If He Wakes

by If He Wakes (retail) (epub)

  The phone began to trill from the unit by the wall opposite and it threw me off. I went forward, but I was unsteady. My balance on the crutch not quite right and without the added support of the furniture I lurched, stumbling against the foot of the bed.

  I fell against it clumsily, landing half sitting, half lying, on top of Phil's forgotten jacket and as I did, something fell on the floor. I heard it tap against the polished floorboards and looked down at it. It glinted in the weak sunlight. I stared at it for a moment, then when I'd regained my balance, picked it up.

  It was a woman's earring, a silver hoop that had just fallen from Phil's jacket.

  I turned it over in my hands as the blood began to roar in my ears. My nausea returned, my heart picked up its pace.

  The earring was just like any other, pretty and delicate, except it wasn't mine. Couldn't possibly be. I knew with absolute certainty that it didn’t belong in my house or in Phil’s jacket, as no one in our family had pierced ears.

  5

  Suzie

  ‘My bank card has been frozen,’ Suzie said and folded her arms. ‘It was declined yesterday morning at a coffee shop, which I thought was a one off, and today it's still not working. You've got too many security checks on it or something and it needs sorting.’

  Sitting in a private room at the bank, she faced a young girl with dark bobbed hair and a set of thick painted-on eyebrows so symmetrical Suzie thought she must have used a stencil. They were just above the girl's natural brow line and Suzie couldn't stop looking at them; they were putting her off. Great big slugs, better suited to a mime artist than someone dealing with her finances.

  ‘Won't be a moment,’ she said and switched on the computer.

  Suzie had had to argue for this appointment. She'd spent ten minutes on the city streets in the early morning praying the rain would hold off. Leaning on a bollard in front of the bank, ready to pounce as soon as they opened their doors, sipping coffee out of a disposable cup, watching the commuters get to work and the buskers get themselves set up. Eyebrow girl was the only person available, but still, she was better than nothing.

  Either way, Suzie wasn't about to take any nonsense. She'd made a list of points to raise and mentally went through them as they waited for the bank’s computer system to boot up. Even if Adam had done something, or if it was because she'd forgotten an instruction he'd given her about this particular account, she should've been informed before the bank stopped her card. The bank couldn't freeze her account without prior warning, it just wasn’t right; they should be taking care of their customers, not humiliating them. They should've sent her a letter first, or at the very least a text. And more to the point, she needed some money. She’d looked at her cash situation last night and realised she’d very little, without going to Adam’s safe or ransacking the till at the studio.

  She checked her phone again. No missed calls from Adam, and no messages. She wondered where he might be. He was on a location shoot but she couldn't remember the venue. It was for the car thing he had a contract for, where he went out to one of their dealerships and took rows of boring shots of cars for the website and the newsletter; he could be gone for days when he did that. In fact, whenever Adam went off on a shoot, he could be gone for days. It was because, as he’d explained to her, he was an artist and the light was his paint box. As a photographer, he was at the mercy of the weather and it resulted in his work being erratic, spontaneous and unplanned. If Adam had good light and was near an interesting venue, he would go where it took him. He once came back from a portrait shoot three days late, as he’d been storm chasing. He was travelling back via a farm and had taken a detour that led him out in the country, but it had been worth it. The shots he got of the lightning and threatening clouds were tremendous. She had one of them in her flat, blown up in size and framed above the fireplace.

  It was the reason why Rachel and Phil hadn’t yet met him, and why her parents had only met him a handful of times. It was impossible to arrange anything as Adam didn’t work to a schedule. He worked to the light. It was how he was, and if Suzie were being honest with herself, it was something else that she found attractive about him. She liked to boast that he was a jet setter, that he was spontaneous and his work was his passion. Adam was an artist and his work took priority over pedestrian things like dinner parties and drinks.

  So it wasn’t a worry that he'd been gone for longer than he'd said, but it was a little concerning that he hadn't answered her last message. She'd told him about the frozen card, explained that she couldn't find any other working cards and asked if she was alright to go to the safe for some cash. Normally he'd reply within a couple of hours. He must be somewhere out of signal.

