*
When she got back to the hotel Ralph was pacing the room angrily.
‘Where have you been? You’re never damn’ well here when you’re needed.’ He shook an impatient hand in her face to prevent her from answering. ‘Never mind now. I haven’t the time to listen. Look, I’ve had a talk with Dad. He’s agreed to have a power of attorney drawn up in my name, just until we get this mess sorted out. I’ve managed to make him see what a hash he’s making of things. I’ll ring the solicitor as soon as it’s nine o’clock and we’ll get the whole thing settled before I leave.’
‘Does that mean you’ll have control of his money?’
He glared at her challengingly. ‘It does. Any objections?’
‘It’s just that after what you told me, it seems to me that you don’t really have the right
‘Listen!’ He reached out to grasp her arm but when she shook it off and faced up to him, he drew away, his eyes wary. ‘Listen, Marie. I was angry when I told you that. It was …’
‘Are you telling me now that it was all a lie?’ The boldness in her own voice surprised her. Maybe going to church had helped to give her strength after all. Ralph was clearly surprised at her tone too. His eyes widened.
‘Not exactly. My mother did say that, but she was dying at the time. She’d been saying a lot of things. She was out of her head — rambling. I’ve no way of knowing for sure whether it’s true or not. None of us will ever know. He gave me his name and he’s the only father I’ve ever known, so I’d be grateful if you’d forget it, right?’
She looked at him levelly. ‘I think you know that I’d never do anything to upset David,’ she said quietly. ‘But if you make him unhappy — jeopardise his health and his future …’
‘Don’t push your luck, Marie.’ His face hardened again. ‘Don’t think you’ve got anything on me because you haven’t. I could chuck you out just like that if I chose to, so don’t you forget it.’ He grinned malevolently. ‘And don’t go getting a power complex.’
The solicitor arrived at eleven o’clock with the necessary forms and Ralph signed them before leaving. When he had gone Marie went to her father-in-law’s room.
‘David, are you all right?’
He sat slumped in his chair. ‘He thinks he’s won,’ he muttered. ‘He thinks he’s got the better of me, but he’ll find out, Marie. He’ll see.’
She went to him and took his hand. ‘Don’t upset yourself. It wasn’t your fault.’
‘I don’t care what anyone says, I didn’t run up that overdraft. I’m not senile yet,’ he said. ‘I should have made changes long ago.’
‘Never mind. It’s done now.’ She sat beside him, stroking his hand. ‘Let me cook for you this evening. We’ll have dinner together. Or would you like to come down to the restaurant? You haven’t been out of your room for days.’
He smiled up at her. ‘You’re a good girl, Marie. You won’t ever leave me, will you?’
‘Of course I won’t leave you, David. No matter what happens.’
*
She’d been asleep for some time when she woke suddenly. In the dark she lay listening, wondering what could have wakened her so abruptly. Then she heard the sound again. It was unmistakable this time: half groan, half cry. Instantly she was out of bed and pulling on her dressing gown.
In the corridor she listened at David’s door. ‘David — are you all right?’ When there was no reply she opened the door and looked in. He was lying half in and half out of bed, gasping for breath, his face contorted with pain.
She made him as comfortable as she could, then went out into the hallway to telephone. As she began to dial, she suddenly remembered. There was a doctor staying in the hotel. He was attending a medical conference and had checked in yesterday. She rang down to Reception and spoke to the night porter.
‘John, Mr Evans has been taken ill. There’s a doctor in number twenty-two — Doctor Hodges. Will you ring and ask him to come up to the flat, please? Tell him it’s urgent — an emergency.’
Doctor Philip Hodges was there in minutes. Even though he wore a dressing gown he looked calm and efficient enough to bring her reassurance. Marie explained briefly what had happened. He examined David carefully and turned to her.
‘Can you get me the number of the local hospital, please? I’ll speak to them. I think we should get him in without delay.’
‘Is it serious?’ she asked as she dialled the number.
‘I’m afraid it looks like a coronary,’ he said, taking the receiver from her. ‘They’ll know better when they’ve done an ECG.’
