Henrietta realised that Terry would use any means to coerce or control her, so decided that they should keep their continued friendship from him.
August 9th 2008.
Henrietta invited the Spanish solicitor who dealt with her own property sale, for drinks and to avail herself of the free legal advice she offered on her current position with Terry’s villa. Francesca was English by birth, had grown up in Surrey and qualified as a lawyer but met and married a Spaniard and had lived in Marbella for the last fifteen years and re-qualified her position in a Spanish University. She was an extremely attractive and voluptuous figure of a woman with a sharp intelligence and an incredible speed of speech. At only 5’3” she only came up to Henrietta’s shoulder in the high heels she always wore but Henrietta looked up to the diminutive woman and enjoyed her company immensely.
Francesca was impressed by the standard of living Terry had enjoyed and admired the costly furnishings which would now have to be sold or left behind. Henrietta took a bottle of red wine and two glasses into the internal courtyard by the fountain and made her guest welcome. Whilst sipping their first glass of wine they were startled by a loud knocking on the front door. Hetty panicked.
“I’m not expecting anyone. I must have inadvertently left the gates open when I let you in.”
“Answer the door Henrietta, I will hide behind this wall to listen and if there is a problem I will immediately call the Guardia. If it is Terry, tell him you are entertaining a lawyer that should frighten him off.” Henrietta opened the door to an enormous bald brute of a man of at least 6’4”, wearing dark slacks and dark short sleeved linen shirt which revealed huge tattoos on his arms and neck and he had large scar on his face, presumably from a broken glass. He had tanned skin and hands as large as shovels with scarred knuckles and he wore a large Cartier watch.
“Can I help you?” She asked nervously.
“I heard you’ve got a Range Rover for sale?” He lifted his black wrap-round sunglasses and waited for a response.
“Sorry? I have got one but it is not for sale. Who told you that it was?”
“I heard about it over lunch in the Port.” He turned away to look for the car in the driveway and the girls pulled horrified faces at the grotesque scars meandering all over his head like train tracks. Henrietta realised that this visitor must be the infamous ‘Hit Man Mark’ whom Terry had befriended and had threatened to send round to ‘sort Henrietta out’. She gave Francesca a ‘what do I do’ look whereupon the petite lawyer sashayed forward and took over the conversation.
“I am the lawyer to Mrs Champion and I will accompany you to view the car if you wish?”
The two of them walked awkwardly towards the carport and Henrietta locked the door behind her and followed them, house keys in hand but not car keys, as she was sure he would try to snatch them from her for a fee promised by Terry.
Mark asked the current mileage and full specification of the car and offered what he considered to be a fair price.
“Let me think about it. Leave me your phone number?” To which the numpty handed over his business card.
“Oh, it says you are in security. What exactly do you do?”
“I protect people or property for a fee.” He confirmed.
“Wonderful, just what I need!”
“Do you work for Terry Newman?” Francesca asked as she stared up into his eyes and he shuffled his sandaled feet awkwardly.
“Well, call me if you decide to part with the car and I will come round with cash.”
The girls stood side by side and watched in silence as Mark strolled back to his black BMW parked on the road outside the gates.
“Close your gates Henrietta, now! That man is bad news and obviously works for Terry. I cannot believe the contacts he has made. Mother of God!” Francesca blessed herself with the sign of the cross and returned to the courtyard where she grabbed the bottle of red wine, filled her glass to the brim and gulped down the lot before she spoke again. Henrietta found it amusing that such a tiny woman could drink so much.
“Henrietta, is my mobile number registered in your phone?” Hetty nodded. “Good, then put it on speed dial. If anything happens to you, call me, if you can’t speak, I will understand that you are in trouble and I will send the Police immediately. If you are not here, just state your location, nothing more. OK? This has to stop.” It was obvious that she was genuinely concerned. “Do you have enough money? You told me before that he has been rinsing your accounts. No doubt to get you to go home.” Henrietta nodded unconvincingly as Francesca reached into her handbag and pulled out a thousand euros still wrapped in a band from the bank which she offered unconditionally. Hetty was grateful but refused the cash, gave her a big hug and joined her in another glass of wine.
