The Appeal
Page 7
Regards,
Lydia Drake
Message from Sarah-Jane MacDonald to Martin Hayward on 22 May 2018:
09:01 Sarah-Jane wrote:
I’ve just spoken to Emma. She’s never heard of a Lydia Drake. Ignore and delete.
FROM: Isabel Beck
SUBJECT: Don’t worry
DATE: 22 May 2018 at 13:00
TO: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
Hey SJ,
I didn’t get to speak to you at last night’s rehearsal, but just want to reassure you that everyone understands you haven’t had a chance to learn lines yet. You’ve been super-busy and I’m sure sitting down with Kevin and Harley to trawl through your words was simply not on the agenda. Now the ball’s over and, with the support of a fundraising committee, you’ll be much freer to concentrate on the play. If you’d like help learning your lines I’m happy to go through them with you. I’ve got a process that works for me. Speaking of the committee, I think I’ve talked my friends Sam and Kel into volunteering for it. As you know, all three of us work shifts at St Ann’s, but it means we could commit time to the appeal when other people are doing their regular jobs. We work so well together, perhaps you could think of us as a little team within the committee. A task force! Harley was brilliant as Bert. He is word-perfect already and you can see he has natural talent. A chip off the old block! I hope you don’t mind me emailing like this, but I don’t want you to feel down about the rehearsal. Love Issy
FROM: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
SUBJECT: Re: Don’t worry
DATE: 22 May 2018 at 13:07
TO: Isabel Beck
There’s plenty of time to learn lines. It’s quality of performance that counts.
Sarah-Jane MacDonald
FROM: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
SUBJECT: Sorry
DATE: 22 May 2018 at 13:34
TO: James Hayward
Safe to say I was bottom of the class last night. I literally haven’t had a chance to pick up my script for the last month. Then before rehearsal began, I had a quick meeting with your dad, which threw me further off . . . Needless to say, I’m learning lines all this week, so it won’t happen again.
Sarah-Jane MacDonald
FROM: James Hayward
SUBJECT: Re: Sorry
DATE: 22 May 2018 at 13:50
TO: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
Dear Sarah-Jane,
It’s hardly surprising you didn’t know your lines when you’ve pulled together an event that was more spectacular than anyone imagined. I haven’t stopped hearing about the night – from the pick-and-mix to the money raised – so I’ll happily let you off the hook about your words. Hope Dad was ok with you. He’s under a lot of pressure and is not himself, as you can imagine. If you want someone to help you with lines, I know Issy has a good strategy she used in Blithe Spirit. James
FROM: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
SUBJECT: Re: Sorry
DATE: 22 May 2018 at 13:55
TO: James Hayward
Heavens, no. I can learn lines easily, when I put my mind to it. Your dad is struggling to stay on top of the numbers involved in Poppy’s appeal – although understandably he’s keen to be closely involved. Not a huge problem because I can do the sums, but perhaps he could leave financial updates to me in future. Thank you for your comments. The ball snowballed (!) as time went on. I’ve been out of the game since Harley was born and forgot how that happens when you’re planning a big event. I’m sorry you and Olivia couldn’t make it, but everyone understands your situation. It was good of you both to babysit Poppy. I wouldn’t feel able to look after a seriously ill child. Olivia is clearly cut out to be a mother.
Sarah-Jane MacDonald
FROM: James Hayward
SUBJECT: Re: Sorry
DATE: 22 May 2018 at 13:59
TO: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
Sorry about Dad. Stress brings out a petulant vagueness in him. Meanwhile, Olivia is a star and Poppy was absolutely fine. James
FROM: Isabel Beck
SUBJECT: Hiya!
DATE: 22 May 2018 at 14:00
TO: Samantha Greenwood
Hiya Sam!
