Breaking the Rules

by Barbara Taylor Bradford

  “I agree. But actually, Jack, there were other people who had food poisoning on the film.”

  “Oh, just a couple, M,” Jack said dismissively. “Larry told me it was two guys from the camera crew and the caterer herself. So what? If I wanted to poison one person in a group, I’d make sure several others got sick as well, just to throw everyone off the scent.”

  M nodded. “Maybe. Do you have a plan, Jack?”

  “A lot of ideas. I want to put plenty of security around all of you.”

  “But Larry and I have two security guards already. My friend James Cardigan arranged that. However, I’m sure Mummy doesn’t—”

  “James Cardigan, you say?” Jack interrupted. “Is he in his mid-forties, sort of wiry, good-looking with sandy-auburn hair?”

  “Yes, that’s him. He’s married to my friend Geo. He has a big company something like Figg International, and he used to be with MI6. Do you know him? The look on your face tells me that you do.”

  “Yes, if he’s who I think he is. Oddly enough, I met him some years ago in Hong Kong.”

  M pricked up her ears and exclaimed, “James and Geo are in London for another few days. Actually, I’m meeting them for lunch today. Linnet was going to join us. Why don’t you come, too?”

  “I’d like to, but I did tell Simon I would have a bite to eat with him. We’ve a lot to go over, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

  “Bring Simon. Six heads are better than one, Jack. Anyway, I know one thing. I’m not going to sit around waiting for Ainsley to kill me! I have an idea, and I think we should put it into operation immediately.”

  “And what idea is that?” Jack asked cautiously.

  “Let’s hire a hit man. Or a contract killer, or whatever you call them. Let’s get that Jonathan Bloody Ainsley before he gets one of us. Or all of us. I bet James could find me a hit man, and I’ve got plenty of money. I can pay for the contract killer myself.”

  Linnet exclaimed, “My God, I do believe you’re serious!”

  “Naturally I’m serious,” M shot back, suddenly glaring at Linnet. “Why shouldn’t we take matters into our own hands? Let’s get rid of that bugger now!”

  “We live by different rules,” Linnet reminded her.

  “Rules are meant to be broken,” M said and added, “And I’m all for breaking the rules. When those you love are at risk, you’ll do anything to save them. I know I would. So let’s break the rules and go after that swine. Because that’s what he is, and a sicko. I don’t want him hurting my husband or my sisters or my mother. Or me, for that matter. Come on, Jack, let’s get a hit man.”

  Jack, amazed by this outburst, said, “Not quite yet, M. First we must see if we can find a way to demolish him without resorting to criminality.”

  “I bet we can’t!” M asserted in a tough voice and came and sat down on the sofa. “Sometimes we have to take big chances, take risks.”

  Observing her for a moment, Jack found that he was still startled by her toughness, her passion, and her bluntness, but then Emma had been as blunt as they come, as was Linnet.

  Funny how he remembered M as a girl, always pottering around with horses in the stables at Pennistone Royal. Out of the blue he said, “Do you still have that gorgeous gelding of yours? Wasn’t his name Gypsy?”

  “Jack! Gosh! I can’t imagine how you remembered, and yes, I still have him, my good old Gypo.” Memories of the incident last March came rushing back unbidden. Her face crumpled as it struck her that she had more than likely been targeted then. Oh, God, no! No! No! The Bad Thing loomed. She brought her hands to her face, and her body began to shake. And she thought, I must tell them about what happened, how I was assaulted in the woods, how I escaped from that man called Bart.

  Jack said, “M, darling, whatever’s the matter?” He put his arms around her, and Linnet stood up, came over to the sofa, asking, “M, what is it?”

  “He raped me,” she sobbed. “That man, he raped me, Jack.”

  Thirty-nine

  I know I should have told you, Linnet,” M said, catching her breath as the dry heaves began to slow. “But I just couldn’t.”

  “I’m your sister, and I love you,” Linnet answered softly, squeezing her hand. “You’re not supposed to keep a terrible thing like that to yourself, darling. You needed help and comfort, and loving support.”

