by Ellis, Tim
***
Charlie Baxter had an office on Charteris Road in Woodford Green, which was less than a stone’s throw away from the tube station.
Well, when Jerry thought of an office, it wasn’t actually what Charlie had. Oh, from the outside, it looked just like a proper lawyer’s office. He had a sign which read: C.M. Baxter, LL.B, Attorney at Law. There was a smoked-glass window with a list of things he could help you with, such as: Compensation, Conveyancing, Criminal Law, Defamation, Insolvency, Mediation, Personal Injury Claims, Probate, Professional Negligence... to name but a few. He was obviously a man with fingers in many pies. His office, however, looked worse than her house – a lot worse.
‘Oh dear!’ she said, when he opened the door and switched on the light.
‘Yes, I know. It’s a bit of a mess, I’m afraid.’
‘A bit? This is where people come to recycle their household waste, isn’t it?’
‘I had a feeling you might want to reconsider your appointment as my assistant once you saw my office.’
She squeezed through the gap between two battered old filing cabinets, a desk, stacks of files balancing on the floor, and a precarious top-heavy shelving unit. As she moved towards two doors at the back of the room she said, ‘Oh God, what’s that smell?’
‘Sorry. Toilet’s blocked, I’m afraid.’
‘How long has it been blocked?’
‘You probably don’t want to know that.’
She tried to open the second door, but it wouldn’t move more than an inch. ‘What’s in here?’
‘Files. I think what’s happened is that a stack of files fell over behind the door, and now I can’t get in there.’
‘When?’
‘You probably don’t want to know that either.’
‘This is not good, Charlie.’
‘I know, but let me assure you that I’m a brilliant lawyer.’
‘You’d better be. I want my husband and children back.’
‘Trust me, I’ll get them back.’
‘You’d better get on with it then. In the meantime, I’ll sort out this place. First though, I need to make some phone calls. Have you got a phone?’
‘It’s somewhere near the toilet.’
‘It would be.’
She eventually found the phone on a chair under a pile of papers, unopened envelopes and parcels, and Chinese takeaway cartons. God, she hoped he knew what he was doing. She rang her mum’s home number, but there was no answer. Next, she tried the mobile.
‘Hello?’
‘Is that you mum?’
‘At last. I’ve been going out of my mind with worry. Where are you?’
‘I’m at our solicitor’s office in Woodford Green. Where are you?’
‘As soon as we saw the news, your father and I got on a train and came straight down here. We arrived about ten minutes ago. Now, we’re standing outside the building that used to be your home.’
‘I know, they wrecked it.’
‘Who did?’
‘The police.’
‘They want shooting.’
‘Listen, I’m going to be tied up most of the evening. I’ll get home when I can and fill you in on the details...’
‘Is Raymond all right?’
Her mum had always called him Raymond. He hated it. ‘Yes. He’s recovering in the hospital. He’ll be all right. So, can you and dad start on the house? It’s a mess, I know. I’ll have to get people in to make some repairs tomorrow, but for now if you could just make it liveable, that would be great. There’s a key in the end of the front windowsill. Pop the end off, and the key’s in there.’
‘We came down to help. We’ll do what we can. What about the children?’
Jerry burst into tears. ‘They took them away, mum.’
‘But surely they can’t keep them. I mean, all that rubbish about Satan... How can they believe you and Raymond would do such evil things?’
‘I don’t know. That’s what we’re trying to find out.’
‘Don’t you worry about the house, love. We’ll tidy things up here. You do what you’ve got to do, and then come on home.’
‘Thanks, mum. Say hello to dad for me.’
‘Of course.’
She put the phone in its cradle.
‘It’s good to have family around you at a time like this,’ Charlie said.
‘Have you got family?’
‘Sadly, no. All gone to the great courts of law in the sky.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Hey, don’t be. My work keeps me occupied, and I have some friends.’
‘Where do you live?’
He looked away and began shuffling papers. ‘Upstairs.’
‘It’s the same as this, isn’t it?’
‘I only sleep there. Nobody has time for cleaning these days. Work simply consumes my days.’
‘What about your other clients?’
‘You’re in luck, I’ve just wrapped up a couple of cases.’
‘You haven’t got any other clients, have you?’
‘Today. I would have got some today.’
She shook her head. ‘I came along just in time, didn’t I? Well, don’t stop on my account.’
He carried on filling out forms on a very old computer.
Looking around the office, she guessed she had more chance of walking on the Moon than finding the Yellow Pages. Instead, she rang Directory Enquiries.
‘Plumbers in the Woodford Bridge area, please.’
She wrote down five names and numbers provided, and then began ringing. The fourth one – Simon Antrobus – agreed to come out now. Then she went through the same process to find a builder – Leo Burke.’
‘I haven’t got much money, you know,’ Charlie said.
