by Fox Brison
Maybe it was nervous release, because I honestly didn’t think I would ever laugh again, but seeing their faces? I managed to raise a half-hearted chuckle.
***
When I’d convinced my three guardian angels I wasn’t about to fling myself off the balcony they left me to get some rest, but I couldn’t settle, and at one a.m. I finally had enough of being the good girl and googled Devon; what I found crushed me, then made me angry. Damned angry. Flood and Williams was one of the top brokerage firms in the city. Flood and Williams for goodness sakes. Devon was the niece of Marcus Flood, the daughter of Sir Eric Williams. She may have left the family firm, but it appeared she was still doing their dirty work. She was now at some agency, Heavenly Heirs. I didn’t read more than that, I couldn’t. I had never felt more betrayed or hurt by anyone in my life.
What kind of monster was she?
Chapter 31
Rachel
Tuesday 20th December, 2016
I needed some fresh air but couldn’t leave Ruth, so I took my morning coffee on the balcony overlooking the estate. I say morning coffee, it was actually my third or fourth, the caffeine a necessity rather than a luxury. I watched the sun rise and looked up at the pink and red clouds, searching for a sign, anything to give me a ray of hope. I’d not been to bed, the weight of the night pressing on my shoulders until I felt I was carrying Old Man Trouble and his whole family through a force ten hurricane.
Then I saw it, a cloud shaped like… I shook my sleep deprived head. No, it was still there, shaped like a perfect little angel. I knew then that Tommy and Louise were by my side, watching, guiding, protecting.
I went back into the flat and woke Ruth for school. I was taking the day off, but I wanted her to maintain a normal routine. I had to shield her from this. It was bad enough I was worried about losing her, without Ruth worrying about losing me too. Jessie arrived on time to take her, and after a kiss goodbye I lay down to try and catch a few minutes shuteye.
It wasn’t happening.
I’m surprised I wasn’t black and blue I’d been beating myself up all night and as soon as I closed my eyes, I was at it again.
If only I’d gone through the proper channels when Tommy and Louise first died, none of this would have mattered. But I was so scared, scared the Floods would change their minds at the last minute and try to take her from me. Scared I was going to fail Louise and Tommy. I remembered the call I made to Tommy’s parents like it was yesterday. His father said spitefully, “I told Thomas we wanted nothing to do with him or his child. As far as I am concerned she is as dead as her waste of a father. She is nothing to us. You can have her just don’t expect any financial help. You’re barking up the wrong tree if that is what you’re thinking.” And now they wanted to take her from me?
Oh hell no.
No way were they getting my daughter, not without the fight of their lives.
***
I got out of bed and tried lying on the sofa. Maybe a change of scenery would do the trick. I picked up another white feather that had floated onto the table. I really needed to check Ruth’s pillows weren’t split. The doorbell buzzed and I let my head fall back against the sofa. I didn’t want visitors, I wanted alone time. The buzzer rang again, and this time whoever it was held it down for almost an eternity.
Yeah like that was helping my stress levels.
I opened the door, reluctantly, to find a man in a dark suit. Shit. What now? Was this another flunky of Inspector McNeill’s? “Can I help?” I eventually asked.
“Rachel McTavers?” he said, looking me up and down.
“Depends.” Snotty bastard.
“I have important information for a Rachel McTavers.”
I sighed again. “Okay, yes that’s me. What do you want?”
“Sign here please.” I put my hands behind my back. “If you do not sign I will be back later. And then tomorrow. And the day after.”
I snatched the clipboard and signed the sheet. I looked down at the plain brown envelope. And then looked up at him. “I’m being served?” It was the crest that gave its official nature away.
“We’ll see you in court, Ma’am” he said with a smirk. “Robert Marcus Flood at your service.” He strolled down the balcony whistling.
Arrogant little shit. Opening the envelope as I sat back down on the sofa, I began a cursory glance of its contents. It was confusing to say the least, but the date, 8th January, 2017 loomed in large red writing half way down, as did the words suing Ms Rachel Mary McTavers.
