A Time for Hope

by Anna Jacobs

That was easier for women than for men. Then it occurred to him that he was in the same situation at the moment – a kept man. Radka let him stay in her flat in Prague, which saved him a good deal of money, but she only fed him when they went out to restaurants.

  She was on to all the scams, had made an arrangement with a hotel to send regular bills to his company for his room. By the time the hotel took a cut, and then she did, Stu only got about half the amount. It helped, but it wasn’t enough to do something worthwhile with.

  He stared across the room at a locked door. She didn’t let him into that room or even tell him what was in it, and she never opened it while he was around. He didn’t feel it’d be wise to try to pick the old-fashioned lock, a skill he’d learned as a youth, because he had no doubt there would be an electronic security system inside. She might even have a security camera recording what he did every day in the rest of the flat. Who knew with Radka?

  He didn’t take any money out of Gabrielle’s account this time, not till he’d worked out somewhere safe to put it. If she checked the online log, she’d notice that someone else had been there, but she wasn’t as tech-savvy as he was, for all she knew how to use the computer system at her work.

  He’d wait until a certain friend of his was back in the UK and then get Carson to do the job of emptying her account for him. He’d make sure he was in Prague himself at the time and that he never went on line that day, or at least not from his own computer.

  It’d be worth paying a percentage of the account’s contents to Carson to get that much money. Everyone took their cut when they did you a favour. It was how the world functioned.

  Smiling, he logged off and got ready to leave for the UK the next day. When Radka got home, she’d just shrug about him leaving, in that annoying way she had.

  If she hadn’t been so eager in bed, he’d have been worrying about how she really felt about him. But she was eager. Very. She said he satisfied her as few other men had ever done.

  Well, most of the time. It had only been once that he’d failed. How stupid of him to care about whether Gabi was injured or not. He couldn’t afford to get soft. He still had to make that big chunk of permanent money he dreamed of.

  When Radka came home, he danced attendance on her, as usual.

  ‘I want you to put some bugs in the cars belonging to these people from your company and another group,’ she announced, giving him a list of car numbers and locations. ‘We find it useful to keep an eye on them. Just activate the bugs and slap them on the cars, out of sight, underneath the wheel rim. Then check that they’re working. I’ll download an app to your smart phone and show you how to use it.’

  ‘Why the hell do you want to bug people’s cars?’

  ‘It is not of concern to you. Just do it. My friends and I live securely because we do favours for one another. You will join in by doing this. There are a couple of spare bugs. Throw them away after you’ve checked that the others are working properly.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘No buts. Just do it. Now, come to bed, you naughty boy. I need your body.’

  She wasn’t even going to tell him why he was planting the bugs, he thought, irritated by that. Still, it’d be easy enough to do.

  He followed her into the bedroom. He wanted to stay annoyed with her, but she quickly made that impossible.

  The following morning, Stu got out of the plane at Heathrow feeling stiff and grumpy. It might be a short flight, but the seats were cramped. He was too tall for economy class, but the damned company had started economizing at the expense of their staff’s comfort. Only the most senior executives now rated business class. As he wasn’t flush with money, he’d decided not to pay the difference this time.

  He asked to hire the cheapest car he could find, pleased when they couldn’t supply one of that type and let him have the next size up for the same price. It was an omen, he was sure: a sign that he was entering another of those lucky patches in his life. But this time he’d not fritter away his money.

  He decided to drive down to Wiltshire that afternoon to check up on Gabi. Before he made the snatch for her money, he needed to find out what she was doing with herself and feed that into the plan. He might be intending to organize something unlawful, but he’d be very careful how he did it. Oh, yes.

  The journey to Worton seemed to take ages and he was feeling tired, thanks to Radka’s demands the previous night. It’d be good to have a couple of rest days from her. She’d started ordering him around in bed, which was a big turn-off.

  He stopped at a motorway service station and ordered a coffee to go because he hated sitting in such seedy places.