  M shook her head, sat up a little straighter on the sofa, and murmured, “I suppose I was . . . well, a little embarrassed, maybe even ashamed, I don’t know really . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she turned to Jack. “I hadn’t thought of this before, but perhaps I was a target that day because of who I am. Because I’m a Harte.”

  Keeping his expression neutral, Jack said in an even voice, “You might well have been, M. But unless I know the details, I can’t really make an assessment. Do you feel up to talking about it?”

  M bit her lip, looking thoughtful. She had hidden this ghastly attack for a year, dealt with it in her own way and somehow managed. She had put the Bad Thing behind her. At least so she thought, and especially after becoming involved with Larry; he had helped to heal her without even knowing he was. His love had been her salvation. It was Jack’s mention of her beloved horse Gypo that had triggered the vivid memories of that day in the woods. And she had fallen apart. She felt a bit better now, most probably because she had told them. She swung her head, gave Jack a questioning look.

  Noticing this at once, he said, “What is it, love? Don’t you want to talk about it? I know it’s a difficult thing to discuss with anyone. Just remember this, M darling, I’ve known you all of your life. I want to help you and protect you in every way I can.”

  “You’ve known me since before I was born,” she said, managing to give him a faint smile. “And you’ve always been like a surrogate father. I’ve always been able to talk to you about anything, Jack. It’s just that, well . . . I don’t want anyone else to know.” She glanced at Linnet. “You’ve got to promise you won’t tell Mummy and Dad. Nobody can know. Most especially Larry.”

  “I won’t tell anyone, darling,” her sister promised. “You have my word. You know I’ve never wanted to play God. It’s your life, and you live it your way.”

  “And certainly I shall keep your confidence,” Jack assured her. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Okay.” M took a deep breath and began to tell them about the day she was assaulted. “It happened in March last year. I went for my usual afternoon ride on Gypo, in the woods at the foot of the moors. Just outside Pennistone Royal village. I was on the wide part of the trail when I was stopped by a heavyset man. He was standing next to a parked van. He asked me to help him, said that his friend was ill, he’d had a heart attack. He asked me if I had a mobile phone on me. I told him I didn’t. At his request I jumped off Gypo and went to look at his friend. The other man was slumped over the wheel, not moving, breathing oddly. As I turned to say something to the heavyset man, he grabbed me, dragged me into the woods. I struggled, screamed, but he was too strong for me. He threw me down, ripped my shirt, pulled my jeans off . . . and flung himself on top of me. I struggled so hard—” M broke off, shaking her head. She brought her hands to her face, trembling.

  “Take your time, darling,” Linnet said soothingly and glanced at Jack, her expression worried. He gave her a sympathetic look, which had reassurance in it. “She’ll be all right,” he mouthed.

  “Could I have a glass of water?” M asked her sister after a few moments. Linnet immediately jumped up and went to open one of the small bottles on the tea trolley. Filling a glass, Linnet brought it to M, who thanked her and took a long swallow.

  “Suddenly, I heard somebody barging through the bushes, shouting,” M continued. “The man holding me down was distracted. He instantly shifted his body and looked around at his friend, who was still shouting at him as he reached the clearing. I knew it was the moment to act. I grabbed a rock, bashed him on the side of the head, and as he fell over backward, I pulled on my jeans and ran.
I could hear Gypo snorting in the trees. I got away. That’s it.”

  “Thanks for telling us, M. Now I have a few questions, if you’re up to answering them,” Jack said.

  M nodded. “I think so.”

  “Could you tell where they were from? Were they locals? Foreigners? English? What?”

  “Not locals, no, but English . . . probably from the London area.”

  “Were any names used?”

  “Yes. One name. When the other man came rushing through the woods, he was shouting the name Bart, telling him to get off me.”

  “And that’s all?”

  “Yes, it is, Jack.”

  “Would you recognize either of them?”

  “The man who assaulted me, yes. Not the other one. I didn’t see his face when he was slumped in the car, and when he was running into the woods I was busy freeing myself, and then I ran away without looking back.”