  She went to send him another message, then thought better of it. Her last relationship of twelve years had ended because apparently she was too ‘demanding’. ‘Too exhausting,’ Carl had said, which was utter bollocks because the only exhausting thing in that relationship had been Tina, his personal fitness trainer who had personal ideas about Carl that didn't include Suzie. But even so, she couldn't help but harbour a tiny bit of doubt as she put her phone away. She didn't want Adam back in range only to receive a series of hysterical texts from her. No, she'd be savvy about this frozen card, sort the bank out on her own, get some money without disrupting Adam’s systems with the cash and then when he returned, he'd be pleased that she'd been as canny as he was about playing the banks at their own game.

  ‘Is there any way you can speed this up?’ Suzie asked and the eyebrows shot up in unison. ‘It's just that I need to be somewhere.’

  The room was small and airless. The only furniture was a shiny wooden desk with a computer and large telephone. Suzie could hear the low mumbles of people as they came into the bank, the odd laugh, the moan of a child. It was getting on for nine-fifteen and she needed to be at Rachel's for ten. They’d agreed yesterday at the hospital that they’d meet up and discuss things before making any decisions about the Gatsby party, but now it looked as if she was going to be late. And Rachel needed her, not just because of the job but because of Phil and whatever was going on with him, lying bastard. She’d half expected a phone call from her about it before now.

  ‘Yes. Your account has been frozen,’ the girl confirmed and looked at Suzie.

  ‘I know that,’ Suzie said. ‘Hence the reason for my visit. If you could un-freeze it, I'll be on my way.’

  There was a tight smile. ‘We've tried to reach you and Mr Staple regarding the account as he's listed down as the main contact. The co-signatory? I understand he's your business partner?’ The uniform the bank had issued her with included a red neckerchief that she pulled at as she talked. Suzie wanted to slap her hand and tell her to stop fidgeting.

  ‘Well, yes,’ Suzie said. ‘I created this account. It's the New Business Starter. The one with the interest-free loan? But it's Adam, sorry, Mr Staple, my fiancé, that is usually your point of contact.’ Suzie sighed. ‘So if it's a security issue, or a late payment, it's Mr Staple that you need to speak to but he's on location. We're both photographers. He's away on a job photographing cars today. For a dealership. He should be back later this afternoon and he'll contact you but, in the meantime, you must please reinstate my card. I've a business to run and you can't just stop an account,’ Suzie shifted in her seat. ‘It's bad practice. I had no prior warning and it’s been so frustrating.’ She ran her hands through her hair, pulling the spikes upwards, and leaned back, ready for the girl to apologise.

  ‘Yes, well, in his absence,’ she looked at the screen and Suzie rolled her eyes impatiently. ‘And as you are jointly responsible,’ she smiled a little. ‘We urgently need to discuss your overdraft.’

  ‘Overdraft?’ Suzie glanced at the square clock on the far wall, trying to calculate how long the journey to Rachel's would take in rush hour traffic. ‘We've an agreement on that. It was the reason we opened this account in the first place, the interest-free loan and interest-free overdraft. Adam sorts that, the
loan repayments and monthly deposits. He likes to do it in cash.’

  The girl stared at her for a moment and then spoke carefully. ‘But this account exceeds the agreement. You have gone over the limit and there have been no payments into the account in two months.’

  Suzie shook her head. ‘Well I suppose Adam could have fallen behind. He likes to come in and do it personally. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding, if you take a closer look you'll see that it's really…’ Suzie stopped talking as the girl was shaking her head. Her eyes had gone a little wider, her false eyelashes sticking out like spider’s legs.

  ‘If I could just…’ she swivelled the screen around to Suzie and pointed to it. Suzie gave a heavy sigh. Without her glasses, she couldn't make it out.

