by Iris Gower
‘Yes I do!’ Lowri said. ‘It’s the truth. Why else would I be attacked? I’d got no money in my bag, I’ve got a credit card but anyone trying to use it would get short shrift because my credit is out of date. I’m waiting for a replacement.’ Her tone was suddenly hard. ‘The only thing that could be of value was that blasted disc and I had nothing to do with any of it!’ Anger began to build up inside her. She had been badgered and hurt and put in the most invidious position and she did not need any of it, particularly now with her mother so ill. Lowri moved towards Lainey.
‘This is all your fault! My life has been turned upside down by men! My stepfather hates me, Jon Brandon dumps me and vanishes, and you sleep with me and then when you’ve had what you want you turn against me. I hate you, Jim Lainey!’
She thumped his chest. She wanted to hurt him – she wanted to make love to him. ‘Oh, Jim, hold me,’ she said.
He took her in his arms and smoothed back her hair. She cried against his shoulder, wanting his love, his trust, so much. She looked up at him and he wiped the tears away with his fingers.
‘Make love to me, Jim,’ she said. ‘Please, let’s forget everything for now and just be lovers one more time.’
He undressed her carefully, almost reverently, and together they lay on her bed. Lowri arched her neck as his lips touched her shoulder and then her breast. She cried out when he took her nipple into his warm mouth.
‘I love you, Jim,’ she murmured against his skin. He silenced her words with a kiss and she clung to him. He touched her breasts, the flat of her stomach and his hand moved to stroke her thighs. He teased her until she was almost screaming for release.
He came into her then, their bodies fitting together perfectly. He gasped, as desperate as she was for release. His powerful body seemed to dominate her, her mind became a gleaming white crystal as she shuddered with the almost painful sensations of love and lust. She cried out, her back arched upwards, wanting him to reach every part of her being.
They lay together then in silence, wrapped in each other’s arms. At last Lainey sighed. ‘I have to go. Can I use your shower?’
She nodded, the sweet languor of their loving stealing her voice. She heard the shower being turned on, the hiss of the water, and imagined Lainey standing there naked, his skin gleaming with soap, his hair flattened against his face. His dear face.
Lowri began to cry. Life was so cruel, it gave with one hand and took away with the other. She sat up in bed as Lainey returned to the room and began to dress. She watched him, the silk of his back turned towards her now, the arch of his strong neck where his hair curled wetly against his skin. She longed to hold him again, just hold him.
‘I haven’t done anything wrong, Jim,’ she said softly. ‘I’ll swear to that on anything you like.’
He turned to face her, tucking his shirt into his trousers and pulling up the zip. It was such an intimate moment, more intimate in a strange way than their lovemaking had been.
‘I wish I had a pound for every time I’ve heard that.’ He knotted his tie and pushed it into place beneath his collar. ‘I want to believe you, Lowri, I want with all my heart to believe you.’
She fell back against the pillows and put her hands over her eyes. ‘Just go, Jim, and when you finish this case and find I am innocent don’t try to come crawling back.’
She heard the door close behind him and turned her face into the pillows and sobbed as if her heart was going to break.
It was almost an hour later when Justin let himself into the house with the key she had given him. Lowri had showered, washed her hair and remade her bed. She knew she had to put Lainey out of her mind and out of her life for good.
‘Just driven back from the bright lights, I called in to see Mother. She’s set herself up nicely but it’s a shame she walked out on Dad,’ Justin said. ‘Got anything to eat?’ He flopped down onto the sofa.
‘How about some steak and chips?’ She was glad he was back, his presence gave her something other to think about than lying in bed with Lainey.
‘Lord, you parochials are still stuffing yourselves with bad food, aren’t you? Got any pasta?’
‘Sure I’ve got pasta and I take it you don’t want normal mince to go with it?’ She saw him shake his head. ‘I’ve got borlotti beans and some pesto, any good?’
‘Sounds great.’ He followed her into the kitchen. ‘Tell me about your love affair then.’ He was leaning against the door-frame, his arms folded across his chest. Lowri looked up at her brother, startled. For one minute she thought he knew about Lainey.