Doctor Hodges stayed with David while Marie dressed, and when the ambulance arrived she went along to the hospital, travelling inside with him. In the accident and emergency department she waited anxiously until he was assessed, trying hard to concentrate as a nurse filled in details on a seemingly endless form.
‘Next of kin?’ The young nurse was looking at her expectantly.
Next of kin. After what Ralph had told her she hesitated to give his name. But there was no one else. ‘His son,’ she said. ‘Mr Ralph Evans.’
After what seemed an age the sound of footsteps echoing along the corridor heralded the arrival of a doctor. He told her that David was being admitted to the coronary care unit.
‘Mr Evans has suffered a moderately severe heart attack, but his condition isn’t critical at the moment.’
‘Can I see him?’
The doctor looked at Marie’s worried face. ‘Are you his daughter?’
‘Daughter-in-law,’ she told him.
‘Is it Marie?’
‘Yes.’
‘Just for a moment then. He’s been asking for you. It may reassure him to see you.’
As she followed him along the corridor she asked the question that had been worrying her ever since she found David stricken in his room. ‘Could it have been caused through stress of some kind?’
‘It could,’ he agreed. ‘Although it looks as though he’s had a heart condition for some time. You didn’t know?’ She shook her head. ‘Has he been under stress?’
She nodded unhappily. ‘There was a disagreement earlier today — well, yesterday morning now. It upset him.’
He smiled kindly. ‘Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. An attack was on the cards anyway, I’m afraid. Anything could have triggered it off.’
Yes but it wasn’t anything, Marie told herself grimly. It was Ralph. His next of kin.
She was shocked to see David wired up to a frightening assortment of equipment in the coronary care unit, but the sister reassured her.
‘The wires are to monitor his heartbeat,’ she explained. ‘And the oxygen is to help his breathing. I must ask you not to stay too long. He needs rest.’
Marie took David’s hand and pressed it. ‘Don’t worry,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll take care of everything. You’re going to be all right — home in no time.’
He managed a weak smile and his fingers tightened around hers before he closed his eyes again. After a moment she tiptoed out.
On her way back to the hotel in a taxi Marie did some thinking. Suddenly she felt strong and her mind was crystal clear. The moment she got in she went to David’s desk. She hated going through his things without asking his permission, but she told herself that this was an emergency. She gathered together all his spent cheque stubs and paying-in book, also the file in which he kept all his bills and receipts. Ralph kept the books locked away in a safe in his office, but she was fairly sure that from what she had, she could piece together enough information to prove that David had not gone over the limit on the overdraft. In her room she checked the amounts paid out with the cheque stubs and compared the figures. It was just as she had thought. Even though David had paid the bills promptly he had not exceeded the limit. So was it the bank’s mistake? Or had someone else been signing cheques in David’s name — forging them?
She sat for perhaps half an hour, mulling over the problem and thinking what to do. But D
avid’s illness was the first priority and suddenly she remembered the admittance form. It was her duty to inform his next of kin, whatever the relationship. Ralph had mentioned that he was staying overnight at the Hastings hotel. She picked up the receiver and dialled the number. The night porter answered.
‘Can I help you?’
‘It’s Mrs Evans speaking. I believe my husband is staying there. I must speak to him immediately, please. It’s a matter of some urgency.’
‘Certainly, Madam. I’ll ring his room.’
There was a long pause and Marie began to wonder if Ralph was out, then there was a click and a drowsy female voice said: ‘Hello — yes?’
Marie’s fingers tightened convulsively round the receiver. So he was even taking his women to their own hotels now. ‘It’s Mrs Ralph Evans,’ she said briskly. ‘Can I speak to my husband, please?’
There was a muffled buzz of conversation in the background, then Ralph came on the line.
‘Marie?’
‘Yes, it’s me.’
‘What the hell do you mean by it — ringing me here in the middle of the night? Are you checking up on me now?’
‘Ralph, your father has had a heart attack. He’s in hospital. As you are his next of kin I thought I’d better let you know.’ She dropped the receiver on to its rest and sat staring at it. It was up to him now but she guessed he’d be here post haste. The prospect of possible inheritance would be too strong to resist.