  ‘You created the business account with the Welcoming Business Loan just over four months ago. In that time, you've gone past the overdraft limit that we allowed you to extend for a short period of time, as per the new loan agreement. And now, it stands at thirty thousand. The agreement was repayments of eight hundred pounds at the start of each calendar month,’ she pointed to another part of the screen, ‘but there have been no repayments to the extended loan, and as you hadn't replied to any of our attempts to contact you, we've frozen the account.’

  ‘What?’ Suzie squinted at where she was pointing then went to her handbag for her glasses. ‘You're telling me,’ Suzie went on, ‘you're saying we're, how much overdrawn?’

  ‘Just over thirty thousand I'm afraid.’ Her thick eyebrows furrowed together making her expression of concern somewhat pantomimed.

  ‘I don't understand,’ Suzie said, a cold, sick feeling swirling in her stomach. ‘That’s completely impossible. Thirty thousand in debt in four months? Adam pays into this account, he sorts out the repayments and we were certainly not told. This is the first I've heard of it! Thirty thousand? Impossible.’ Suzie suddenly realised what the real problem was. ‘I'd like to speak to your manager,’ she said. ‘I need someone who knows how these things work.’

  The girl gave a nervous smile and pressed a button on the keyboard. A list came up on the screen, dates and notes.

  ‘Miss McFadden, you were notified of this,’ she said. ‘The reapplication of your overdraft had to be sent to the area bank manager several times for approval and we have been sending you letters of notification. There are charges I'm afraid, bank charges because of the overdraft and we've been sending the letters to…’ she paused as she read the address off the screen. ‘Staple & McFadden Photography Services on Pilling Street? The last time we spoke to Mr Staple about the company's financial position, he assured us that he was just awaiting a payment,’ she took a second, ‘and I am the manager for this branch, Ms McFadden. I have been since you opened your account with us.’

  Suzie stared at her. Adam was usually so on top of things like this, he made it his job to come into the bank and pay the cash in. He did it every week. Suzie had seen him do it, carefully counted wads of notes inside small brown envelopes. Adam checked them off ready to be taken to the bank in a little red notebook. She watched him, helped him pile the money into the counting machine sometimes and it was sexy, in a certain kind of way, seeing a man handle money like that. There was something old fashioned and raw about it, and although she was slightly ashamed to admit it, there was something about the piles of money that made her feel a little bit more alive.

  ‘This can't be a surprise to you, Ms McFadden,’ the girl said slowly. ‘You co-signed the overdraft agreement. Look here,’ she pointed back to the screen and Suzie put her glasses back on, ‘that is your signature, isn’t it?’

  Suzie leaned in close. Sure enough, above her name was a scribble that looked very much like her signature.

  ‘What’s that for?’ Suzie barked and the girl jumped a little.

  ‘This is the final overdraft agreement,’ she said, ‘the extension. You agreed to the terms and conditions for repayment on the,’ she peered closer at the screen, ‘sixth of August.’ She bit her lip. ‘And this also means that the property on Charles Street is up as guarantee.’

  ‘Charles Street?’ Suzie felt a prickle of fear run up her spine. ‘My flat?’ She fell over her words. ‘When I opened the business account you said that was just a formality. That you needed something against the loan, but the loan was only for five thousand.’

  The girl gave a slow nod, ‘and since opening the account and agreeing to those terms you've become overdrawn rather rapidly and not met your repayments on the initial loan.’

  Suzie dipped her head against a wave of nausea.

  When Adam suggested opening this account, he'd been very clear as to how they should work it. He did it all the time, he'd said, run the business almost at a loss for three years to pay minimal tax and no VAT.

  ‘Just keep it ticking over,’ was how he'd put it, ‘make sure there's lots of expenses and not much profit and there won't be anything for the government to steal at the end of it.’

  He had multiple accounts that he ran, and had been educating Suzie how you could manipulate the banks for the low interest rates and special offers. Switch money between them, get cash back on every bill you paid, take full advantage of their loss leaders like interest-free loans and credit cards. He had a few customers, like the car dealership, that paid directly into the accounts to give the appearance of a professional business, but for every other job he insisted on cash payments.

