Then, all of a sudden a voice shouted out.
“Get your hands off her right this minute.”
“She destroyed my relationship with Carlotta,” John screamed.
However, Inspector Taylor managed to drag John off Rachel and a moment later, Helen was comforting her. The next thing Rachel knew was that the detective had handcuffed John and was reading him his rights. He then walked over to Rachel, pulling John with him.
“Are you alright,” he asked, concern flooding his voice.
Helen noticed it and was suddenly jealous. Did her boss actually have a thing for Rachel Fisher?
“I think I’m Ok,” Rachel said.
“We’ll get an ambulance.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I insist. You look exhausted and there are marks around your neck.”
“Alright,” Rachel agreed, "What are you doing here anyway?”
“We came to see the graffiti. Helen, lock Mr. Robertson in the car and we’ll take a quick look at your walls.
Helen did as she was told and then followed her boss and Rachel around the hallway, both upstairs and downstairs.
“It’s pretty bad. I’m sorry that this happened,” Taylor remarked.
Rachel tried to smile, but it hurt. Helen meanwhile was seething. Perhaps this was the real reason Inspector Taylor hadn’t asked her out. Didn’t Rachel Fisher have enough? Fame, fortune and a boyfriend already. She didn’t need Inspector Taylor as well. This wouldn’t do, no this wouldn’t do at all.
* * *
John Robertson sat alone in the police car. If only he wasn’t handcuffed, then he could phone his brother, Arthur. Admittedly they didn’t get on well. Arthur had always been jealous of his younger brother because his parents had spoilt him, but John knew he would come good now. He’d help him sort things out with Barbara and he was sure he’d post bail.
John saw the two police officers and Rachel come to the door.
Damn that Rachel Fisher, she’s ruined my life in more ways than one. Couldn’t she keep out of my private life? I wouldn’t be in this mess otherwise. As it is, they’re going to blame me for all the attempts on her life and no doubt arson as well.
Helen came and sat in the car with John. He didn’t say a word or even look at her and nor did she. Helen was still thinking about Inspector Taylor and Rachel and how unfair it was. Now he was standing outside with her, waiting for an ambulance and looking all concerned for her welfare while he had told her to sit in the car with John. Why did she have to guard him? He had been locked in the car and was handcuffed. He couldn’t get away.
Inspector Taylor spoke to Rachel.
“If the paramedics say you’re fine, you really shouldn’t be alone in this house tonight. I know I’ve said it before, but you’d be better off in company.”
“I’ll be fine, Inspector. After all, you have got John in custody.”
“I don’t want to worry you, but he might not be the one who tried to kill you before.”
“Do you really think not?” Rachel exclaimed.
When John had attacked her, she was sure that he was the one that had been trying to do away with her all those times before.
“I honestly don’t know, Ms. Fisher,” Taylor replied. “He’s obviously very angry with you for telling the police about his affair with Carlotta Fox, but whether it goes further than that is questionable.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Rachel said, a look of fear flashed through her eyes.
What the detective had said made sense. John was obviously very angry that she had told the police about his affair and had lashed out at her. He didn’t have any warm feelings towards her as it was, but whether or not he had committed the other crimes was debatable. This nightmare, unfortunately, was far from over.
“We will of course interrogate him about all the crimes,” the detective interrupted Rachel’s thoughts.
She nodded, but realized she felt slightly woozy. Inspector Taylor noticed and took her to sir on the low wall near the front door.
“Are you alright?”
“I felt a little dizzy, that’s all,”
“I’m sure the ambulance will take you to hospital, but if they don’t, is there anyone who can stay with you? Mary perhaps?”
“No, she’s at work and so is Uncle Sam.”
“What about James?” Peter dreaded saying that man’s name. He didn’t trust him although he couldn’t put his finger on why not. There was something not right about James and he wished he knew what it was.
“James is in New York on business,”
The detective breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll call Mary or Uncle Sam for a chat this evening, I promise.”
“Well, make sure you do.”
Inspector Taylor smiled which was rare for him and Rachel noticed how his face lit up. He really was quite a handsome man and her heart went out to him as she thought of him standing at his wife’s grave.
At that moment they heard the sound of sirens and an ambulance drew up. The paramedics talked to Rachel and looked at her neck. They decided to take her into hospital. Inspector Taylor sighed with relief, both because he would feel better if a doctor looked her over and also because it would get her away from that house for a while.
Rachel got into the ambulance while the detective got into his car ready to take John to the police station. He wished more than anything that he could accompany her to the hospital.
* * *
At the police station, John was refusing to answer any questions until he got his phone call.
“I presume you want to ring your lawyer?” Inspector Taylor enquired.
“I want to call my brother, Arthur. He’ll arrange the best lawyer for me. He always knows what to do in difficult situations.”
“Very well,” the detective agreed.
He could tell he wasn’t going to get much out of John under these circumstances, so something else needed to be done. He had a phone brought in for John who immediately rang Arthur.
John hurriedly explained what had happened.
“But I swear to you that I didn’t do any of the other things to Rachel.”