  When he got to the village, he parked in a quiet spot just out of the centre. No one would recognize the car, but they might recognize him, so he pulled a hat over his betraying blond hair and wound a scarf round his neck, even though it wasn’t a cold day.

  He’d bet Gabi was staying with her friend Tania, so he tried there first. When he peeped over the back wall of the big old house that had been subdivided into flats, he saw Gabi’s car.

  ‘Yesss!’ He made a triumphant fist. Spot on with your guessing, Stu, he congratulated himself. His luck was definitely returning. Oh, yes.

  He stayed where he was in the garden of the derelict house next to the flats, watching the windows carefully, especially Tania’s on the ground floor. But there was no sign of life.

  To make sure, he went and rang the doorbells of the four units, one by one, waiting each time for an answer, and ringing a second time before he moved on to the next bell. But there was no response from any of the flats.

  Just to make certain Gabi was at work, he phoned the store and asked to speak to her, pretending to be a cousin from Australia.

  ‘I’m afraid Ms Newman no longer works here,’ the girl on the phone said.

  Now, the bitch had surprised him. ‘Oh, dear. Do you know where Gabi’s gone? I’m not going to be in England for long and I’d love to catch up with her.’

  ‘Sorry, sir, we can’t give out information like that.’

  ‘But I’m going back to Australia next week.’

  ‘Even if I knew where she was, I wouldn’t be able to tell you,’ she repeated. ‘Perhaps her former neighbours know.’

  Well, well. Had they given Gabi the sack or had she resigned? Either way, it didn’t sound as if they knew where she was. Where could she have gone? Had she transferred to another job in the company or had something else cropped up? Whatever it was, her car was still in the village, so she’d be coming back at some point to collect it.

  He got a clipboard out of his car and walked briskly round to the rear of the building, holding a pen, as if he had a reason to be there.

  He tried the doors, but she’d locked the car. She was careful like that. And she’d taken her car key back from him. Stupid of him to let her do that without making a copy.

  He grinned as an idea suddenly struck him. Good old Radka! She’d supplied him with exactly what he needed.

  He bent down as if to tie his shoelace, activated the tiny electronic bug and slapped it firmly into place under the wheel arch.

  Smiling, he went out of the back gate and returned to his car. He checked the app on his smart phone and set it to tell only him where his ex was, with a separate password to get the information.

  Got you, you stupid bitch! he thought. I’ll know where you are at all times from now on. Another thing going right for him. Once he found out where she was, it’d be fun planning how to upset her all over again.

  He hated to think how much money she’d kept from the house. OK, she’d put more into it than him in the first place, but she was a nonentity, a plodder, who didn’t deserve to be so comfortable.

  Next thing was to go and see Mrs Starkey, their former neighbour. She had a soft spot for him. She’d probably know where Gabi had gone, and if he took the old lady some flowers and soft-soaped her, she’d soon tell him.

  When he rapped on the door, it took a long time for he
r to answer, but he was used to this. She tottered along like an elderly crab – looked like one, too.

  She smiled when she saw him. ‘Naughty boy! You haven’t been to see me in a long time.’

  ‘I’ve been out of the country. Do you still make a good cup of tea?’

  ‘Yes, of course. Come in, Stu dear.’ She held the door wider and led the way to her conservatory at the rear. It was stiflingly hot, as usual, but he ignored that.

  ‘I’ll put the kettle on, shall I, Mrs Starkey?’

  ‘I miss you and your blarney,’ she said when he came back. ‘I hear they’re going to tear that house of yours down and put two others in its place. Did you know?’

  ‘I haven’t a clue what they’re going to do with it. Gabi might know.’

  ‘She’s gone off with her new fellow. You let a good woman go there, Stu.’

  That sort of explained why her car was at Tania’s. He summoned up a convincing lie. ‘She is a good woman, but, sadly, we weren’t suited. I do need to contact her quite urgently, though, because something’s cropped up. Have you any idea where they’ve gone? What’s her new guy’s name, by the way?’