Congratulations to all three of us for getting through last night’s rehearsal with so few prompts (we had just two each and Kel had three). I can’t believe how much better life is now, compared to this time last year. I felt so sorry for Sarah-Jane as she didn’t know a single word, yet obviously hated having to pick up her book again. She was worse than Barry and Nick (who are always last to know their lines). I sent her a little email to reassure her, and I could tell how grateful she was. Just to make her feel better, I mentioned we were all volunteering for the committee. She suggested we form our own task force to fundraise around our shift patterns. It’s a good idea: what do you think? I can hear you-know-who in the staffroom, so better go. See you at 1.30 p.m. in our running gear. Love Issy xxx
FROM: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
SUBJECT: Clive Handler
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 09:29
TO: Martin Hayward
Dear Martin, good news below!
On 29 May 2018 at 23:11 Clive Handler wrote:
Dear Ms MacDonald,
Further to my previous email, I have been looking into how I can donate the remaining money legally, but with minimal tax impact. After seeking information from various sources I understand the best course of action is for my company to transfer the money directly to the US drug manufacturer. I can process this payment through a holding company in the Cayman Islands. Please can you let me know the following details:
1. The exact amount of money you require.
2. The drug manufacturer: head-office address and contact personnel.
3. Reference details for the order of Poppy’s drugs.
Once I have this information it will take approximately one week to clear these funds into the US payment system. I hope this timescale is workable, given Poppy’s health.
Yours sincerely, Clive Handler
FROM: Martin Hayward
SUBJECT: Re: Clive Handler
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 09:50
TO: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
Good news indeed . . . for now. Still, let’s not say anything until the money has firmly arrived and the drugs are in our hands. I’ll let you know if and when the funds have landed. Regards.
FROM: Tish Bhatoa
SUBJECT: Re: Clive Handler
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 10:05
TO: Martin Hayward
Dear Martin,
Re the information Mr Handler requires, please send me his details and I will liaise with him directly. You are wise to take his offer with a pinch of salt until the money has changed hands. These campaigns attract fantasists, dreamers and attention-seekers, not to mention fraudsters. Meanwhile, keep up the fundraising. Tish
FROM: Dr Tish Bhatoa
SUBJECT: Poppy Reswick
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 10:43
TO: Clive Handler
Dear Mr Handler,
I understand you have offered to pay the remaining funds for Poppy Reswick’s life-saving brain-tumour treatment. This is excellent news. My company is liaising with the US drug manufacturer on the family’s behalf and can confirm the following details for the payment of £200,000 or $280,000. Please deposit this amount via my IBAN and BIC numbers below by wire transfer. This will complete the payment for the drugs and Poppy can start her treatment as soon as they arrive. If you require any further details, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Tish Bhatoa
MANAGING DIRECTOR
CLOUDREGAL SA
FROM: Clive Handler
SUBJECT: Re: Poppy Reswick
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 13:19
TO: Dr Tish Bhatoa
Dear Dr Bhatoa,
There seems to be a misunderstanding. I must send the money directly to the US manufacturer in order to transfer the funds with minimal tax implications for my company and for the family of
the girl. The details you’ve sent are for a privately owned offshore investment account in your name. As soon as I have the correct details, I will instruct my accountant to action this payment.
Yours sincerely, Clive Handler
FROM: Dr Tish Bhatoa
SUBJECT: Re: Poppy Reswick
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 13:30
TO: Clive Handler
This is the account through which I will order the drugs on behalf of Poppy. It is my usual route for financial payments to the US, via my private practice here in the UK. It is quite legitimate and HMRC will not penalise you. I’ve conducted this type of transaction many times before. I’m sure you understand that disclosing any further information would be inappropriate, especially as I do not know your real name or company details.