*
The following morning she breakfasted in the restaurant. It had been past five o’clock when she had finally fallen back into bed and this morning her eyes smarted and her head ached dully. She was drinking her third cup of black coffee when someone stopped by her table and she looked up to find Doctor Hodges looking down at her.
‘Good morning, Mrs Evans. I was wondering how your father-in-law is this morning.’
‘I rang the hospital as soon as I wakened. He’s still in the coronary care unit, but holding his own.’ She smiled. ‘I didn’t get the chance to thank you for what you did last night, Doctor. Will you join me for a cup of coffee?’
He took a seat opposite her. ‘Thank you. I do have a little time to spare this morning.’ He was a tall man in his early forties, well groomed and good-looking. His smooth dark hair was brushed back from a high forehead and his grey eyes were kindly but perceptive. They studied her as she poured him a cup of coffee.
‘Mr Evans is your father-in-law, I believe?’
‘That’s right, but I’ve worked for him for the past seventeen years so he’s more like a father to me. I never knew my own.’ She sighed. ‘Last night was a shock.’
‘You didn’t know he had a heart condition?’
‘No. He’s been troubled with chestiness over the past few years and he gets breathless at times, but we’d no idea there was anything wrong with his heart.’
‘Try not to worry. I’m sure he’ll be all right.’
‘I hope so.’
He looked at her. ‘You’re looking rather peaky yourself, Mrs Evans. That’s a nasty bruise on your cheekbone. An accident?’
Her hand flew to her cheek and the tender place over the bone where Ralph had hit her. Since the bruise had come out she’d disguised it with make-up and a pair of dark glasses but this morning, in her haste, she’d forgotten. ‘This? Oh, yes. I slipped. Clumsy.’
He looked unconvinced. ‘Perhaps you should have it X-rayed. It’s quite swollen.’
She shook her head. ‘I’m sure it’s all right.’
‘I like your hotel very much,’ he said, changing the subject. ‘I’m giving a series of lectures at the conference this week and I wanted somewhere quiet to study my notes and prepare. This is ideal. Every comfort yet a homely atmosphere.’
Marie smiled. ‘That’s exactly what we aim for. Your wife doesn’t come with you on these occasions then?’
‘My wife was killed in a car accident some years ago.’
‘Oh — oh, I’m so sorry.’
Philip Hodges smiled. ‘It’s all right. You weren’t to know. It was a long time ago now. Almost ten years.’
‘Then you couldn’t have been married long.’
‘Just two years.’
‘Oh, how tragic.’ She reached out in an involuntary gesture to touch his hand. Immediately she blushed crimson and withdrew it. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, confused. ‘All the trauma has made me rather emotional. My father-in-law’s illness — everything.’
But he was smiling at her gently. ‘Please don’t apologise. People are so impersonal nowadays. No one wants to get involved in other people’s lives, especially their tragedies. I appreciate your concern, believe me.’
‘And I yours, Doctor.’
‘Philip, please.’
Smiling, she held out her hand. ‘And I’m Marie.’ He pressed her fingers briefly. ‘I’m afraid I’ll have to be going now,’ she said, looking at her watch, ‘I have to talk to the staff and then I want to go along to the hospital.’
‘I must go too.’ He stood up then hesitated, looking back. ‘I wonder — perhaps you’d have dinner with me this evening? It’s not much fun, eating alone, and it would be nice to hear news of your father-in-law.’
‘That would be nice. I’d love to.’
*
At the bank the manager agreed to see her again with open reluctance. As he closed his office door he looked stern.
‘I thought I’d made it clear, Mrs Evans. There’s nothing else we can do …’
‘I want you to look at these if you don’t mind.’ Marie put David’s file on the desk. ‘My father-in-law is a very methodical man. I feel sure that he did not exceed the limit on the overdraft. Would it be possible for me to look at the cheques that have been presented over the past months?’
‘This is rather irregular.’ The man frowned. ‘Why doesn’t your father-in-law come in and speak for himself?’
