by Anna Jacobs
The lawyer greeted them with a smile. ‘You look more rested today, Ms Newman.’
‘Do call me Gabrielle.’
‘Thank you.’ Mr Greaves inclined his head but didn’t return the compliment. ‘Please take a seat and we’ll discuss the practicalities of your situation. Dan? You’ll stay?’
‘Yes. For two reasons. One, because I’d like to accept formally the job you offered me managing the trust, and two, because Gabrielle and I are “together” as they call it nowadays, so what affects her, affects me.’
‘Oh! I see.’
She felt Mr Greaves wasn’t best pleased with this.
‘Something wrong with that?’ Dan challenged.
‘I’m happy that you’ve accepted the job, but is it wise to mix business and pleasure?’
‘I don’t think you get much choice about who you like and don’t like,’ Gabrielle put in.
Dan nodded agreement. ‘And, in this case, I think it’s particularly useful that I’ll be with her, because Gabrielle still worries that her ex will come after her, and I don’t discount the possibility. I’ll be able to keep an eye on her professionally as well as enjoying her company.’
The lawyer looked puzzled. ‘Why would your ex-husband do that, Gabrielle? You’re divorced now, and I think you said yesterday that you no longer have any financial links.’
‘No, I don’t. But I do have a considerable sum of money from the sale of the house, enough for a generous deposit on another house. Stu can’t even think of money without itching to spend it, or, more often, gamble it away. When he runs out of his own money, he goes after other people’s.’
‘Is he as bad as that?’
‘Yes. He pinched money from my purse regularly till I realized what he was doing and kept a better eye on it.’
The lawyer shook his head and made a tsk-tsk sound. ‘Shocking. Very well. Perhaps it is fortuitous that you and Dan are together. And the house you’ve chosen?’
‘Brook House.’
He nodded. ‘My own favourite. It’s a nice little place.’
‘Needs some upgrading,’ Dan said. ‘We can do a few of the decorating jobs while we’re there, but the bathroom needs complete modernization. There is money in the trust for renovations. I think Mrs King thought of everything.’
‘She was very thorough – even made a list of what might need doing in each house, and that bathroom is on it.’
‘Gabrielle thinks the old bathroom suite might have value as an antique, so we’ll go and ask Chad about that tomorrow. We don’t want to throw it away or take it out carelessly if it’ll bring in money.’
‘Certainly not.’ Mr Greaves looked at Gabrielle. ‘There is the question of money for you – a living allowance.’
‘I think I should pay my share of the household bills,’ Dan put in quickly. ‘We’ll get Mrs H to OK my figures about that, shall we? I can’t OK my own payments, after all.’
Mr Greaves’ expression lightened a little. ‘Good idea. We’ll pay you the same stipend as we were paying Libby, my dear. That should cover your living costs nicely. Just one more thing. Do you have a car?’
‘Yes, but I’ll have to go back to Worton to fetch it. Dan drove me here in his.’
Dan intervened again. ‘I can get a friend of mine to collect it, check it for bugs and then bring it up here.’
‘Bugs?’ The lawyer looked rather surprised. ‘Is it … very old? If it’s infested with insects, you should get rid of it.’
‘Electronic bugging devices, designed to track Gabrielle.’
She was horrified. ‘Do you think Stu will do that? Why would he? He’s in Prague and he won’t know where to find the car, even if he comes back.’
‘Does he know who your best friend is and where she lives?’
‘Oh. I see. Yes, of course he does, and anyone can get to the car during the day, because everyone in the building is usually out at work. I wasn’t thinking straight or I’d have left it somewhere safer.’
‘Don’t get your knickers in a twist. My friend will check it out before he brings it here,’ Dan said.
She turned to him. ‘I’m annoyed because I should have been more careful. I’m not a child, and I shouldn’t need looking after.’
The two men exchanged glances and she realized how sharply she’d spoken. ‘Sorry. It’s just that I promised myself not to be dependent on other people once I was free of Stu.’