What now? The Flood family were suing me? I snorted. If they wanted my second-hand sofa and worn rugs they were more than happy to them. But it was the final straw.
I was sick of kicking my own arse.
Ms Hottie was about to have her’s well and truly booted.
***
It took several tubes, and one slow bus ride to reach my destination. Every minute of the journey added to my anger, to my rage, and by the time I stood at the bottom of the steps leading to the building where Heavenly Heirs was based, I was ready to tear several strips off Ms Williams. The building itself was gothic in appearance and seemed to shrink between the newer buildings surrounding it. This area of London was severely hit during the war, yet the headquarters of Heavenly Heirs, despite the layers of soot and grime, looked like it hadn’t aged since it was first built back in… the seventeen hundreds, I hazarded a guess. If I wasn’t on an errand of retribution, I’d have spent far more time examining the façade and marvelling at the architecture.
But I was, so I didn’t.
The glass doors led into a marble foyer. Two old fashioned lifts were to the left of me, and to the right was a grand curved staircase that appeared out of place; the aura was more that of a theatre than an office building. The board in between the two lifts told me that I was bound for the third floor, the top one, naturally. The other businesses on the directory made me pause for a second… Little Angels Employment Agency… Eden Landscaping… I ignored the fluttering in my stomach, anger and probably hunger as I hadn’t eaten since Monday afternoon, and pressed the button. By the time I reached the third floor I was ready for battle.
A cold chill anchored in my soul.
***
“I’d like to see Ms Williams,” I informed the young receptionist.
“I’m afraid you need an appointment,” she said with a smile. “Would you like me to set one up for you? She’s in a meeting but if you leave your name I’m sure-”
I thrust the court papers at her and marched through the doors. “That’s all the bloody appointment I need.” I strode through the small space, listening for her voice but I saw her first, sitting on a desk next to Hannah. “Pleased with yourself?” I leant both hands on her desk and got right into her face.
Yeah, that felt good.
“Rachel?” Devon said but flushed. At least she had the good grace to look abashed. “Darling plea-”
Yeah, she knew exactly what I was here for.
“Darling? Are you completely insane?” I snorted. “How could you, Devon, how could you play with my life like that, with Ruth’s life?” I tried to see the woman I had fallen for in those damned expressive eyes. All I saw was confusion. “Pretending to be something you’re not, someone you’re not, just to spy on me?”
“Rachel, please, let me explain… d…don’t say something you’ll regret, just listen, please.” She stood as if to comfort me. No way.
“Something I regret? Like what? Regret that you sought me out, lied to me, fucked me, so you could gain evidence to show I was an unfit mother? I had the police around last night, and they arrested me for kidnapping.” I laughed scornfully. “I guess I got well and truly fucked, didn’t I?”
“Rachel, your d…d…daughter, you don’t understand…” Devon was rambling and her hands were trembling.
“Oh I’m sorry, Devon, are you finding this distressing? Stressful? You don’t know the meaning of the word distressing until you think you might lose your daughter.�
� I took a deep breath. “And it’s Ruth. Her name is Ruth. She adores you. She’s written more stories and drawn more pictures of us at the Christmas markets in Hyde Park than of anything else in her life. And me, I fe-” I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of revealing how deeply I’d fallen for her. I looked down and noticed I was shaking. Stopping to calm myself I concentrated on my surroundings; the office stank of old money. I wouldn’t be surprised if Heavenly Heirs wasn’t a subsidiary of Flood and Williams. I laughed derisively.
“Money, that’s what this is all about. Did your family suddenly think I was going to go after them for child support? After seven years? I may not have much, Devon, but I have friends. And each and every one of them is going to go into bat for me and my child. There’s no way you or your family are getting custody of her. Tommy didn’t want it, Louise certainly didn’t want it. And up until a few days ago, your family didn’t want it.”
I shook my head.
“I wonder what changed. See you in court, Ms Williams.”
Chapter 32
Devon
Tuesday 20th December, 2016
“Dear God.” Hannah looked at me, appalled.