  ‘Control the money,’ he'd said. ‘Use the banks instead of letting them use you.’ But now, it seemed that Adam had forgotten about this account that he'd persuaded her to open up. It was thirty grand overdrawn and that wasn't right. Suzie hadn't seen one letter telling her as such; there was a serious mix up going on. Grabbing her bag, she got out her phone, desperate to see any communication from him, but there was nothing.

  ‘Ms McFadden?’

  Suzie looked up at her.

  ‘If you're unaware of this, if you're telling me that Mr Staple…’ she looked around the room as if there could be someone else to help. ‘Are you saying, well, is there some element of fraud going on here?’

  Suzie felt a jolt to her stomach, she laughed. ‘Of course not!’ she said and the girl blinked rapidly at her. ‘Of course I know what's going on with my own bank account and fiancé. Print them out. Please,’ Suzie said. ‘The statements. The forms I signed. All of them.’

  The young girl pressed a series of buttons and a printer began to whir into action. Adam would have an explanation. It would be the cash, Suzie realised with a modicum of relief. It would just be a matter of clearing the safe. Of course. That would be it. All that cash that Adam insisted on dealing with, no payments in cheques or transfers, only cash. The way he locked it all up and then drip-fed it out to the various bank accounts and businesses he had. He'd mismanaged the payments and somewhere along the way had forgotten to tell her about extending the overdraft.

  ‘May I suggest,’ the bank clerk said as she gathered up the papers, ‘that you make an appointment to see one of our financial advisors? Your balance sheet is, well…’ she swallowed as she looked at Suzie. ‘I'm sorry, Ms McFadden and I'm not certain about your creditors but we do offer a very good service for those businesses that are in the process, or, look like they are in,’ she paused, ‘financial difficulties.’

  ‘Financial difficulties?’ Suzie repeated as the bank statements were passed to her. She looked at the figure on the bottom line. The word 'debit' in front of it.

  ‘It's not something I normally recommend but, as you stand to lose your property, well, liquidation can be a solution. It's not the stigma it used to be.’

  ‘Liquidation!’ Suzie’s voice was loud again. ‘Don't be ridiculous. The business is not going into liquidation. I will not lose my flat. This is just a problem that needs to be fixed when I speak to Adam. It's something I can sort.’

  There was a shocked pause and Suzie thought about apologising to her. After all, it wasn't her fault that Adam had forgotten to make the repayments
on this account. This girl didn't know anything about Adam or how he liked to work his funds, so she wasn't to know that this was all just some silly mistake on his behalf.

  ‘Listen,’ Suzie leaned in, ‘I'm sorry for, y'know,’ she leaned her head to the side, ‘getting a bit shouty, but I can easily sort this. I just need some more time. Just until I get hold of Adam so I can pay in the funds. We've got the money, I just need to transfer it.’

  Up close, Suzie could see the fine lines around her mouth and realised she wasn't nearly as young as she'd first thought. Under all that make-up, she might even be the same age as Suzie.

  ‘Any payment toward the debt would help ease the situation, and then we'd be in a position to come to an agreement on monthly repayments,’ she said. ‘But I'm afraid we can't give you very much time.’

  ‘This afternoon,’ interrupted Suzie. ‘It's a misunderstanding. I just need to find Adam and get the details from him. Or, if I can’t get hold of him, I’ll get hold of the money. Make a deposit myself.’

  After a moment, she nodded at Suzie and handed her a business card. ‘My direct number,’ she said. ‘I'll handle this personally when you give me the details.’

  Suzie got up. Her legs were shaky and not quite ready for her weight and she wobbled a bit.

  ‘I'll need my bank card back working,’ Suzie said. ‘I’ve a business to run.’

  The girl stared at her in silence with a look of pity and Suzie suddenly felt like strangling her again.

  ‘I'm sorry…’ she began but Suzie cut her off.

  ‘You know what? It's fine,’ she said, her voice abrupt. ‘It's fine. Once I find Adam, we'll transfer the funds and then I'd like to close my account. The service I've had here is appalling, I'm going to move my business account to somewhere more professional.’