August 20th 2008.
Henrietta offered to drive an acquaintance of Margot’s to Malaga airport, as she had arranged to visit Francesca in her office en-route. Margot dropped the woman at the villa and once Henrietta had topped up with fuel, they joined the AP7 and headed north. They passed the first toll barrier and Hetty put her foot down for the next long stretch of immaculate motorway but as the car exceeded a hundred kilometres per hour the bonnet seemed to drop down and pull to the right into the two inside lanes of traffic. It all happened as if in slow motion but Hetty tried to keep the vehicle in a straight line and although she had no idea what was wrong with the car, she managed to avoid other vehicles and gradually and gently manoeuvred the car over to the hard shoulder. The girls got out and stared at the tyre which had blown and completely separated from the alloy. It was a dreadfully inconvenient timing as they would not get to the airport in time. Hetty phoned Margot and asked her to rescue the woman and then to come back to assist her on the hard shoulder afterwards.
Henrietta and Margot sat on the tailgate with the boot lid open and secured the foil sun shield with the rear wiper to try to escape the searing heat as they baked on the tarmac road and waited for assistance. When the friendly fat patrolling Spaniard finally arrived in his white rescue truck, he was visibly shocked and asked why someone would want to have them killed. Margot questioned his comment and he explained as best he could that this method of homicide was preferred by the Mafia who used a specially created tool which is placed on the edge of the alloy and scored around the tyre like a compass, so that when it reaches an optimum temperature and speed, it explodes in a perfectly neat and straight line as Henrietta’s tyre had done. The girls were aghast but did their best to assure the nervous mechanic that he must be wrong about the Mafia connection. The man pitied the girls and realised that he had terrified them both, so changed his mind and the wheel free of charge, wished them well and was keen to drive away for the end of his shift.
When he had disappeared from sight Margot spoke first;
“Do you actually think Terry has paid someone to kill you? Oh, my God. I love having you here and I would miss you, but you have got to go home. This is utter madness.”
Margot suggested that they visit the local tyre centre in Guadiaro Pueblo and ask the English proprietor for his opinion of the ripped tyre before they bothered the Police however he too gave the same evaluation as the Spaniard and seemed genuinely concerned as he asked if the girls were in any trouble.
“No she is not, nor am I. If it was the Mafia, then they evidently got the wrong car. There are loads of these Range Rovers around Banus and Marbella.” The man accepted Margot’s logic and fitted a new tyre which Henrietta paid for with cash. He put the damaged tyre in the boot and suggested they show it to the Police. Margot also wanted to be able to confirm or deny the suggested theory of Mafia intervention before they consumed any much needed alcoholic beverages. The police officer on duty seemed reticent to frighten the ladies but briefly examined the tyre, acknowledged the suspicion and wrote another report of alleged criminality involving Mr Newman and his dangerous associates. Hetty hoped the Guardia had not become exasperated with her or her frequent complaints.
Henriet
ta phoned Clive and agreed that as they now had all Terry’s documentation in their possession and Oscar had finished his exams, they would pack up their possessions, leave the villa and fly home to the UK. She asked Margot to take them to the airport, gave her both sets of car keys and asked her to hand over the car to the authorised dealer when he came to collect the vehicle. She also asked Margot to keep an eye on the villa and entrusted her with keys to the front door and gates and left Margot’s mobile number with the estate agents should they require access for potential viewings.
September 2008.