“I’ve never seen anyone look so angry…” I quickly jumped from my chair. I had just watched my Christmas future, hell my entire future, storming out and I needed to go after her, I needed to explain. I ran past Jane, nearly knocking her into the middle of next week, and burst into the reception area, the door crashing causing a crack to appear in the glass. It now read Heavenly Hers.
And I was.
The lift was making its way to the ground floor, the brass pointer slowly moving between the number one and the letter G.
It was taking Rachel further away from me.
I raced down the stairs and into the street. I reckoned she’d take a left and head for the bus stop… I saw her in the distance. “Rachel!” I called and thanked god I was wearing low heeled shoes and a pant suit for once as I jogged down the street. I eventually caught up to her and bending over, my hands on my knees, I panted trying to catch my breath.
Okay, so maybe Rizzoli was pushing it. How female cops on telly ran miles in three inch heels beggared belief, because I could barely manage a few yards trotting in one.
“Rachel, please,” I said softly and took her hand. “Please, just give me a chance to explain.” She shook her head three or four times, trying to erase me from the picture. “It’s not what you think. I don’t know anything about my family taking you to court.”
“So you didn’t tell them about me and Ruth?” she bit out angrily.
“Well, yes but-”
“You weren’t investigating me?”
“Oh, um, yes-”
“Go on then,” she interrupted, “I’m listening. Explain.”
“I wasn’t investigating you for them, I promise, Rachel,” I said lamely.
“So explain to me why you were talking to my friends behind my back, why you turned up at the pub and the café and the National… oh my god!” she exclaimed angrily. “Were you following me?” My flush and hang of the head was all the answer she needed. “I can’t believe what an idiot I’ve been, to allow you into our lives, to fall-” She stopped abruptly. “Just stay away from me, Devon. Go back to your family and tell them they haven’t won yet.”
“Will you just shut up for one minute and let me explain!” I was sick of being the bad guy here. “My new firm is an agency that seeks out heirs to unclaimed inheritances. So yes, I was investigating you, but so that you could get this inheritance.”
“I knew it, I knew it was all about money. You’re no better than the rest of your family, a cold cash orientated arrogant bitch who thinks nothing about trampling over the feelings of others to get what you want.”
“I’m nothing like them!” I exploded.
“No? So you didn’t manipulate me, follow me, hound me, and sleep with me as a means to an end? You’re exactly like them. In fact, Devon, you might even be ten times worse, because you also used Ruth. My god, I’m about to lose my daughter-”
“You wouldn’t be about to lose her if you’d sought custody properly in the first place,” I interrupted heatedly.
And then wanted to slap myself silly.
“Fuck you, Devon, just fuck you,” she said coldly. “Stay away from me. Stay away from my daughter. I don’t want any money and I definitely don’t want you in my life.” I reached out to touch her, realising this was goodbye, but she flinched and my hand dropped. I’d let my temper get the better of me and look where it left me – on the street watching the woman I loved walk out of my life.
I was glad she left so quickly, she wouldn’t see me crying.
***
“Devon?” Jane was by my side just in time to see Rachel meld into the crowd. “Come on now, sweetie, it’ll be alright, we’ll fix this.”
“She hates me, Jane, I said something unforgivable.”
“That may be so, but Hannah and I read the papers Rachel threw at Samantha. You need to see what’s going on, what your family are putting that poor girl through.”
We headed back to the offices, my feet trailing. Once through the doors Hannah was waiting; she hugged me tight but said nothing until the three of us were sitting once more in the gap.
“I’m really worried, Dev,” she waved the sheaf of paper in my direction and I took it from her. “If this civil suit sees a courtroom then losing the inheritance will be the least of Rachel’s worries, because she’ll lose Ruth. Do you think your aunt and uncle will go so far as to perjure themselves in court?”
“Certainly, it’s the one thing I have no doubt about.” I regained my focus. I may have lost Rachel but Rachel wasn’t going to lose Ruth, not on my watch.