‘This geezer you were seeing, what happened?’
‘Oh, you’ve heard about that from Charles, I suppose?’ Lowri said, taking a pan from its hook. ‘I expect he thought it one big laugh.’
‘No not at all, he was angry with the man.’
Lowri sighed. ‘Same old story,’ she said, ‘foolish woman taken in by an older, not to mention good-looking man.’
‘And to make it worse the man was married. You are a fool sis.’
‘You are well informed.’
‘What happened to him, this chap? Where is he now?’
Lowri looked at him suspiciously; he was very interested in her life all of a sudden. She tried to recall the attraction Jon had had for her, and failed. ‘He was a good-looking man, great fun, generous and good in bed,’ she said. ‘But why he vanished suddenly I can’t imagine.’
‘Didn’t he talk to you much, then?’ Justin asked. ‘Obviously he wouldn’t talk about his wife but did he ever talk to you? All the experts say that’s the way to succeed with women.’
‘He talked a little about his business, but never at a serious level. Why are you so interested suddenly?’
‘Bored, I guess. I’m so used to a high-powered life that I find Jersey Marine a little dull. Come on, talk to me, what did this married man do for a living?’
‘He was selling computer software if you must know.’ She turned and looked at him. ‘But then you must know that because the last consignment was addressed to you.’
‘So I believe, but I don’t recall doing business with the man. Maybe one of the others on my team dealt with it. If I’d known what a shit he was I would have given him and his software the big heave-ho!’
‘Go and set the table,’ Lowri said some time later, as she tipped the pasta into a colander and ran it under the tap.
‘Why are you washing the pasta?’ Justin took some cutlery out of the drawer. ‘I thought you’d have done that before you cooked it.’
Lowri smiled. ‘It’s just to remove the residue of starch,’ she said. ‘It’s clear you never do any cooking.’
‘True.’
Justin went into the sitting-room and Lowri heard the rattle of the cutlery against the polished table and winced. She tipped the pasta into a bowl and mixed in the beans and the sauce.
They ate in silence for a time and Lowri fell to dreaming about Lainey, how he had loved her, how he had made love to her. Anything she had ever experienced before paled into insignificance beside the way she felt for Jim Lainey.
‘You look like a woman who’s just been well shagged,’ Justin said. He leaned across the table. ‘Come on, sis, if you’ve found a new boyfriend you can tell me.’
‘Mind your own business.’ Lowri’s tone was sharper than she intended and Justin’s eyebrows shot up.
‘Touchy!’
‘Sorry. Eat your dinner and stop making personal remarks.’
He ate his pasta and dabbed at his lips with one of Lowri’s best napkins. Her mother had given the set to her when Lowri moved into the house, and she sighed inwardly. She would never get the tomato stains out.
‘Has your married man come back to you, then?’ Justin probed. ‘This food is delicious, you’ll make some man an excellent wife.’
Lowri shook her head and without answering pushed away her plate. She had no appetite. She was in love, really in love for the first time in her life, with a man she could never hav
e.
‘Come on, Lowri, talk to me. I’m your brother and if there’s anything going on in your life I should know about then tell me?’
She took the plates into the kitchen and dumped them into the sink. She turned on the tap and the water swirled and gurgled, effectively shutting out the sound of Justin’s voice.
Was he trying to make up for all the time they had been apart? He had been to see their mother and had taken her gifts. He even apparently accepted the fact that Rhian was living with another man. Perhaps she should be more charitable and not judge him by his past behaviour.
She made a pot of coffee and called to Justin to come into the lounge. She poured the coffee and sat opposite her brother, smiling at him.
‘To answer your question, no, my married man has not come back and even if he had, I wouldn’t want anything to do with him, not now, not ever.’
‘So you don’t think that your snatched handbag was anything to do with Brandon, then? I mean it wasn’t that he’d given you anything to keep for him and wanted it back urgently?’
‘How did you know about that?’ She had not mentioned the attack, not to her mother and certainly not to Charles. She never said much at all to Charles.