  The old woman shook her head. ‘I’ve not got the faintest idea. When she found out that all her things had been stolen, she went down to the B and B for a night or two, then she went off with that man. He’s not half as good-looking as you.’

  ‘All her things had been stolen? What do you mean?’ He hid his impatience as he listened to the tale. ‘But her car’s still at her friend’s, so she must be coming back.’

  ‘I expect so. If so, she might come to see me and I’ll tell her you’re looking for her.’

  ‘Thanks. You’re a honey.’

  He sat and chatted for a tedious ten minutes longer, but got nothing more out of her, so took his leave.

  ‘Any time you’re in Worton, come and have a cup of tea with me,’ she said at the door.

  ‘I’ll definitely do that.’ He nerved himself to kiss her on the cheek. Ugh, he hated the feel of that papery old skin on his lips, but sometimes you had to do things that disgusted you.

  He went round to the flats at the time Tania usually got home and waited for her in the car park. But she only gave him the frozen basilisk stare and refused to let him in to talk things over. She wouldn’t even stay outside with him, either, and took advantage of another tenant’s return home to go into the building with him.

  Fat bitch! he thought as he drove off. She was cracking on the weight. Who’d want to bed a sow like that?

  After one more check that the bug on Gabi’s car was working properly, he drove back to London and returned the hire car. When he went into his tiny serviced flat, he looked round in disgust. He was worth better than this claustrophobic hovel.

  His only hope now for a better life – the life he was meant for – was Radka, even if working with her meant taking a few risks. But he might give Lady Luck a whirl one night after he got back – if it felt right, of course. After all, Prague had several casinos.

  In the meantime, he had to go and make nice to his boss tomorrow. Damn Patrick! What did he want this time that couldn’t have been said over the phone?

  Dan waited until Gabrielle had turned away from the window to ask his important question. ‘What you said about Stu has made me wonder if you’d like me to move in with you? Will that make you feel safer?’

  ‘Is that the only reason you’d move in?’

  She was back in cautious mode, he could tell. Oh, she’d been badly hurt, his little love had. Was that just down to Stu, or had there been something go wrong before him? Once or twice she’d cut herself off from talking about her life prior to her marriage and changed the subject. He gave her a quick hug. ‘No, of course it’s not the only reason, Gabrielle. Surely you realize that? I’ve been trying not to rush you, that’s all.’

  ‘I think I’d rather be rushed.’

  ‘Very well, then. I’d really like us to have a go at living together. We get on well, in bed and out of it, and not just because we’re both early risers.’ That remark by the woman serving breakfast had quickly become a joke between them. ‘I was going to get round quite soon to suggesting we live together, believe me.’

  ‘You’re a cautious man.’

  ‘Takes one to know one. Then, of course, I realized that living with you would save me paying hotel bills, so I jumped in and asked you.’

  She choked with laughter. ‘You’ve done it again.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Made me chuckle, defused the tension. You’re very good for me, Dan.’

  ‘I hope so.’ He put one arm round her shoulders and they stood for a few moments by the window, not needing to fill every second with words. He liked that about her. He liked so many things about Gabrielle.

  When they pulled apart, she said, ‘So that’s settled. We’ll move in together. Have we time for another look round this house? I need to check out what’s needed to set up a home.’

  ‘Sure. I don’t think it’s been lived in for a few years, but it ought to have all the basics, at least – even sheets and towels. Apparently, Mrs King bought the old place very cheaply, furniture and all. As they say in the house adverts, it’s a fixer-upper.’

  ‘If it were mine, I’d enjoy doing that. It has a nice, homey feel.’

  ‘I’m sure the trust would pay for paint or for jobs to be done, if you want to make any small changes. It’s to our advantage to keep the place in good order, after all.’

  ‘I’d love to do a bit of refurbishing. It’ll give me something to do till I can find a job.’

  ‘Don’t rush into hunting for work, Gabrielle. You look as if you desperately need some R and R. And you do get a stipend, remember.’