Once home in England, Henrietta and Oscar collected her parked car from the safety of Yvonne’s house and drove to Grandma’s new home, where they shared the twin bedded spare room and Oscar enrolled at the local college for his further two years of education. Henrietta consulted with Clive and discussed her current position, her need to procure money from Terry and her plans for the future, including where to live permanently. Henrietta realised that she was left with limited funds but remembered that Rob had a surfeit of monies in his client account from the sale of the Rectory. Clive suggested that it would be prudent to keep that money away from Terry’s grasp, until she had found a small and relatively inexpensive place which could be purchased directly and outright by that fund. He also knew from several conversations with Henrietta that she was keen to preserve the wish of her late father and hand on the inheritance of a property to his grandchild which should be held in trust for his coming of age.
Henrietta researched the available properties on the market at that time and realised she could now only afford a small two bedroomed flat. Clive had the presence of mind to put the property in a company which would be given to Oscar when he was twenty one. This manoeuvre was designed to foil any attempt by Terry to find them or steal the asset, even though Margarita had assured her that his power had been cancelled at the Notary. Once the flat was re-decorated, Hetty and Oscar moved in. It wasn’t much but it was a home and although both mother and son carried fears and insecurities, they felt relatively safe inside the development which had high stone walls and remote controlled vehicle access. On the occasions when Oscar was at college, he was shy and cautious and did not make friends lightly. Consequently, he missed the fun he had enjoyed with his friends in Spain and face-timed them whenever he could, whilst mindful that he should not disclose the location of his new college or new home.
In spite of her embarrassment and discomfort explaining what had happened over the previous year, Henrietta busied herself trying to revive semi-lost friendships and apologise to friends for her negligence. Those she spoke to seemed to think the relationship with Terry had been too hasty and said they had heard rumours of him being a ‘crook’ and general ‘bad lot’. Yvonne didn’t know what to say to her, Louise was too wrapped up in her new husband to make the effort to socialise and Ruth’s husband was adamant that she should not let Henrietta pick up their abandoned relationship at her convenience. Only Gaynar, her hard working friend who owned and ran the garden centre, accepted Henrietta’s excuses immediately and was glad to have her home as she had missed the regular laughs they shared over a bottle of wine at a favoured country pub.
Henrietta and Ruth had been friends for so many years that she could not refuse Hetty when she called at her house, unannounced like old times.
“Come in, how are you? You look fantastic and lovely and brown. Coffee?” The girls sat on stools in the kitchen and talked and smiled as they had done for the previous ten years. Henrietta avoided mentioning Terry, even though she knew Ruth was genuinely concerned. Whilst on her second coffee, Henrietta’s mobile rang and although she did not recognise the number, she noticed the Spanish prefix and thought it might be important.
Ruth observed her friends smile disappear and realised that Terry was threatening her as the conversation progressed. Ruth put her arm around Henrietta shoulder for moral support and Henrietta inclined the phone for Ruth to listen. Terry was emphatic that Henrietta and her son would suffer physical harm if she reported his behaviour to the police. She overheard; ‘if you tell them anything about me and my business, I will have your tall sons knee caps smashed to smithereens and that will bring him down to a standard size. As for you, I can have you wiped out. I just have to pay the price. You have been warned, capishe?’ Ruth moved away, procured her secret jar of nicotine comfort and tried to light a cigarette with shaking hands.
“I must tell you that I’m with Ruth and she has heard everything you just said.”
“Then she had better be very careful too, ‘coz I know where she lives and I’ll kill the dog.” Henrietta snapped her phone shut and stared at her friend who was inhaling deeply.
“Ruth, I thought you didn’t smoke in the house?”
“I really don’t care Hetty, I need one. I can’t believe what I just heard. The man is absolutely serious, isn’t he? He has just threatened to kill you.”
“Yes.” Henrietta sat expressionless.
“Then go to the police and make this stop. Think of Oscar and your Mum. We can’t go to your funeral, I certainly can’t face that!”
“I’m sorry Ruth. It has all gone bad. I have realised that he has used me as a pawn to live a dream life and now that I have found the evidence of his frauds and thefts, he has upped his game and has been attacking and threatening me and is now trying to manipulate me to keep it all under wraps.”