Mr Greaves surprised her by saying, ‘We’re all dependent on others, to some extent, my dear. I don’t know what I’d do without Mrs H here and my wife at home. Now, let’s go on to the other things.’
She frowned. ‘What other things?’
‘Mrs King’s bequests. She’s left a box for each person – well, for the first half-dozen relatives to take up her offer, anyway. The contents of the box are to be used or disposed of as you please. For Libby, she left the ornaments she had in her little house. They proved to be quite valuable. You get the contents of quite a large cardboard box.’
‘What does it contain?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t know what’s in any of the boxes. Mrs King said they were not to be touched by anyone else. Mrs H will hand the box over to you as you go out. And if you’ll let her have your bank account details, Gabrielle, she’ll see that your stipend is paid into it every month.’
‘How kind of Cousin Rose!’
‘Yes. She was kind. Very kind indeed. Quite my favourite client.’ He glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. ‘And now, I’m afraid, I must let you go. I’m expecting another client shortly. Dan will show you round town and help you settle in, I’m sure, given the – er, circumstances.’
As they walked out, Mrs H looked up from her huge, comfortable desk. ‘Ah, Ms Newman. Could you let me have the details of your bank account?’
‘I’m changing my bank account, so I’ll give you the details when that’s sorted. It’s high on my list of things to do tomorrow. My ex knows all the details of the old bank account, you see. Well, apart from the password. And I really must get a new computer.’
‘Good idea to change your bank account. One can’t be too careful with money. You’ll pop back and let me know as soon as you have the details?’
‘Yes, of course. Tomorrow.’
‘And we’ll collect the box at the same time,’ Dan added. ‘All right to leave it here?’
‘Yes, of course. I won’t put it back in the cellar. I’ll get the caretaker to help me shove it into our suite’s store room.’
When they went outside, the sun was shining.
‘I think that went well, don’t you?’ Gabrielle said to Dan.
‘Yes, it did. I’ll put a new computer on the list of things you need. They’re not expensive these days.’
She gave his hand a quick squeeze. ‘I’m so lucky, to have found a home and you so quickly.’
He smiled. ‘We’re both lucky. Now, we’ve got the evening to ourselves. I know a good Chinese restaurant. Let’s abandon practicalities and get ready for a meal and a couple of drinks. I’m famished.’
‘You would be.’ Greatly daring, she added, ‘And when we go back to the hotel, I’ll have my wicked way with you. If you’re not too full up to move, that is.’
He nodded approvingly. ‘Sounds like a reasonable plan. I like the way you think, Ms Newman. Very practical.’
She pretended to hit him. ‘Is that all you can say?’
‘No. But we’ll wait till later on for some of the other things I want to tell you.’
The hungry way he was looking at her made her breath catch in her throat. He might be a quiet sort of man, but it was clear that still waters ran deep.
She hadn’t expected to meet someone else so quickly.
Surely nothing would go wrong with a man like this? She found herself studying him sometimes, glad to see how fit he looked, how his skin had a healthy colour to it. She liked the steady gaze that met hers squarely, the way he didn’t scan the room for more useful people to talk to, but gave her
his full attention.
She felt Dan wanted to be with her and didn’t care too much about what was going on around them. That made her feel good.
Twelve
Stu strolled into the company’s building, watching others rush to the lifts or stairs to get to their desks before the heads of each section came to work. It was rather like going to jail, he decided, coming back here. His footsteps faltered for a moment before he brushed the shadow away.
You had to earn a living, so he followed the herd and made his way to Patrick’s office. He’d deliberately come in early, knowing his boss wouldn’t be in yet, wanting to be there first. Eager beaver, moi! he thought and sniggered.
Then he saw that the PA bitch was already at her desk. Bronwyn by name, Brunhilde the Valkyrie by nature. She stared down her nose at him, so he smiled as if she were a dear friend. He always smiled but he’d never yet got her to smile back.