FROM: Clive Handler
SUBJECT: Re: Poppy Reswick
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 13:34
TO: Dr Tish Bhatoa
In common with many charity donors, it is important to me that I remain anonymous. This has nothing to do with HMRC. I simply prefer to donate to charity as and when I see fit, and do not wish to become a target for desperate people or those with nefarious intentions. As we both know very well, this transaction is not ‘quite legitimate’, it is a loophole, but one I am prepared to jump through for the greater good. Now, I am offering to donate the not-insubstantial amount of £200,000 to complete the payment for a young child’s life-saving drugs. I would like to know the name and address of the company that manufactures those drugs in order that I can pay them directly. It is a simple request for basic information.
FROM: Dr Tish Bhatoa
SUBJECT: Re: Poppy Reswick
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 13:40
TO: Clive Handler
On behalf of the Haywards, I very much appreciate the generous donation you say you are willing to make. I may be in a better position to discuss the company details with you when you tell me who you are. You have my full assurance that I will not disclose your identity to anyone. This, too, is a simple request for basic information. If you insist on withholding it, I will assume you are not serious about making this donation, and more: that you have given false hope to the family of a seriously ill child.
FROM: Clive Handler
SUBJECT: Re: Poppy Reswick
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 13:42
TO: Dr Tish Bhatoa
If you insist on withholding the details I have requested, I will assume the following: there is no American manufacturer, no life-saving drug treatment, and no truth in anything you’ve told the Haywards.
Femi
Where are you up to now?
Charlotte
Poppy’s Ball. You?
Femi
Handler accuses Bhatoa of lying to the Haywards
Charlotte
This is real, isn’t it?
Femi
Yes. And I suspect it’s an ongoing case.
Charlotte
Arrrgh! Breathe. Breathe.
Femi
Hey, real is good. We can make a difference.
Charlotte
So many questions.
Femi
We just need to ask the right ones.
Charlotte
Here’s one for you: spotted any baddies yet?
Femi
There’s something fishy about Bhatoa.
Charlotte
The Haywards are intelligent business people and they trust her.
Femi
They have to – Poppy’s life is in her hands.
Charlotte
Handler has dug up something about her. But is he right? Issy is SO annoying. Obsessed with Sam?
Femi
She tries hard to be friendly, but she’s at the bottom of the social ladder. Ignored or dismissed.
Charlotte
I’d like to know what Sam really thinks of Issy. We’ve only got Issy’s word for it they’re friends at all.
Femi
It’s like we’re looking through other people’s eyes.
Charlotte
Sam and Kel. After eight years working in conflict zones, it must be a culture shock to return. Potential context for disaster?
Femi
Maybe. If we knew what the disaster was.
Charlotte
Love how the community comes together to fundraise.
Femi
Yet they’re an insular bunch. Repressed, judgemental – and they don’t like strangers.
Charlotte
I sense Sam and Kel are keen to fit in. Throw themselves into work, join the drama group, take an active part in the appeal, etc.
Femi
There’s one thing we don’t know yet and that’s why they left their volunteer posts in Africa. Why are they home now?
FROM: Tish Bhatoa
SUBJECT: Re: Clive Handler
DATE: 30 May 2018 at 17:10
TO: Martin Hayward
Dear Martin,
I’m very sorry to have to tell you this, but Mr Handler’s offer was indeed too good to be true. He wanted increasingly sensitive information – remember, we don’t even know who he is – and when I refused to disclose more details than I am comfortable revealing to a complete stranger, he used that as an excuse to withdraw his ‘kind’ offer and make a stream of unfounded accusations into the bargain. It’s not the first time I’ve had this sort of time-waster and I’ve no idea what they get out of playing games with people whose lives are already in turmoil. But you are intelligent and sensible enough to have doubted him from the off. I suggest you either block him completely or at least ignore him if he contacts you again. I’m sorry not to have better news. Tish
Message exchange between Martin Hayward and James Hayward on 30 May 2018:
17:15 Martin Hayward wrote:
Urgent family meeting: 6.30 p.m. at the house.
17:16 James Hayward wrote:
I’m at a word rehearsal for the Walfords tonight. You wanted me to take over the play for Mum, and despite everything on my own plate, I am doing so. Speak tomorrow.