‘That solicitor, Watson, he said something about it. He wondered if there was some sinister motive behind it.’
It seemed unlikely that Mr Watson would say anything at all to Justin. She shrugged. ‘I have never had anything remotely valuable,’ she said. ‘I thought I was merely returning a funny old CD to its rightful owner.’
‘What CD and how was it funny? A game or something, you mean?’
Lowri shook her head. ‘No, not a game. It had odd writing on it, the sort of writing that might be a code of some kind.’
‘Sounds fascinating. Who was the rightful owner?’
‘I’m not sure. I was supposed to take it to the hotel and meet him there.’ She shrugged. ‘Before I could get into the lobby I was knocked flying and my bag stolen.’ Why was she lying to her brother? She just was not sure she wanted to talk about the CD, or anything to do with it. Anyway, what good did talking do? The thing was gone now, probably in the hands of some petty thief who would just toss it away as a useless bit of junk.
‘There has to be a copy somewhere,’ Justin said.
‘If this CD is so much in demand then whatever is on it must be valuable.’
‘It’s probably on some hard disc, I expect,’ Lowri said frowning. ‘I did wonder about Mrs Jenkins in the office.’ Immediately she had spoken she regretted it. Justin jumped on her words.
‘What do you mean, wondering? Has this Mrs Jenkins got two heads or something?’
‘No, she’s just odd. It’s probably my fault, clash of personalities I expect.’
‘No but why did you think she might have something to do with the CD? Come on, Lowri, half a story is just no good.’
So what harm would it do if she told him? Lowri looked at her brother. He was leaning forward earnestly, a frown of concern on his face. She warmed to him. Justin had changed. He was no longer the spiteful little boy or the surly teenager of the past. He had grown up.
‘I came up behind her recently very quietly. Not on purpose, it was just one of those things, anyway she didn’t hear me coming. She had some weird writing on the computer screen.’ Lowri smiled. ‘I suppose there’s a simple explanation for it, some downloaded bug or other. But Mrs Jenkins would never admit to being caught at a disadvantage. She got rid of what was on the screen very quickly.’
‘She must be clever. She’s not some sort of spy, is she?’ Justin’s eyes were alight, like a boy being told a fairy story.
‘I’ve no idea. She just exited the program. I expect she lost some of her work but she’s very efficient, is our Mrs Jenkins.’
‘What would a woman of such expertise be doing in a small office?’ Justin asked.
‘I’ve wondered that myself,’ Lowri said. ‘Anyway, enough of cloak-and-dagger stuff, you can take me out for a drink.’
‘My carriage awaits,’ Justin said, rising to his feet and bowing with a sweeping motion of his arm. ‘Or rather your carriage awaits in the shape of a little red Mazda. Come on, get your glad rags on and let’s get going.’
When Lowri was ready to go out, she stood looking round her bedroom. Her hour with Lainey had been memorable. Just as well: it was probably the last chance she would ever have of being with the man she truly loved.
26
‘Bloody hell, it’s hot!’ Ken Major descended the steps of the plane ahead of Lainey and stood on the tarmac of the airport at Montego Bay, blinking up at the sun.
‘Put your sun-glasses on,’ Lainey said dourly. ‘And stop complaining.’
The sergeant smiled. ‘I’m not complaining, guv, I’m loving every minute of it.’
Lainey was not so happy; he did not cope with the heat very well. Still, a few days by the Caribbean should be long enough for an interview with Sarah Brandon. Clearly, Jamaica was a favourite spot with the Brandons. The one postcard from Jon Brandon that Lowri had in her possession was sent from there.
‘Once we get through customs find a taxi, Sergeant.’ That was one of the perks of being a DI – he usually had someone to run around for him. Irritably he joined the queue to be checked through customs. Standing behind a line waiting to be beckoned forward to show his passport went against the grain.
He followed Ken Major out of the baggage reclaim, glad that he had only taken a small bag which had passed as hand luggage. Then they were out in the hot sunshine again.