Patrick came in shortly afterwards, stopped at the sight of Stu, as if he’d forgotten Stu was coming in today, then sighed and said, ‘You’d better come into my office, Dixon. Bronwyn, please join us.’
Stu shot a quick glance at her. Was it his imagination or was she looking extra smug this morning?
She took a seat to one side and Patrick gestured to a chair. ‘Sit down, Dixon. This won’t take long.’ He waited till Stu was settled to say, ‘We’ve been reviewing our staffing levels and they’re still too high.’
Stu held his breath. Surely this didn’t mean … they couldn’t!
‘I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go, Dixon. Analysis has shown that we have too many people at your level.’
It was out before he could prevent it. ‘But I’ve done well for the company in Prague, dammit! And before.’
‘Yes, you have. And therefore we’ll be giving you an extra month’s salary in your severance package as a bonus, and a really good reference. You’re not the only one going, but you’re the only one with the extra bonus.’
Stu held in his anger.
The bitch was actually smiling at him now, from where Patrick couldn’t see her.
‘When do I finish?’ he managed.
‘Straight away.’
‘But I’ve got a lot of my things still in Prague. You collect possessions when you’re posted somewhere for a long time.’
‘Hmm. Well, we’d better spring for another fare there and back. See to that, Bronwyn.’ He looked back at Stu. ‘Now, I’m afraid I’ll have to send for Security and ask you to clear your locker and leave the building immediately thereafter. Nothing personal, just standard procedure. Please don’t try to return. The reference and any other documentation necessary will be sent to your home address. Good luck.’
He had the gall to come round the desk and hold out his hand.
Stu shook it but couldn’t summon up any snappy farewell remark and certainly not a smile.
Fuming, he waited in the outer office, turning his head away from the bitch’s desk until Security sent up two men. What the hell did they think he was going to do, tear the place apart?
Grimly he checked and packed the things from his locker. His desk had been cleared when he went to Prague so that the office could be used by someone else, and the contents of that were in boxes. He took his time confirming that everything was there, after which the security men helped him carry the boxes out of the building and load them into a taxi.
They turned away without a word of farewell, and that was that.
Stu looked back at the tower block as he was driven away. Damned egg crate of a building. It looked as soulless as the people inside it.
He understood now why people planted bombs.
What the hell was he going to do? Jobs at his level weren’t plentiful and this wasn’t a boom time.
And he had debts still.
‘Penny for them,’ Dan said next morning when Gabrielle sat staring into space instead of finishing her breakfast.
She pushed her plate with its half-eaten toast to one side. ‘I was just wondering which bank I should move my account to. Or even whether I should move it. There are safeguards on people’s accounts, after all, so am I wasting my time changing?’
‘You should definitely move it, and the sooner the better. As for which bank, well, that’s up to you. I agree: if it weren’t for Stu, you wouldn’t need to bother. But you said he’d stolen from you before, so better safe than sorry. After all, someone did steal your laptop.’
She could feel herself blushing. ‘I forgot how much information is on it. Passwords and such. It’s so hard to remember them all.’
He pushed her plate back in front of her. ‘You should finish your breakfast. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us visiting banks and I don’t want you fainting on me.’
‘What? Oh, hadn’t I finished? Just to reassure you, though, I’m not the fainting sort.’ She began nibbling the piece of toast again without looking at it. ‘I suppose you’re right about changing my bank, but why the hurry? I don’t think Stu is a criminal. He wouldn’t steal money from a bank. He knows I’d call in the police.’
‘He might think he could charm you into not prosecuting him for what he took.’
She considered this, head on one side. ‘I suppose you could be right. He might think that. But he’d be wrong. Only, every time I admit to myself that he’s not a good person, I feel more stupid than ever. I thought I’d fallen in love with him, so I married him, let him order me around, and it took me months to realize what he was really like.’