17:17 Martin Hayward wrote:
James, we are all in this together. Paige has been at the hospital all day, with Poppy running a temperature, possibly rejecting her chemo. If she’s coming, then so can you.
17:18 James Hayward wrote:
Unbelievable.
17:19 Martin Hayward wrote:
Have you no idea what we’re going through? Just being grateful all the time is so bloody exhausting.
FROM: Isabel Beck
SUBJECT: Hiya!
DATE: 31 May 2018 at 07:07
TO: Samantha Greenwood
Hiya Sam,
Great word rehearsal last night. They really help, don’t you think? I know James was thinking of Nick, Barry and Sarah-Jane when he suggested it, but it’s good for the entire cast to focus on words between regular rehearsals. Shame not everyone was there, especially Kel – shift-work, boo. But at least without Helen we could all concentrate on us, if you know what I mean. She’s so larger than life that if she’s in a scene, no one else is. I’m probably not making sense. Surprising that James was so late. He seemed a bit off. I wonder if Olivia is having problems again (she had a pre-eclampsia scare in the first trimester, then up and down with protein fluctuations ever since. They had IVF at a private clinic in London.) Still, Martin said the family weren’t themselves. I can’t wait to cheer you on in the half-marathon on Sunday. I only wish I could run as far. Speaking of which, I’ll see you by Costa for our jog at lunch. Until then, it’s another jolly morning in Jelly Antics! Love Issy xxx
FROM: Isabel Beck
SUBJECT: Where were you?
DATE: 31 May 2018 at 13:26
TO: Samantha Greenwood
Hi Sam, just wondering where you are. I waited by Costa as usual but you didn’t turn up, so I got changed and sat in the staffroom on my own. I hope you’re ok. Love Issy xxx
FROM: Claudia D’Souza
SUBJECT: Thanks
DATE: 31
May 2018 at 14:04
TO: Samantha Greenwood
Dear Sam,
What a lovely lunch! How wonderful the sunshine came too. You’re right, the Orangery is too expensive to eat there all the time, but it doesn’t hurt every once in a while. I chased Una again for you, and she says chemo has a high ocular toxicity that can affect vision in the long-term. Whether that can be described as technically ‘going blind’ is less certain. If your friend’s granddaughter has only just started her chemo, Una said the family is more than likely fixated on the possible long-term side-effect it fears the most. Who’d be a parent? If I hadn’t had my two after getting pissed and forgetting contraception, I’d never have taken the plunge – not after seeing how wrong it can go. On that cheerful note, thank you again for a lovely time and I’ll see you on Sunday. C x
FROM: Lauren Malden
SUBJECT: Hiya!
DATE: 31 May 2018 at 18:45
TO: Isabel Beck
Hello lovely! Josh is speaking at a seminar in Brecon this week so we can meet up whenever you’re free. What lunch are you on? I can meet you in Costa or the Orangery. I’m sure walking into St Ann’s will give me the shivers, but it’ll be worth it for the catch-up. I can’t believe you’re still in Geriatrics. You are much too good for that place, and all the people there. What’s the Fairways gossip? Mum visited a friend at Mount More (stage-four liver, not good) and bumped into Helen and Paige in the chemo suite. Helen said her fingers were crossed for some news. What did she mean? Hope it means they’ve raised all the money. Did you know they are building a swimming pool at The Grange? Helen said they booked the builders before Poppy was ill and can’t cancel them. Look forward to catching up. L x
FROM: Isabel Beck
SUBJECT: Re: Hiya!
DATE: 31 May 2018 at 18:53
TO: Lauren Malden
I know the news about Poppy, but it’s sensitive, so I can’t say. I’m busy all this week: jogging, rehearsing and being on Poppy’s fundraising committee. Maybe meet up in a few months. Issy
FROM: Lauren Malden