“So,” Hannah began, “kidnapping, fraud, neglect or inheritance. Which one should we tackle first?”
“If Marcus Flood claims that Rachel lied, he may be able to block her getting the inheritance.” I glanced up from the paperwork I was scouring. “And he can also claim Ruth as an heir. Do you have access to Flood and William’s network yet?” I asked and Hannah gave me a thumbs up. Her eyes were locked on the three laptops and the second desktop she’d appropriated from my office. “Right, so first we need proof that the Floods knew about Ruth.”
“CCTV would be useless, it’s too long ago, but nurses might remember, I mean, your aunt is pretty unforgettable,” Hannah said. “I’ll also check the back-up servers for emails. There might be communication between Thomas and his dad.”
“Try my father, brother Adam and cousin Robert too. Rachel mentioned Louise was offered a payoff. Rob is the firm’s Mr Fixit and I don’t think they would have entrusted that to anyone else. Check into his emails from my Uncle for eight years ago. Concentrate the search around the January I’d say.”
“I’ll visit the hospital.” Jane was jotting down our plan of action. This was turning into a military operation and thus needed military precision in its planning. “Hannah, could you check hospital records and find out who was on duty when Ruth was born?”
“Yeah, done and done.” She began typing furiously. “I’ll also check phone records, they’re kept for far longer. There would be calls to the Floods recorded from Thomas and then from Rachel.”
“Excellent,” I said. Working was helping smother my guilt. “Can you also hack into the firm’s business accounts without them finding out?”
“Hmm. I can but security will be tighter, so it might take a bit more time.”
“We don’t have much of it,” Jane said abruptly. “Do you still have that friend working in that spy shop in Bond Street – huh, I’ve just got that,” she chuckled at the accidental pun.
“Courtney? Yes.”
“Could she hook us up with some tracking devices and bugs?”
“That won’t work, security sweeps the offices every Monday,” I interrupted.
“I wasn’t thinking of the offices, I was thinking of your mother and aunt.” Jane explained. “They’re easier to g
et to.” Hannah and I stared at her wide eyed. “What?” she asked with a shrug.
“Wow. Just. Wow. You’re really sneaky. What did you do before working here?” Hannah asked with a teasing glint. “Should we call you Jane Powers, international woman of mystery?”
“No, my husband is addicted to John Le Carre books, and he’s always telling me the plots, so I just thought what would George Smiley do in this situation! And I think we should also bug Rachel.” I was shocked by the suggestion. “It may be nothing more than a gut feeling, but they’ve clearly done it before.”
“Rob.” I said quietly. “It’ll be Rob. You’re right, we need to keep tabs on all of them. Someone will make a mistake. I knew there was a chance the Floods would use Ruth as leverage to get their hands on the money, but I honestly didn’t think they’d go this far.”
“We’d better get down on our knees and start praying,” Hannah said sombrely, “because it’ll take a little divine inspiration, intervention and a hell of a lot more luck to pull this one off.”
***
It was near midnight when Hannah and I left the offices. We both needed a break so were headed down the street for something to eat. Cautiously, we climbed down the front steps of the building, the wintery conditions making the going dangerous.
“On a scale of one to ten, how screwed are we?” Hannah asked, pulling her woollen beanie down over her ears. I wished I’d had one too, because the icy sleet plastered my hair to my head. Winter had arrived like an avenging angel.
“Oh about a nine, maybe nine point five.”
“You really care about her, don’t you?”
“I love her, Han. Ruth too. She’s amazing.” I saw Hannah’s shocked face. “What?”
“You’ve changed your tune. You were always so against children. Remember that time Molly from accounts brought her new born into the office. My god, you would have thought the baby was some sort of plague carrier.”
I smiled at the memory. Thankfully we were almost at the twenty four hour McDonalds (the only place open) because the sleet was starting to fall much quicker. The weathermen might be right, we might just have a white Christmas this year. I bet Ruth would love to go sledging… I pinched my leg to stop my thoughts from wandering back to the McTavers family because every time I did, my heart broke all over again.