Death Penalties

by Paula Gosling

  Tess felt like slapping his face. ‘In fact, he is – was – Adrian’s brother-in-law. And you have absolutely no right to make such insinuations about a man you’ve never met. He’s a good, kind man—’

  ‘They often seem like good, kind men—’ Richard began. ‘Oh!’ Exasperated, Tess turned away and stalked into the area that would eventually become a dining room, but which at present was simply another rectangle surrounded by walls of lathe hung with loops of unconnected wiring cable. Richard followed her.

  ‘You took Adrian’s word, I suppose. Did you bother to check up on Soame? Did you find out if he was really from Cambridge, or if he’d been fired from some little school or other – or even whether he was a teacher at all?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Lord, Tess, you are a fool. He could be anything.’

  She stopped her pacing and faced him. ‘Now you are getting totally ridiculous, Richard. What would be his point in taking on a task for which he was totally unqualified? And Adrian would never do anything to hurt Max. The decision is made, and that’s an end to it. It’s my choice, not yours. My life, not yours. I’m sorry if you don’t approve.’

  ‘It’s not that I don’t approve. It’s not a matter for approval. The whole arrangement simply horrifies me.’ He ran his hands through his hair and then stood before her, reproach on his face, pleading in his voice. ‘And then there is this other thing hanging over you. Why didn’t you come to me when these silent phone calls started?’

  ‘Because I thought they were just one of those cranky things that happen in a city,’ Tess said, irritably, knowing he was probably right. She should have told him, if only because he knew so many people in useful positions. ‘How did you know about them, anyway?’

  ‘Your gorgon of a housekeeper told me, this morning. My God, I thought she was bad enough before, but since Roger died she’s got positively bizarre. I swear she was wearing a tea cosy on her head.’

  ‘She’s fine. I like her just the way she is.’

  ‘And what about that sleazy brother of hers? I suppose you like him, too?’

  ‘I hardly know him.’

  ‘Well, he had his boots under your kitchen table this morning, and very expensive boots they were, compared to the rest of his get-up, which owed more to Oxfam than Oxford Street. Looked like he felt right at home, drinking your coffee and eating your pie.’

  ‘Oh?’ Tess was momentarily startled. ‘Well, I don’t mind if Mrs Grimble has him around now and again,’ she said, casually, not wanting to let him see that it was a surprise to her. Mrs Grimble had never mentioned Walter coming to the house when Tess was out. Or feeding him, either. Not that Tess begrudged her the privilege, or Walter the pie, but she was rather sorry to learn of it this way. It would no doubt give Richard even more reason to fret and think her unreliable if he realized it had been done without her permission. ‘I’m just grateful she gives me as much time as she does. I really depend on her.’

  ‘Well, she’s no protection against people threatening you, is she? I mean, suppose they don’t stop at phone calls? You’re a woman alone—’

  ‘But I’m not alone, now, Richard. That’s the whole point. I’ve organized it all, and neither I nor Max are ever alone now.’

  ‘Temporarily. And questionably.’ His voice softened, ‘Why don’t you just let me take care of you and Max, instead of blithely turning yourselves over to some stranger? I’m earning good money again, and my house is more than large enough for a family. You could stay at home with the boy, be a proper mother, a proper wife. You wouldn’t have to come out and work in all . . . this . . . mess.’ He gestured around at the half-finished interior.

  Tess smiled, and looked around, too. ‘What you don’t seem to understand is that I like working in all this mess, as you call it. What’s more, I’m very good at it.’

  ‘That’s all very well, but—’

  She didn’t want to seem unkind, or ungrateful, but his persistence was beginning to make her feel a little claustrophobic. ‘Look, Richard, I’m grateful for your concern, but it is not needed. Truly.’

  She went into the kitchen and he followed, doggedly, trying another tack. ‘What does Mrs Grimble think of this Soame? Does she like him?’

  ‘She wasn’t sure, at first,’ Tess admitted, picking up some quarry tiles that had been stacked on the old stone sink. She held them closer to the window, to get the colour fixed in her mind. ‘But then she doesn’t like most people. At first.’

  ‘Hah. Don’t dismiss that, first impressions are important.’ He seemed to have forgotten his own opinion of Mrs Grimble and her questionable freeloading brother. He was off again, pacing and thinking aloud. ‘You said he was Adrian’s “ex”-brother-in-law. Divorced or widowed?’

  ‘Widowed – if it matters.’

  ‘Oh, it matters, all right. Don’t you see the pattern? All right, you had a few odd phone calls before, as you said, it happens in the city. But I’ll bet they only started to get unpleasant when Soame appeared on the scene.’

