Changing Lara

by Anna Jacobs

  She had no idea what he was talking about but she tried to look interested. ‘Must have been nice. Are you retired?’

  ‘Sort of. I used to own a building company. But I sold it a while ago.’

  ‘What did your company build?’

  ‘Commercial developments. Much simpler than the residential stuff but rather boring to outsiders. I’m too old for all those hassles nowadays and I don’t need the money, but I still like to dabble in this and that.’

  She said it without thinking, because he really did have a youthful expression on his face. ‘You’re not all that old.’

  He grinned. ‘I’m seventy-five, which is old in body, but I’m still ticking along nicely healthwise and here is where it counts most.’ He tapped his forehead, then leant back and stared at her assessingly. ‘What’s a beautiful woman like you doing with only an old man to talk to, anyway? I’d have thought the younger guys would be queuing up to take you out.’

  She shrugged. ‘Let them queue. I find most younger men rather boring.’

  His grin became broader still. ‘And not as rich usually, eh?’

  She stared at him open-mouthed. Should she pretend she didn’t understand the implications of that?

  While she was still hesitating about how to answer, he added, ‘I’d rather we spoke frankly, Nonie Jayne. It doesn’t offend me, you know, if a woman as lovely as you chooses to make a practical use of her good looks.’

  It took her only seconds to decide that he really meant that. She was starting to like him and didn’t even try to hold back a genuine smile. ‘My body is the only capital I was born with, so yes, I’ve used it to attract men with money. I’ve never sold it though.’

  ‘You’re too classy-looking for me even to think that.’

  His remark pleased her. It was what she aimed at: a classy look.

  ‘And I’d guess you’re between men now, if you’ve just divorced someone.’ He took out a card and slipped it into her hand. ‘Give me a call when you come to London. I’ll prove that I’m not boring – or too old – and we’ll see if we continue to get on well.’

  She picked up the card. ‘All right. I’ve certainly enjoyed your company tonight. I’ll be in London in a few days, probably.’

  ‘I’ll be there for a few days … probably. No longer. Let’s see if we can coincide.’

  She was good at reading between the lines. What he really meant was if she was interested, she should join him quickly. And she was interested – but she’d do her research properly this time before making a move.

  He got up, gesturing towards the hotel entrance, where a man wearing a chauffeur’s cap was standing waiting. ‘Unfortunately something came up this afternoon and my driver had to collect me tonight or I’d stay with you longer. I do hope we meet again, Nonie Jayne.’

  He walked out, not looking back.

  She sat thinking this meeting over, staring at the business card till she’d learnt the phone number on it by heart, then putting it safely in her purse. Unusual sort of card, which only carried his first name and a phone number, but she remembered his surname.

  At a guess, he only gave this type of card to a few personal friends. If she was right, that was promising.

  She didn’t finish the glass of champagne; she never did. It was getting late and no one else of interest was left in the bar, so she returned to her room.

  It must be her lucky night. Edward smelt of money. She could usually tell. She bet he’d be good company, too, given the way his eyes had twinkled and he’d teased her. It made a refreshing change that he hadn’t wanted her to pretend about her way of life. She was sick of pretending all the time.

  Did she want to find herself another Englishman to link up with? Maybe. If she found one rich enough.

  Did she want to find herself an older man again? She most certainly did. They were much easier to handle than men of her own age, as her marriage to Ross had proved.

  Though come to think of it, she wasn’t sure anyone could handle Edward Charsley, who seemed powerful; she couldn’t work out why. He had intrigued her, with those young eyes in a lined, older face.

  She would go up to London and stay on in England for a while if it seemed likely to be profitable. And she’d ditch her anger, along with Gil.

  Let’s face it, money was the only thing that stayed your friend, so it didn’t matter which country she was in if she had access to it.

  Half an hour later Nonie Jayne looked up in surprise as someone turned the key in the lock and Gil slipped into her hotel room, interrupting her nightly beauty routine. ‘How the hell did you get a key to this room?’