  Jack nodded, now asked, “What did you do next, M? You obviously didn’t call Linnet. And where were your parents?”

  “I didn’t tell anybody anything. Mummy and Dad were in the South of France, there was only the staff, Margaret and Joe, at Pennistone Royal. I had a shower, later Margaret made supper for me, and then I packed. I came up to London the next day. Over the next few weeks I scoured the newspapers, watched TV, because I thought that maybe I’d killed that man when I hit him with the rock. I needed to know that I hadn’t. I did go to a clinic and see a doctor. Obviously, it was too soon to tell if I was pregnant. Anyway, I wasn’t. I also soon knew that I didn’t have a sexually transmitted disease.” M looked at Linnet and shook her head. “Don’t be angry with me, please, Lin. I really did want to handle everything myself.”

  Linnet was staring at M in amazement, tremendously proud of her younger sister but also saddened that she hadn’t realized she could tell her anything, that her love was unconditional. “I think you’re extraordinary, M, and very courageous, but you should have confided in me, darling. I could have helped you get through the ordeal, given you comfort, even found you a counselor.”

  “I guess I kind of . . . toughed it out,” M said and forced a laugh. She said again, more forcefully, “I don’t want anyone else to know.”

  “I understand that,” Linnet reassured her.

  Jack said, “What did you think about the attack later, when you could think straight?”

  “That they were sexual deviants, something like that, and in cahoots with each other. It never occurred to me that they might have been sent to kill me. Do you think that was it, Jack?”

  “It’s hard to tell. Sexual perverts roaming around the countryside, looking for a young woman to attack, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. The world is full of sickos. On the other hand, they were parked in a spot where you ride every day, which suggests to me that they were stalking you. I think you might well have been a target, but not for rape. It’s just possible the man called Bart was a . . . hit man but that he couldn’t resist sexually assaulting you first.”

  “You’re right!” M exclaimed. “Because that other man who came barging through the woods shouting that he should get off me sounded angry, now that I think about it.”

  “Are you suggesting Jonathan Ainsley is behind that attack last spring?” Linnet said.

  “Yes, I am,” Jack responded. “I wouldn’t put anything past that man.”

  “I see. Aside from giving us all extra security, what else are you planning to do, Jack?” Linnet now asked, wondering what he could do. And before he could answer her, she said, “I mean, how does one fight a phantom? We don’t know where he lives, what he’s up to, where his business offices are. It’s like grasping for smoke, isn’t it?”

  “It may seem that way to you, Linnet, but not to me,” Jack replied. “Wen Li is working on a plan to get a mole inside Belvedere, that’s the name of Ainsley’s new company in Hong Kong, the one he wants Wen Li to become involved with. I think Wen Li will succeed in doing that, which will be tremendous for us. He does have an excellent candidate. We will immediately know a lot more than we do now. Also, I have all of my operatives in Europe trying to track Ainsley down.” Rising, going over to the tea trolley and taking a bottle of water, Jack went on talking. “It is obvious that we have to stop him. He has to be dealt with immediately, this can’t drag on, because he is terribly dangerous.”

  “Why can’t we hire a hit man?” M asked, giving Jack a hard stare.

  “No, no.” Jack shook his head. “The Hartes don’t operate like that, M. There are other ways to destroy a man like Ainsley.”

  “We have to target his soft spots,” M pointed out. “Find his vulnerabilities . . . like his wife, his daughter, his money, his businesses. I wonder if he has a mistress? We could target her.”

  A grin spread itself across Jack’s face, and then he began to laugh. “I know this is serious business, not a laughing matter, but I just can’t help it, M. You’re absolutely priceless. When you get bored with being a supermodel, come to me, I’ll give you a job as one of my independent operatives. You’ve just hit the nail on the head. Wen Li and I agreed that we had to seek out Ainsley’s soft spots in order to finish him off completely. Short of committing murder, of course.”

  Linnet asked, “When are you going to explain everything to Mummy? Oh, and what about Tessa?”

