put. You said his aunt’s house wasn’t far away.’

  A few minutes later, she said, ‘I’m getting cramp. Can’t I get up now? I’ll bend my head down.’

  ‘No. You’ll spoil it if you bob up.’

  ‘But I can’t bear it a minute longer and—’

  ‘Hang on. We’re turning into a hotel car park. This might be it.’

  He stopped the car near the side of the hotel and watched Ross Welby drive past it towards some houses. ‘You can sit up now.’