‘That’s a bit like telling me the Earth is round. I’ll pay, but it’ll be on account. Sometime in the future there’ll be a settling up.’
‘I understand.’
The plumber came and unblocked the toilet. The builder arrived, took the door of the third room off its hinges, and once the two of them had moved the files preventing the door from opening, he put the door back on.
She went to pay him, but he waved her away. ‘I have a proposition.’
‘I hope you’re not...’
He smiled. ‘I’m a bit old for you love. Not that I can’t get it up anymore, you understand... Well, you’d certainly... I mean... I think I’ll shut up and stick to building.’
‘Probably a good idea.’
‘What I was going to say was, you need some decent shelving for all these files...’
‘Yes, but I need them now.’
‘Five hundred pounds. I’ll go away, get all the materials I need from my yard, work through the night, and it’ll all be ready by the morning. What do you say?’
‘Charlie?’
‘Are you still paying?’
‘I’m paying.’ She looked at the builder. ‘When you’ve done the work.’
‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’
‘If you’re a cowboy, and the work’s not up to standard – you get nothing.’
‘I’ve been in the trade for forty years, love. It’ll be first class.’
They agreed what shelving was required in both rooms, and she held out her hand. ‘We have a deal.’
He shook her hand, nodded and said, ‘I’ll be back in about an hour with my lad.’
She showed him out. There were two yobs on BMX bikes hanging around across the road smoking.
‘Hey, you two,’ she called to them.
‘Yeah?’
‘Do you want to earn twenty-five quid each?’
‘Doing what?’
‘Moving some files.’
‘Where to?’
‘Just in here. We’re having some shelving put up, and I need the files moving away from the walls.’
‘How many?’
‘You can imagine there’s a few more than one file for that amount of money.’
‘Are they
heavy?’
‘I’ll find someone else, shall I?’
They looked at each other and shrugged. ‘Okay, we’ll do it.’
‘You do as I say, no lip, and I say when you’ve finished – okay?’
‘Do we get a fag break?’
‘You haven’t even started yet.’
They propped their bikes up outside, and the taller of the two said to her, ‘I think we understand each other, babe.’
After showing them what she wanted, they started in the back room.
What was she doing? She should be out scouring the countryside for her children, weeping and wailing for her husband, holding government officials hostage at gunpoint while the television cameras rolled. Instead, she was organising a solicitor’s office.
Chapter Thirteen
Parish sat on the bed. ‘I went off Marveen’s recommendation. She said she knew someone who could be a nanny and live in. I took her up on her offer. It was the ideal solution. And to be perfectly honest, I was more interested in you at that point in time. I left Marveen to contact Alicia Mae and welcome her into the house.’
‘Didn’t you check her references?’
‘That’s what I’m saying. As far as I was concerned Marveen was her reference.’
‘Oh God! If she’s not Alicia Mae Carter, who is she?’
‘I wish I knew.’
‘And what are we going to do about her body?’
‘I’ll contact the British Embassy tomorrow. They must have procedures for this type of thing.’
‘What? Procedures for murdered unknown people?’
‘It’s the best I’ve got. Otherwise, we’d have to arrange and pay for everything ourselves.’
‘What about the Americans? After all, it was one of their serial killers who murdered her.’
‘Maybe. The best thing to do is throw the problem at the British Embassy. Are you ready for that walk?’
‘My head’s spinning.’
‘A walk might be just the job then.’
Angie had hit the porcupine on the head. If Alicia Mae wasn’t Alicia Mae, who the hell was she? And more importantly, was the fact that she was using a dead person’s identity related to him and his parental situation? Or, was it one of those rare coincidences that he didn’t believe in?
‘I’ll speak to Harry tomorrow morning,’ he said as they entered the elevator. ‘As far as anyone is concerned, Alicia Mae is the victim of a serial killer, nothing more. I’ll ask him to send her photograph, fingerprints and DNA to Interpol. There must be some reason she was hiding behind a dead child’s name.’
‘She didn’t do us any harm. I mean, she was a brilliant nanny. She looked after Jack as if he was her own.’
‘I know, which makes it more of a mystery.’
They turned right out of the hotel along Adams Street. Jack was awake, but seemed quite happy watching the cat, the dog, and the ball dangling from the hood of his buggy.
It was beginning to get dark. The traffic and noise were building up to the witching hour, and he wondered if it had been a good idea to come outside. They turned right again, and began walking along Main Street.
‘This isn’t what I had in mind when I agreed to a walk,’ Angie said. ‘I thought maybe there would be a park, or a mall or something.’
‘I was thinking the same thing. Oh well, at least you can go home and tell everyone you walked around Richmond, Virginia.’
‘Walked around the Jefferson Hotel, you mean.’
He was stalling, prevaricating, beating around the bush. ‘Remember Carrie?’
‘The Chief’s secretary?’
‘Yes. Remember I had a bit of a fling with her before I met you?’