“The police will help you, it’s their job. They will understand.” She stubbed out the cigarette in the sink and disposed of the evidence in the bin. “That time he attacked you at the farm wasn’t a one-off was it?”
“No, it has got worse. It was fine whilst I gave him money, but now it has all gone.”
“Dear God, all of it? That can’t be possible. Why didn’t you tell someone?”
“I was ashamed.” Henrietta stood up to leave. “You are right though, I have to go to the police. If you want me, I am staying at my Mums. Please don’t tell anyone about this.” She gave Ruth a hug, patted Dudley on the head and walked out like a zombie. Ruth called after her:
“Please be careful Hetty!” She picked up the home phone handset and tearfully offloaded her fears to her husband who re-scheduled his working day and came home early.
Henrietta got into her car and phoned Clive to tell him what had just happened and to ask him to accompany her to the police station to report Terry’s threatening behaviour and to hand over the damning documentation which she had procured from the villa. Clive told her that he was going away on holiday with his family to their house in France but would write to the Chief of Police before he departed to inform him of the crimes committed by Mr Newman and ask where to take the evidence they held.
When Clive returned from his two week break, his secretary informed him that there had been no response from the Chief, so Clive made several phone calls and left messages asking for assistance. He was told that he would be contacted by a dedicated fraud officer as soon as one was available but that if necessary, Henrietta could simply take whatever evidence she had to her local police station and make a statement. Clive advised Henrietta to sit and wait, but weeks passed and Henrietta became concerned that no-one seemed to be taking her seriously so she drove to Clive’s office and collected the documents.
Henrietta felt vulnerable in the semi-darkness as she struggled with the weight of the bags and walked inside the Victorian police station. She approached the glass window, which the duty officer slid open horizontally to speak with her. Henrietta recognised Dave as the husband of one of the school mums she had approached so long ago. He also recognised her and seemed embarrassed that he had evidently been demoted back into uniform after the rumoured allegations of inappropriate behaviour with the victims he was sent to support. Henrietta tried to ignore his diffidence and told him she wished to report a number of crimes against her and showed Dave the large canvass bags at her feet which contained over a thousand fraudulent documents that she wanted to hand over to the police.
“Trouble is, Henrietta, there isn’t anyone here at the moment who can deal with that sort of thing, as all the guys are out on calls. Can you make an appointment and come back some other time?”
“No, Dave, I can’t. I believe I am in grave danger and cannot leave here with this lot, in case they are stolen. I could be killed for what is in these bags!”
“Calm down, I doubt that, but take a seat and I’ll try and radio someone to come in specially, ok?” He smiled uncomfortably, closed the glass window and Henrietta sat on a hard seat in the foyer and gripped the handles of the bags tightly with her cold and sweaty hands. Dave made a few phone calls then opened the glass screen to inform her that a Detective Inspector was on his way.
Forty minutes later, a tall dark haired man in his fifties wearing a long blue wool coat with a loosely tied scalf appeared in the lobby accompanied by a small, younger woman wearing a brown trouser suit, who seemed to be suffering from cold. The man spoke in familiar tones through the glass window to Dave who in turn pointed at Henrietta.
“Mrs Champion?” Hetty nodded. “I believe you need to report a crime to us?” Again Henrietta nodded. “Please come this way with me and my assistant. I am Detective Inspector Morton and this is PC Bolton.” The detective guided Hetty through the secure door and into a very large room which had a number of chairs and tables stacked against a wall. DI Morton took three chrome legged chairs from one of the stacks and placed them in a tight group. He sat on one of the chairs and gestured for Henrietta to do likewise. His manner was dismissive; he kept his hands in the pockets of his overcoat and chewed gum loudly. The female PC sat beside him, crossed her legs and opened a black plastic covered notebook and prepared to take notes as the man addressed Henrietta.
The Unsuspecting Housewife Page 17