‘Because he is in hospital,’ Marie said. ‘He was taken ill late last night with a heart attack. I’d like to get this worry sorted out for him as quickly as possible. I’m sure it will help his recovery.’
‘I see. I’m extremely sorry, Mrs Evans. Please accept my sincere condolences.’
The change in the manager’s attitude was dramatic. He rang through to his secretary and within minutes Marie was looking at the bundle of cheques that had caused all the trouble. One by one, she went through them. They all bore David’s signature, but on close examination she could see that although skilfully done, many of them had been written with a hand other than his. They were made out to people she had never heard of, and who certainly had nothing to do with Evans Hotels. She looked up at the manager.
‘May I take these home with me?’ she asked. ‘I’m sure there is some reasonable explanation.’
He frowned. ‘I don’t know …’
‘Perhaps if your secretary could photocopy them?’ He hesitated. ‘Well, I don’t see why not. If it would help your father-in-law.’
‘Thank you. And I can assure you that the money we owe will be paid back in full as quickly as possible. I shall see to it personally.’
*
Ralph arrived late that afternoon. Marie found him pacing the living room of the flat like a caged tiger when she got back from the hospital.
‘Oh, there you are,’ he said the moment she came into the room. ‘What’s all this about Dad? It’d better be important, dragging me back like this.’
‘David is much better. I’m happy to say,’ Marie told him. ‘And I wouldn’t bother going to see him if I were you. He needs rest and quiet and I don’t think the sight of you would help his recovery.’
‘Then why did you drag me back?’ His lip curled. ‘Was it just to gloat at catching me out last night?’
Ignoring the jibe, Marie opened her bag and took out the bundle of cheques, spreading them on the table. ‘I’d like you to look at these,’ she said. ‘Some of them bear your father’s signature. And some of them don’t.’ She looked up at him meani
ngfully and was rewarded by the sight of his colour draining.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ he blustered.
‘Oh, I think you do. You forged those cheques. I don’t know what for but it certainly wasn’t anything to do with Evans Hotels. You forged them and then you made your father believe that he was responsible for the bank foreclosing. The worry of it caused his heart attack. It was a despicable thing to do.’
He stared at her defiantly. ‘What choice did he give me? He’s always treated me like a schoolboy — someone not to be trusted.’
‘And it seems he was right.’
‘It was an emergency — money I had to pay quickly. It would have come right if only I’d had time. If only he hadn’t been in such a hurry to stuff tradesmen’s pockets with our money.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Where did you get those cheques? You haven’t been meddling at the bank again? You haven’t said …’
‘I’ve said nothing — except the money will be paid back in full.’ She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. ‘I won’t have David’s name dragged through the mud, Ralph. I won’t have him disgraced. I don’t care what happens to you, or to me either for that matter, but for David’s sake I’ll see that you pay back every penny. If not …’
Ralph took a step forward, his hand outstretched towards the cheques.
‘Take them if you like,’ she said. ‘Those are only photocopies. The originals are still at the bank. I don’t doubt that an expert would spot the forgeries in seconds once suspicion was aroused.’
‘Damn you,’ Ralph growled. ‘You wouldn’t do it. You wouldn’t dare.’
‘You’ve got a month. Four weeks,’ she told him. ‘Pay by then and no one need know. Fail and I go back to the bank — and if necessary, the police.’
He walked to the door and opened it, then he slammed it shut again and turned to look at her.
‘All right. You’ve got me over a barrel this time, but I’ll get even with you, Marie.’ He walked towards her, raw hate burning in his eyes. ‘I wouldn’t mind betting that there’s more to your past than you’ve admitted.’ He grasped her chin painfully between thumb and forefinger and stared into her eyes. ‘Funny, isn’t it, that your only woman friend is a social worker? Your bit of trouble was over years ago, so what held the two of you together all these years? And why did you fall out with her so abruptly? Did she threaten to tell me something about you, Marie?’ He thrust his face close to hers and his breath rasped in her ear as he said: ‘If I ever find out the answer to that one — and I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want me to — I’ll make you regret the day you ever left Ireland. And that’s a promise.’
The Long Way Home: A moving saga of lost family Page 19