  ‘I waited till the clerk had left the reception area and slipped behind the counter. You could see the spare keys in the pigeonholes.’

  ‘That’s pretty poor security.’

  ‘Isn’t it? And you didn’t put the bar on the door, either. Poor security on your part, too. Or were you expecting someone? You’d better not have been.’

  She stared down her nose at him. ‘Of course I wasn’t. It’s just that I’m used to superior hotels which are much safer than this one.’ And she’d been thinking about Edward, wishing his business card gave more information about his current business interests so that she could look him up on her smartphone. Pity she’d forgotten to lock the door fully.

  ‘Never mind that. Don’t you want to know how I got on tonight? And how about a glass of something while we chat?’

  ‘Hotel mini-bars are too expensive.’

  ‘Lighten up. One drink won’t break your bank. After all, I paid for your tea.’

  She declined to join him in a drink and sat scowling while he emptied the small bottle of whisky into a water glass.

  ‘There was no car outside that house, so I had a good look round through the back windows of the end two houses.’

  ‘Did you see the ornaments?’

  ‘A few, mostly some rather nice antique silver. The place is a mess inside, though. They’ve probably started clearing it out already and got rid of the valuable furniture. But the house next door had a good few ornaments as well, so if we hit them both, we could make a decent profit.’ He let out a harsh caw of laughter. ‘I walked all round the finished houses at a distance first, checking, and there are definitely no security systems monitoring the area, just one covering the road leading across to it. But someone must have seen me because two guys in security uniforms suddenly came running from the hotel.’ He let out a scornful grunt. ‘They made sure I saw them coming and had time to get away, so I doubt they’re into capturing criminals who might fight back. A lot of private security officers are like that: cowards. I’ll be more careful next time, though, because I don’t want them or anyone else interrupting me.’

  ‘And when will that be?’

  ‘Tomorrow. We’ll go there in the middle of the night and I’ll take special glass-cutting equipment with me to deal with the windows. You can wait outside with a couple of extra bags to carry what we find.’

  She slapped her hand down on the low table. ‘No way. I’ve already told you: I’m not getting involved in any burglaries.’ It was one thing to take what she was rightfully owed from Ross as a farewell present and quite another to do a burglary of this sort. And anyway, she’d known Ross wouldn’t prosecute her even if he did catch her. He was too soft.

  Gil glared at her, so she glared right back.

  ‘You’re the one who put me on to this, Nonie Jayne. You are involved.’

  ‘Well, I made it plain from the start that I wasn’t taking part in the action.’

  ‘You’ll help me out, my girl, if you want your share. And if you try to back out now, just as we’re getting it nicely set up, I’ll make sure the police find something incriminating among your things afterwards. I’m good at getting in and out of places, as you’ve already seen. You’ll not even know I’ve dumped a stolen piece on you till they find it.’

  She stared at him with her pitiful expression and summoned up a few tears.

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nbsp; He laughed, and not a nice laugh, either. ‘Save your false tears for someone stupid enough to believe them.’ Then he put on an unconvincing fake smile and said in a smarmy voice, ‘But let’s not quarrel, eh? It’s much nicer to seal a bargain like ours the usual way.’

  He moved towards her, arms outstretched, and she had the knife she kept hidden in the side of her purse out in an instant. ‘Keep your distance.’

  ‘I was only going to kiss you. You are a rather tempting piece of goods.’

  ‘No, thank you. I don’t do casual sex.’ She didn’t want to risk catching anything.

  ‘I’d give you a great time.’

  ‘I said no and I meant it. I save myself for marriage.’

  ‘Marriages, you mean.’ He stepped back. ‘Very well. We won’t go to bed together.’

  She heard the unspoken ‘yet’ and shivered.

  ‘But I shall need your help to pull this off. I can’t carry all the goodies myself.’

  She sighed and sagged back in her chair, still keeping the knife visible. ‘All right. I’ll do what you want. But you’d better play fair with me.’