‘Stop saying you’re stupid. You’re not. You’re honest and decent, with a clear-thinking brain. It’s hard for many people to admit they’ve made a mistake in their marriage. Some never do and put up with the situation all their lives. I married the wrong person, too, remember, so I know how easily it’s done, how appearances can deceive, how life goals can change.’
‘Your ex didn’t steal everything you owned, on top of the settlement.’
‘We don’t have proof that Stu arranged the burglary.’
‘No, but I’m sure he did. I still haven’t figured out how he’s disposed of my things. He’s not very practical about details and that robbery just wasn’t his usual style, except …’ Her voice trailed away.
Dan waited.
‘Stu did have mood swings, ups and downs, and then he wasn’t always rational.’
‘Bipolar, do you mean?’
‘Not that bad, no. But I looked it up once on the internet and you can have a milder version of it. There’s even a name for it, but I can’t remember what it is.’
‘Did he admit he had that problem?’
‘Definitely not. He’d have denied it with his dying breath. I didn’t even mention it to him, because he’d have gone mad at me. He could be fun in the upbeat moods, but he was hard going when he felt aggrieved at the world. Sometimes he talked about getting his own back on people he believed had treated him badly. I thought it was just a lot of hot air because he never boasted of having done anything specific to anyone.’
‘Do you think he has a grievance against you?’
‘I can’t think why he would have.’ She stared out of the window again. ‘What are we talking about Stu for? Let’s go into town and the first bank we see will be the one I transfer my account to. I’ll get it over and done with today.’
‘You might look at the terms the banks are offering first.’
‘I’m not being very practical, am I? Strange. I’m usually very careful with money. Now, well, it seems less important than getting my life together.’
‘I think you’re in recovery mode from a stressful time, and you aren’t your usual self.’
‘I don’t feel I know what my usual self is any more.’ She straightened up. ‘Enough of this introspection. I’m going to focus on being more cheerful from now on. Which won’t be hard with you around, Dan.’
‘What a lovely compliment! For that, I’ll take you to the antiques centre after we’ve done the banking and you’ve signed up for electrici
ty to be switched on. You’ll love the centre.’
He was glad to see her brighten up still further at that prospect. He was particularly happy to see her coming out of her lethargy.
‘We also have to call in at the lawyer’s to give them my new bank account details. Oh, and what about the box we’re supposed to collect?’
‘I think it can sit there for another day or two, don’t you? Till we move into our new home, in fact. Or are you desperate to open it?’
‘I’ll be interested to see what’s inside it, but such a big box would be in the way in our hotel room, and I’m more interested in getting a home again, even if it’s only for a few months.’
‘OK. Before we set off, I’ll just ring my friend Leon and ask him if he can pick up your car and send it to us.’
‘Won’t he want paying for doing that?’
‘He owes me a favour. He’ll probably use the car instead of paying a fare for one of his employees to go somewhere. He sends people all over the place on jobs. We might have to wait a day or two to get the car, though. Do you mind that?’
She shook her head. ‘Not as long as you’re here to drive me around.’
‘Good. I’ll ring him while you’re getting ready. I have something else to discuss with him, about a client, so you won’t mind if I make this a private call?’
‘No, of course not. In your job, you must have to keep information confidential most of the time.’
While she was getting ready, he walked outside and rang his friend from the hotel car park. Leon ran a little-known government security service which took care of minor ‘clearing-up’ jobs, as Leon described it. One of the things they did quite often was help people to disappear from dangerous situations and lives. Dan had done a couple of minor jobs for Leon, and done them well, if he said so himself.
Rapidly, he outlined Gabrielle’s situation and explained that he had a feeling something funny was going on with her ex. When he mentioned the name of the company Stu was dealing with in Prague, there was a quick intake of breath from the other end.
‘Are you looking into their activities as well, Leon?’
‘You know I can’t discuss specifics. Let’s just say you and I may have interests in common. For your ears only, we did hear there was a new player being groomed, but we weren’t sure who it was. We’ll check out this guy Stu, in case it’s him. You don’t happen to know who his new lady friend is, do you?’