‘You never told me that.’
‘Are you sure? I could have sworn...’
‘I think I would have remembered something like that.’
‘I only went with her twice.’
‘Went with her! What does that mean?’
‘I don’t think we need to get into the gory details.’
‘And this was before you met me?’
‘Yes. She was working at Redbridge Council. I was investigating a series of murders. It was Richards and my first case together. She’ll verify my story.’
‘Story! Why does it need verifying?’
‘I’ve just found out I have a daughter.’
Angie stopped and stared at him. Tears leaked from her eyes, and snaked over her cheeks. ‘I don’t think we were meant to be together, Jed. Since we got married everything has gone wrong.’
People shuffled past them on the sidewalk. Vehicles shunted between traffic lights, and the street lights came on.
He squeezed her arm. ‘Don’t say that, Angie. We’re the perfect couple, with the perfect son, and the perfect life.’
‘And you’ve just found out?’
‘She told me on the phone before.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me before?’
‘It wasn’t the right time.’ He had the feeling of déjà vu.
‘And this is the right time?’
‘There’s no right time to tell you something like that.’
‘How old is she?’
‘Nearly six months.’
He saw Angie tracking backwards in time to see if it fitted with the start of their relationship.
‘And what does this Carrie want from you?’
‘She doesn’t want anything from me.’ Well, as far as he knew. She hadn’t asked him for any financial contribution, or time allocation, or... anything. It would all have to be discussed, of course. Now she’d told him, he obviously wanted to get involved. He wasn’t the type of guy to walk away and ignore his responsibilities. Life was going to be even more complicated than it already was.
‘I don’t know what to do with the information just now.’
‘There’s nothing you can do with it. I told you because I promised you that there would never be any secrets between us. I love you. I love our son, Jack. Apart from the knowledge I have a daughter, nothing has changed.’
‘Everything has changed.’
‘Carrie’s marriage was in trouble. She should have been taking the pill, but wasn’t. It was an accident.’
‘Why didn’t she get rid of the baby?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘What’s her name?’
‘Melody.’
‘That’s a nice name. Is Carrie still married?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘So, she’s free if you are?’
‘Don’t talk like that, Angie. I’m not free. I’m with you – forever.’
‘Forever is a long time, Jed.’
They carried on walking, and turned right again up Jefferson Street. He’d had no choice but to tell her. If he’d waited until the end of the trip, she would have asked him when he’d found out, and he couldn’t have lied to her. The idea of not telling her at all had jumped into his mind as an easy way out of the dilemma, but he didn’t want to get trapped in a web of lies. Regardless of the consequences, he’d had to tell her. Would there be consequences? It was hardly his fault he had a six-month old daughter. Oh yes, he’d done the dirty deed, but he hadn’t known the outcome. Maybe that was his fault.
They remained silent during the rest of the walk back to the hotel. He didn’t know what to say. Was there anything he could say? She didn’t look angry, but then she didn’t look happy either.
Outside Richards’ room they stopped and knocked on the door. Dinner would be in fifty minutes, and he wanted to make sure she was going to be ready.
There was no reply.
He knocked again, but there was still no response.
‘You go back to the room and start getting ready for dinner,’ he said to Angie. ‘I’ll go down to reception and see if they know anything.’
‘You don’t think...?’
‘I don’t think anything at the moment.’
He had a bad feeling. Whenever Richards wasn’t where she was meant to be, he alw
ays feared the worst.
One of the women manning the reception desk informed him that Richards hadn’t handed in her key, and there were no messages for him. He felt a bit relieved. As he was walking up the stairs, he saw her sitting at a table in the cafe where he’d had a coffee in earlier. She was deeply engrossed in the red files.
‘Are you crazy?’ he said, standing over her with his hands on his hips like a member of the Gestapo.
‘What?’
‘You said you were going to your room.’
‘It was too quiet, so I came down here. Anyway, I’m old enough to look after myself.’
‘The evidence suggests otherwise.’
‘Where did you think I’d gone?’
‘I had no idea.’
‘You thought I’d gone after the killer, didn’t you?’
‘It wouldn’t be the first time.’
‘I said I wouldn’t.’
‘You often say one thing and do something else.’
‘I do not.’
He ordered a coffee and sat down opposite her. ‘I’m glad I’ve got you on your own.’
‘Why?’
‘I’ve had some news.’
‘Yes.’
‘You remember Carrie?’
‘Is this a test?’
‘I rang her earlier for an update about Kowalski.’
‘And how is he?’
‘Resting.’
‘Great.’
‘You remember I had a bit of fling with Carrie before you introduced me to your mother?’
‘Am I still under test conditions?’
‘This is serious.’
‘Go on then.’
‘She says I have a six-month old daughter.’
He saw her eyes roll up in her head as she began working out the dates.
‘It works out,’ he said.
‘The bitch. I hope you haven’t told mum?’