  He laughed loudly, picked up the glass and gulped down the rest of the whisky. As he moved towards the door, he pulled up the hood of his light jacket so that his face was mostly hidden. ‘Very sensible of you. But remember that I’ll be keeping watch on the hotel from early morning onwards tomorrow. If you try to skip out on me, I’ll follow you and make sure you pay for it one way or another. You’d need a taxi to get away and no taxi driver is going to care about protecting you if I stop him and claim you’re my unfaithful wife who’s robbed me.’

  He paused to let that sink in, then added, ‘Look, Nonie, I need you to—’

  ‘Nonie Jayne!’ She never allowed anyone to shorten her name. It was special, her name was. There weren’t many people called that. She’d chosen it with care.

  ‘Nonie bloody Jayne, then. I’m definitely going to need help carrying the things we take if we’re to make this job pay well for both of us. There won’t be time for me to come and go a few times. And tomorrow, put on running shoes or whatever you call them in the States … right? Not those stupid high heels you totter around in.’

  ‘I’ll be there. I just said so, didn’t I? Only, what if Ross is in his house?’

  ‘If he’s around, I’ll make sure he’s in no condition to stop us.’

  She looked at him in horror.

  He rolled his eyes. ‘I meant I’d tie him up. I’m not into murder, you fool.’

  ‘But he’d still recognise me.’

  ‘I just told you, you’ll be waiting for me outside, you stupid bitch. He’ll never even see you if you do exactly as I say. I’ve got it all planned.’

  She didn’t reply, waited till he’d left, then put the bar on her door and leant against it. His last words had confirmed that he was a violent man, whatever he claimed. What had she been thinking of, hooking up with him?

  She wasn’t putting up with this. He’d find out she meant what she said about not doing violence or committing crimes.

  Besides, if he succeeded in forcing her to help him once, he would undoubtedly try to make her do his bidding in other things afterwards. She’d seen it happen to other women with thugs like him.

  No, thank you. There had to be a way out of this. Had to.

  But what?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  When Lara woke up, it took her only a minute to realise she was in the house next door, lying in Ross’s bed. He wasn’t there with her, of course, but his possessions were scattered around and it felt as if he had just slipped out for a moment.

  And that wasn’t a bad feeling. Definitely not.

  The room was flooded with light and she could almost catch a sunbeam in her hand, it was slanting so close to her. She couldn’t bear to stay in bed. Mornings as beautiful as this weren’t plentiful anywhere in the world. It would be foolish to waste this chance to enjoy one.

  She glanced at her watch, amazed that it was only seven o’clock. She didn’t usually get up this early, especially when she hadn’t gone to bed till the small hours. But she felt refreshed and ready to go, better than she had for ages, so flung back the covers and got dressed.

  Downstairs, she found Ross also awake. The recliner armchair he’d slept on was upright again and he was sitting on it sipping a cup of what smelt like tea.

  He smiled at her, his head haloed in sunshine. ‘So you couldn’t sleep either, Lara?’

  She waved one hand towards the rear windows. ‘It’s far too beautiful to stay in bed. All right if I get a cup of tea?’

  ‘Of course it is. Help yourself. The kettle’s boiled recently and I left plenty of water in it.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She looked out of the kitchen window. ‘We’re not the only early risers, it seems. There’s a luxury car just turned up at the hotel. Someone must be leaving early.’

  ‘Off to make a business deal or catch a plane, I suppose. Who cares about them? I’d rather enjoy your company. Now that you’re awake, maybe we can sit out on the patio to drink our cuppas?’

  ‘Sounds good. I’ll nip next door and get my cardigan first. I can’t think how I forgot it last night. The English sun won’t be warm yet and I’m still more used to Australian temperatures.’

  When she got back, he was in the kitchen pouring boiling water into a mug for her.