  “I have a date for tea with Paula this afternoon, and I suppose the best thing would be to speak to Tessa on the phone. I think she’ll understand what I’m getting at even if I speak in riddles, don’t you? But I could pop over to Paris.”

  Linnet nodded. “Our sister the Dauphine, or the Dorf as we call her, is very fast, she’ll pick up on it without you having to say too much. Do it on the phone.”

  “Jack, do you think Ainsley is actually in hiding?” M said as she stood up.

  “Not in hiding, no. I would say he is being very secretive about his whereabouts. Neither is he flaunting his wealth and success. He’s definitely keeping a low profile. Better to remain hidden in order to do your dirty work without facing retaliation.”

  “Clever, eh? He’s a clever bugger,” M muttered, and turning to Linnet, she said, “Can I use your bathroom to wash my face and dab on a bit of lipstick?”

  “You don’t have to ask, you silly girl,” Linnet answered. Once they were alone, she said to Jack, “M is amazing, isn’t she?”

  “Why do you sound so surprised, Beauty? She’s a Harte, isn’t she?”

  Simon Baron sat in his office at the store, staring at his notes but not really seeing them. His concentration had fled. He was facing the biggest dilemma of his life, and he didn’t know what to do.

  Simon had fallen in love with the wrong woman. Passionately, hopelessly, madly in love.

  He had known a number of interesting women over the past few years, and intimately, but the relationships had not been particularly serious. In fact, he had characterized them as flings.

  This time it was different. He knew that he was seriously in love. The problem was, the lady in question was unaware of it. What was even worse, he worked for her. Linnet O’Neill was the object of his affection, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

  Although she was widowed, he knew she was still unattached after two years; lately he had come to believe that her grief for Julian Kallinski had abated, that she had put it behind her to a certain extent. On the other hand, he kept hesitating about asking her out to dinner, then chastised himself for being a fool, even a coward. Very simply, he kept losing his nerve when he was on the verge of issuing an invitation.

  The situation was growing unbearable, seeing her every day and wanting her, dreaming about her. He had thought of moving on, finding another job, but he had not had the guts to do so because of Jack, who would be hurt, disappointed, and angry if he left Harte’s. And now, with the disaster of last week looming over them, he couldn’t leave. His presence was vital. And he wanted to be there to make sure she was safe. A chill ran through him when he thought of how
easily she could have been killed in the explosion. Life without her, even if she was only a boss, would be unbearable. He closed his eyes, not wanting to think of this.

  He was thirty-eight years old and ready to settle down. He wanted marriage and children, a traditional life, with Linnet—

  There was a knock on the door. He glanced up, said, “Come in.” And was totally taken aback to see Linnet O’Neill standing there. Smiling and walking into the room, his lady boss said, “Jack asked me to come and get you, Simon. He told me the two of you were going to lunch, and I invited myself along. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Simon was already on his feet; he came round the desk, bent down, and greeted her with a quick kiss on the cheek. “Of course I don’t mind. I’m glad. And where’re we going?”

  “Jack decided he didn’t get enough Chinese food last week in Hong Kong, which as you know he loves. So he’s taking us to China Tang at the Dorchester. Connie made a reservation.”

  “Hey, one of my favorite places! Come on then, let’s go and pick him up,” Simon exclaimed as he opened the door of his office and ushered her out, lightly holding her arm. Although he was nervous, it did not show, and he felt a sudden rush of happiness.

  “He told me he would meet us there. He’s still chatting with M in my office. She’s having lunch with friends, a couple from New York, and Jack thinks he knows the husband, whom I gather he’d like to see again. Let’s grab a taxi, shall we?”

  Simon simply nodded, guiding her to a bank of elevators. He said, “Jack told you about the new development, I’m sure. I know he wanted to explain everything to you and M.”

  As they stepped into the lift, Linnet said, “Horrible news, almost unbelievable. We’ll have to do something drastic, and pretty damn quick, Simon. I’m particularly worried about my mother. She’s going to take this to heart, and she’s a bit frail these days.”

  “Try not to worry, Linnet. Jack’s got some clever plans, and so do I. And I agree it has to be dealt with at once.”