There were small buses everywhere waiting to take holiday-makers to their destinations. Ken managed to get a taxi and the driver, with a wide, white-toothed smile, took the luggage and bundled it into the back.
‘Know any place suitable for two police officers to stay in?’ Lainey asked, showing his warrant card. The man nodded.
‘Sure do, sir. I know some places nice and clean and not too pricey.’ He drove through the streets of Montego Bay and out along a pitted roadway.
Lainey looked at the address of the hotel where Sarah Brandon was staying. Fortunately she had booked in using her correct name, which had made it easy to trace her.
‘How far is it to Negril?’ he asked the driver.
‘Far, sir? Two, three hours’ drive.’
Lainey sighed. ‘Nice there, is it?’
‘Very nice hotels, luxury places with a long beach stretching for seven miles, sir. But not cheap. Want to go there?’
‘That would be a good idea.’ Lainey slid open the window and felt the breeze blow pleasantly into his face. Beside him Ken Major was slipping out of his jacket and already his shirt was stained with sweat.
Lainey had never seen the joy in lying around baking in the sun. Still, the place was certainly beautiful with the azure sea occasionally visible from the window of the taxi.
‘Look over there, guv.’ Ken leaned forward, pointing to a little cluster of huts at the side of the road. ‘Shacks with TV aerials, I don’t believe it!’
Lainey nodded. He caught sight of a group of children and they appeared well fed and well dressed. ‘I suppose that sort of hut affair is practical in a place where there are typhoons and such,’ he remarked.
‘I suppose so, still I’m very glad to share my parents’ terraced house. At least I can always have a bath in hot water and a decent shave.’
Lainey did not reply. He leaned back against the seat, his eyes closed. The nine-and-a-half-hour flight from Gatwick had been tedious. He had been unable to sleep because of the constant activity of the cabin crew pushing trolleys of drinks and duty-free goods, not to mention cartons of plastic food.
Well, the first thing he would do when he reached the hotel would be to strip and shower, and then flake out on the bed.
‘I don’t want you here, do you understand?’ Sarah Brandon looked at her husband with loathing. ‘And to bring that, that tart with you is an outrage!’ She was trembling with fury. None of her well-laid plans i
ncluded Jon. She had thought he was out of her life for good. In any case, her lover, her gorgeous man with the shock of white hair, would be joining her soon. Everyone thought Snowy was a small cog in the wheel, especially Charles Richards, but now with her help Snowy had all the information needed to take over the business.
‘I have as much right to the money as you do,’ Jon said. ‘Sit down, Sally, you must be exhausted.’
Sarah watched as the painted hussy sank gratefully into one of the armchairs, making herself quite at home in Sarah’s suite of rooms.
‘What money are we talking about here?’ Sarah said. ‘If you mean the money left to me by my parents, forget it! You are not having a penny of it.’
‘You know quite well what I’m talking about.’ Jon moved closer, his manner threatening. Sarah stepped back a pace.
‘If you are referring to your prospective ill-gotten gains then I think you are out of luck. A vital list of your, shall we call them clients, went missing, didn’t you know?’
‘And now you have it.’ Jon moved closer still, his fist raised. ‘Now tell me where the disc is before I kill you.’
‘Don’t be so foolish!’ Sarah said icily. ‘How do you think you’d get away with killing me?’ She moved to open the doors leading to the narrow balcony.
‘You have proved to be so inept in the past that you would bungle anything, let alone a murder.’ She looked scathingly at Sally. The girl was wearing a skimpy dress that looked as if it could do with a good wash. Her nail polish was chipped and the bleach was growing out of her hair, revealing ugly dark roots.
‘Not much fun being with Jon, is it?’ Sarah said. ‘He never could cope without me, only he was too much of a fool to realize it. Well, you are welcome to him, he’s nothing but a loser in and out of bed.’
‘You cow!’ Sally said. ‘Jon is worth two of you.’
‘Well,’ Sarah looked her up and down, ‘if you are all he can pull these days then he’s really getting past it.’
The girl leapt up from her chair and launched herself across the room at Sarah, who, attempting to defend herself, felt a stinging blow across her cheek.