  She grimaced. ‘I have a mirror, so I know I’m not looking my best. I’m amazed you even noticed me. Actually, I feel convalescent – that’s the best word to describe it. A lot of the strain has gone, now that the divorce is over and done with, but it took its toll. And then to be robbed …’

  ‘Well, we’ll do things at a more reasonable pace now. You’ll need a new bathroom. I reckon, before we arrange for one to be fitted, we should find out if the present bathroom suite is worth something as an antique, as you thought. No use throwing away the trust’s assets. I’d never have thought of it being valuable.’

  ‘I may be wrong.’

  He shook his head. ‘I don’t think you are. I watch those TV antiques programmes occasionally, and it sounds quite likely now you’ve pointed it out. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself. They sell the strangest items for ridiculous prices – things I’d call junk. Anyway, I know just the place to check about the bathroom suite.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘There’s a wonderful antiques centre near Littleborough. I know the owners. You’ll like Emily and Chad. We’ll go there first of all, because changing the bathroom comes high on my list for making the home more comfortable. That and a new bed.’

  He pretended to leer at her, making her chuckle again, but he could tell that all the teasing in the world couldn’t quite dispel her sense of apprehension about Stu. He never ignored such signs, especially when the person seemed intelligent. Someone’s life might depend on paying heed to details. No, that was fanciful. If Stu wanted anything, it’d be her money. He didn’t seem like the sort of man who’d kill his ex, not when he already had a new woman.

  But Stu hadn’t hesitated to hurt her, had he? Well, the sod would have to walk through Dan to do that again.

  His stomach rumbled and he glanced at his watch. ‘We should leave now, Gabrielle. We have an appointment with Henry and we need to stop for lunch on the way.’

  ‘All right. We can’t leave the hungry tiger unfed.’

  He tried to put on a pitiful expression, but was laughing too much to maintain it for long.

  As they left, she turned to look back at the house. ‘Could we move in tomorrow, do you think?’

  ‘I doubt it. There won’t be any electricity sw
itched on, and certainly no telephone. And what about the bathroom?’

  He saw the disappointment on her face. ‘Do you really want to camp out here? I don’t mind moving in without a new bathroom, but I’d rather wait till we’ve made the place more secure and have electricity.’

  ‘I suppose you’re right. I know it’s foolish but I’ve fallen in love with the house. How soon do you think we can get the electricity turned on?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’ll do my best to hurry them up. But we’ll also need to make the doors more secure. That big key may seem cute, but such locks are incredibly easy to pick.’

  ‘Oh, dear. What a pity! The big clunking sound made me feel safe.’

  ‘I’m a very safety-conscious guy. We’ll get good locks fitted and we’ll continue to keep an eye out for your ex.’

  Dan frowned as he walked across the little bridge. He was still trying to work out why he too felt she hadn’t seen the last of Stu Dixon. He wasn’t usually prone to presentiments, but, then, it wasn’t like him to fall in love so quickly, either.

  Not that he was complaining about that. He hadn’t dared say the three magic words to her yet, but they kept hovering on the tip of his tongue. One day soon I’ll do it, he promised himself. I’ll tell her I love her, and if I’m really lucky, she’ll say the words back to me.

  ‘Before we go, let me check whether there’s mobile coverage out here.’ He pulled out his phone and switched it on, nodding. ‘Oh, good. Bit of luck, that. It’s not the fastest but it’s OK.’

  ‘Another good thing about Brook House.’

  ‘Yes. Come on now. I’m hungry.’

  He ate a hearty meal but Gabrielle left half her food again. Judging by her clothes, she’d lost quite a bit of weight recently. And she wasn’t the sort to feel it necessary to look like a stick insect. He didn’t comment, trying instead to tease her into sharing some of his dessert. He was pleased about every extra mouthful he got her to eat.

  He found himself humming as they drove to Mr Greaves’ rooms. It had been a while since he’d felt so happy.

  What he’d been for a year or two – and had only just admitted to himself – was lonely.