“It doesn’t look good for you though, does it?”
“You don’t have to sound so happy about it. You have never stopped being jealous of me, have you?”
“Do you or do you not want me to sort out a lawyer for you?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
“And what about Barbara, she’ll have to be told.”
“Can’t we keep the bit about my affair out of it?”
“How? That was the reason Rachel went to the police.”
“Barbara will divorce me and take everything.”
“That’s the least of your problems, John. If you end up in jail, none of that will matter, will it? I doubt if the courts would give her absolutely everything anyway.”
“Will you tell her/”
“If that’s what you want.”
“But play it down. Tell her it was a stupid fling and I regret it.”
“Ok, but you know Barbara; she’s not going to forgive you, however much I understate the affair.”
“You will try though, won’t you? I can trust you to do this, can’t I?”
“Yes, I know we don’t get on, but I’m not that cruel.”
John didn’t quite believe him, but he didn’t really have anyone else to ask. There was Sam Nightingale of course, but they barely spoke to each other and he couldn’t imagine confiding in him.
When John put the phone down, Inspector Taylor spoke immediately.
“Is it sorted? Will you have a lawyer soon?”
“Yes, my brother is arranging it.
The Inspector nodded. He wanted to get this interview done and dusted, but of course the lawyer might advise John Robertson to say nothing.
* * *
Rachel waited patiently for a couple of hours in A and E at the hospital until a doctor could see her. She was finally pronounced
well enough to go home and was relieved as she didn’t fancy another stay at the hospital, not that she was particularly keen on going back to Oakfield either.
She went outside wondering how she would get home. Luckily there were a few taxis waiting, so she took one of them back to Oakfield. Approaching the house, she suddenly changed her mind and decided she was quite looking forward to getting back. The more she thought about it, the more she believed that it was John who had attempted to kill her the previous times. There had been so much anger in his eyes when he had grabbed her earlier in the day and she couldn’t believe that it was just from her telling the police about his affair with Carlotta.
Rachel was tired and was looking forward to a lie-down. However, when she opened the front door, she felt a sense of revulsion at the graffiti. Sergeant Wilson had taken photos earlier and Inspector Taylor had said she could have the walls painted. She resolved to find a decorator who could come as soon as possible. She didn’t think she could bear to look at the walls as they were for much longer.
Rachel hadn’t been at home for much more than five minutes when her phone rang. Answering it, she was pleased to hear it was her Uncle Sam.
“I was so sorry to learn about what happened to you today,” he commiserated.
“How did you know?” Rachel exclaimed.
“Arthur has asked Tony to defend John and he’s agreed. I know you’re not going to be happy about that.”
“It’s alright. I know Tony’s short on case work. Anyway, he can’t disprove what happened today, especially as there were two witnesses and they are police officers. Mind you, I have no idea if it was John who attempted to murder me on the other occasions. It probably was, but of course, I’m not sure.”
“If you think that way, perhaps you shouldn’t stay in the house anymore.”
“That’s exactly what the Inspector has said, but I’m determined to turn it into my hotel and nobody is going to stop me.”
“You do have your mother’s strength and determination, Rachel. If only she were still here...”
“I wish she was too...” Rachel’s voice trailed away.
“Enough of that,” Sam continued. “You take care and if you want to stay with me, you’re very welcome; you know that.”
“Thank you, Uncle Sam.”
Rachel put the phone down and suddenly felt very alone. Why was she so determined to stay on at Oakfield on her own? She wished so much that James were there with her protecting her. It was rare that Rachel felt the need to be looked after, but for once she thought it would be nice.
* * *
The door opened and Tony Nightingale, Sam’s son, walked in.
“Oh no," exclaimed John. “Arthur’s not sent me you as my lawyer, has he?”
“You could do a lot worse, John. I’m a good barrister.”
“You’ve been practicing for a year and a half. I don’t think that makes you an expert.”
“And I’ve won every case I’ve been on.”
“Well, there were two witnesses who saw me trying to strangle Rachel; police officers to boot, so I can’t imagine you’ll win this one.”
“Well, no, I don’t think you’ve got a hope in hell of getting off that charge, but there’s no proof that you tried to kill Rachel all the other times, is there?”
John shook his head.
“Well then, be more positive.”
“It’s easy for you to say. Even if you get me off with a light sentence, I’ll probably still lose everything. Barbara will take the house and all my money when she divorces me. You know what she’s like.”
“If she’s that awful, why did you marry her?”
“She used to be fun, ruthless, but fun. Plus I knew she would help me make money and, well, you know the rest. We’re doing pretty well for ourselves.”
Tony shook his head. In his opinion, John was a weak, spineless man. He hadn’t been able to make a go of his business on his own so he had married Barbara. Then he had probably been flattered so much by Carlotta’s attention towards him that he had gone into their relationship with his eyes closed. He should have thought of the consequences if the affair was discovered. He had a lot to lose and now it looked like that was going to happen.