  As they waited for her tea to brew, they stood side by side watching the hotel, something you couldn’t help doing whenever you were at the front of the house. No one else was around at this hour, except that one car, presumably waiting for a client.

  When her tea was ready, Ross threw the soggy teabag away, picked up the biscuit tin and led the way outside to the rear patio. She was about to follow him when she saw the driver get back into the car and leave the hotel.

  ‘How strange!’ she said as she sat down outside. ‘That car went away again but nobody had got into it.’

  ‘That is weird. Oh well. Nothing to do with us. Look at that view!’

  By moving their chairs further away from the house they could see the lake to one side of the leisure village, which was a very pretty outlook. Already there were walkers striding round it.

  They were both silent for a while, then he said suddenly, ‘I can’t believe how well I slept last night. Even though it wasn’t for a long time, it was very refreshing.’

  ‘Mine was, too.’

  ‘Perhaps it was because I knew you were near.’

  ‘Perhaps that worked for both of us. Who knows?’

  He held out his hand and she put hers into it, then they sat there quietly, enjoying the clean-washed brightness of the early morning sunshine without the need for meaningless chat – and also enjoying the warmth of hand holding hand and heart reaching tentatively out to heart.

  After Gil had left her at her hotel room, Nonie Jayne didn’t go to bed but sat on the uncomfortable upright chair, thinking hard. But however much she searched for a solution, she couldn’t see an easy way to get herself out of this situation; well, not in the short time before Gil intended to force her to help him.

  She could call a taxi, but what if he was already watching the hotel and saw her leave in it? She wouldn’t put it past him to follow her and catch her as she got out of it. He might hurt her, damage her looks in some way, which would be disastrous.

  She got up to stare at herself in the mirror, something she often did, studying her appearance. Well, she had to protect her looks because she depended on them for a living, if you could call marriage a living. She was approaching the big four zero now and could see the signs the years were already writing on her skin, however carefully she looked after it.

  With a sigh, she began pacing to and fro, which usually helped her to work out a problem. Only there was so little space between pieces of furniture, she couldn’t step out freely and didn’t dare go out to walk around the public parts of the hotel. Well, how strange would that look in the middle of the night?

&n
bsp; In the end she could see only one way of getting help quickly and took out the business card Edward had given her. She would have to trust her instincts, which said he was trustworthy. And rich.

  She’d been too angry to take proper care when she met Gil, but she wasn’t blind with anger now, so at least this situation was more hopeful. Wasn’t it?

  She was afraid, though. Very. Gil seemed full of violence, like a volcano about to erupt.

  Taking a deep breath, she called the number on the card and listened as the phone rang … and rang … Just as she thought it must be about to ring out, a sleepy voice said, ‘This had better be important.’

  ‘Edward? Is that you? You gave me your card tonight. I’m—’

  ‘—Nonie Jayne.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What the hell are you calling me for at this hour?’

  ‘I’m in trouble.’

  Silence, then he said in a more alert-sounding voice, ‘What sort of trouble?’

  ‘Nothing I want to go into details about on the phone, only I’ve done something stupid and … and this man is threatening me, trying to make me help him commit a burglary … and perhaps worse.’

  ‘Oh? And why did you call me about this?’

  ‘We got on so well and you seemed kind. I thought you might help me escape. I’m not clever, Edward, and I have my faults, I know that, but I’ve never committed a crime before and I don’t want to do it now.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘I don’t know how to get away from the hotel, even, because he’s waiting out there. He’ll follow me, I know he will. And he’s vicious.’ She was sobbing for real suddenly.

  It was a moment before he spoke again and his voice was gentler. ‘Stop crying and listen!’

  She gulped to a halt.

  ‘Get your things packed, then pay your bill. You can afford to pay it?’

  ‘Of course I can!’

  ‘Good. So pay the bill and I’ll send someone in a car to pick you up. Just hold on for a minute.’

  She heard his voice muttering, maybe on another phone, but couldn’t make out the words. This seemed to go on for ages, but at last he came back to her.