Tony wondered if John really had pushed Rachel down the stairs, poisoned her and set fire to Oakfield. He thought Arthur was a braver man than John and would be the more likely of the two, but perhaps John did have a more ruthless side hidden underneath that pathetic exterior of his. Perhaps he really did want the money Oakfield could bring him so he could leave Barbara for Carlotta. However, wouldn’t he have been better off killing Rachel after he divorced Barbara? And shouldn’t he have made sure Arthur and his father wanted to sell the house? Tony knew his Dad hadn’t even thought what he’d do with his third of Oakfield if he should get it. While John might have tried to strangle Rachel this time, Tony couldn’t see him trying to kill her the other times. All in all, he thought that while he might not get John off this current charge, he had quite a good case for defending him against the other attempts on Rachel’s life.
Chapter 15
Arthur was looking forward to telling Barbara about John. John had wanted him to leave out the bit about his affair with Carlotta, but how could he? Barbara would want to know why John was in police custody and there was no point lying. The truth would come out in no time at all and she would want to know why he hadn’t told her.
Arthur couldn’t stop smiling as he drove towards John and Barbara’s house. He had always despised John although he hadn’t harbored the same feelings for George. Their mother had loved John more than any of them. He had been premature and it was touch and go whether he lived or died and their mum spoilt him from the moment she brought him home. Arthur said she was mollycoddling him, but she couldn’t see it. John got everything he wanted and was shielded from all the bad things in life. Arthur tried to blame him for everything, but their mother never believed him and so the hatred grew. However, George never minded the relationship John had with their mother. He was a happy boy who had many friends and basically got on with life.
Now at last Arthur could get one back on John. He could have the pleasure of bringing the news that would destroy John’s comfy little world and he couldn’t wait.
Arthur rang the doorbell and Steven answered.
“Is your mother in?” Arthur asked, hoping he hadn’t made a wasted journey. He had got so excited about this that he didn’t want to be disappointed.
“Yes,” Steven replied. “Come on in, Uncle Arthur.”
Arthur followed Steven into the sitting room where Barbara sat reading.
“Arthur, what a pleasant surprise. Can I get you a drink?”
“A whisky would go down well.”
Barbara liked Arthur. He was shrewd and intelligent. Sometimes she wished he hadn’t been married when she had met John. She and Arthur would have been able to build an empire together. Joan was pretty useless and hadn’t helped Arthur in his business at all.
Once they had settled down with their drinks, Arthur began.
“I’m afraid this isn’t a purely social call. Unfortunately, I have some unpleasant news.”
“Do you want me to go?” Steven asked.
“No,” Arthur replied. “You’ll find out sooner or later.”
Arthur put on a suitably sorrowful face and proceeded to tell Barbara and her son about John’s affair, his attack on Rachel and his arrest, not leaving out the fact that he had also been charged with three other counts of attempting to murder Rachel, arson and defacing her property. As he spoke, Barbara didn’t say one word, but Arthur was pleased to see that she wasn’t becoming tearful, but instead she looked as if she was about to explode..
When Arthur finished, Steven was the first to speak.
“Poor Dad. Even if he did attack Rachel today, I’m certain he didn’t try to kill her all those other times. I think he must have been upset that his affair had been exposed. He shouldn’t have had an affair, but we�
��ll have to go down to the police station and see him; if they’ll let us, of course.”
“Poor Dad, ha!” Barbara exclaimed. “Lowlife cheating bastard. That’s what he is, Steven. You can go and see him. The only person I shall be seeing is my lawyer. I’m filing for divorce immediately and if I have my way, he’ll not have a penny left to his name.”
Steven looked at his mother in horror. Of course it had been wrong of his father to cheat, but his mother treated him terribly so it didn’t surprise him that he had. To top it all, he had probably only attacked Rachel in a fit of temper. There was no way he could have committed all the other crimes. For one thing, he would have been too scared of being seen doing any of those things.
Arthur looked stony faced, but inside he was laughing. Finally he had got John back after all these years. Perhaps he should get a divorce too. Imagine marrying Barbara and their two companies merging, let alone their two minds. They’d be multi-millionaires in no time.
* * *
John sat in his cell thinking. He had been stupid entrusting Arthur with breaking the news to Barbara. He knew his brother had never liked him, but they had got on a little better since their mother had died. It was as if Arthur had been glad their Mum had gone because she had loved John so much. She had been a barrier between them. However, even since her death, there was always something not quite right between them. Perhaps Arthur wanted to pay him back for being their Mum’s favorite and now he had the opportunity.
John had asked Arthur not to tell Barbara about Carlotta, but there was no way he could avoid it. Perhaps he could dampen the affair down to a one night stand or something. However, inside John knew that Arthur would probably build it up.
John was dreading the confrontation with Barbara. She would shout and scream at him; he was almost certain of that. Or possibly she would be cold and hard which would be even worse. Perhaps he could beg for forgiveness. Beg her not to divorce him. Tell her Carlotta was a foolish mistake.
John was shaken from his thoughts by the door opening and Inspector Taylor walking in.
Mystery at Oakfield Hall Page 13