  ‘Not at all—’ But her voice was hesitant.

  He pounced. ‘Ah, I am right, then. You must have mentioned the silent calls at some point in your first conversation with him. Did you?’

  ‘I don’t think so. I don’t remember, to be honest.’ He was talking so fast he was confusing her.

  ‘You must have, and it probably gave him the idea. I bet he wasn’t in the house when the threatening calls came, was he?’

  ‘No, but —’

  ‘I knew it. Don’t you see? He probably wants to frighten you, to make you dependent on him and get some kind of hold on you.’ His expression was almost gleeful.

  ‘Richard. What on earth is the matter with you?’ Tess stared at him. ‘John Soame is a quiet, simple man. When you meet him you’ll see that all this is just nonsense.’

  They glared at one another across the sink.

  When Richard spoke again, his voice was icy. ‘I have met him, as it happens, and he was neither quiet nor simple. I was greeted first by your loony housekeeper, and then by this Soame, who was prancing around Max’s bed with a twisted coathanger, pretending to be a swordsman.’

  Tess grinned. ‘Wish I’d seen that.’

  ‘It was not edifying – and the boy was far too excited. He’s supposed to be convalescent, isn’t he? That kind of thing could easily affect his heart.’

  ‘What kind of thing?’

  ‘Laughing, getting excited, talking too much. If you ask me —’

  ‘I didn’t.’

  ‘— Soame is bad for the boy. I talked to him for ten minutes, and he struck me as very odd indeed.’

  ‘He’s shy—’

  ‘Shy a few marbles.’

  Tess glared at him. ‘Do you think I am a complete cretin?’ ‘Well, of course not, but—’

  ‘Then why do you insist on questioning everything I do where Max is concerned? He’s my son, not yours.’

  ‘But I am a legal co-guardian,’ Richard reminded her. ‘Roger trusted me to look after Max’s interests. He must have had a reason for that.’

  She turned away. ‘Roger had a false image of me that he’d built up in his own mind. Perhaps it was my fault for letting him think I was the clinging, dependent wife – it seemed so important to him. But it was not a true image, Richard, and I think you know it. I am not a fool, and I would never do anything to endanger my son.’

  ‘Not consciously, no. But you’re too trusting. You always believe the best of people—’

  ‘And you always believe the worst,’ she interrupted.

  ‘I’ve had good cause,’ he snapped. ‘I came up from poverty, Tess. The real, grinding thing, with a father broken by unemployment and a mother driven into a mental ward by despair. It wasn’t an easy climb for me, and I encountered some real bastards on the way. I learned how to recognize them, and I learned how to de
al with them. They don’t always wear their colours on their sleeves, but the signs are there if you know what to look for.’

  ‘Especially if you want to find them.’

  His expression became bleak, and he seemed genuinely wounded by her flare of anger and resentment. ‘I’m sorry, Tess, I really am. But I intend to make it my business to find out more about Soame, since you won’t.’

  She put down the tiles, and brushed the reddish dust from her hands. ‘You may do what you like, I am sure you’ll find nothing wrong.’

  He stood watching her. When he eventually spoke, his voice was soft. ‘Oh, Tess, I don’t want to quarrel about this. I want to marry you, remember? I want to look after you.’

  Tess was unconvinced. She glared at him above crossed arms. ‘Well, you’re going the wrong way about it. Anyway, since you’re usually in Amsterdam or Paris or Nigeria or America or God knows where, doing deals, I don’t see how you could find time to work a wedding into your schedule.’

  Richard’s face brightened – he had only heard the words, not the tone. ‘Just give me a date, Tess, any date,’ he said, eagerly.

  ‘Miz Leland?’ It was Ernie Flowers, one of the workmen. He’d often done renovations for Adrian’s firm and knew something of her requirements. ‘We found this under the moulding in the upstairs hall,’ he said, holding out a long thin scrap of paper. ‘I reckon it’s the original wallpaper.’

  Tess took it from him, grateful for the distraction. ‘Red. I knew it! And not flocked, either. Thanks, Ernie.’

  ‘That’s okay.’ Ernie eyed Richard doubtfully. ‘Anything else you want, just call out. I’m not far away.’ He wandered out into the hall, slowly, whistling under his breath.

  ‘You don’t seem to lack for protectors,’ Richard said in a thin voice.

  She looked at him. ‘Some are more welcome than others,’ she replied evenly.

  He went over to the bay window and stared out into the unkempt rear garden. ‘Did you tell Max about the calls?’ he asked, after a moment.

  Tess stared at him in surprise. ‘No, of course I didn’t. He’s still very weak, and I refuse to upset him in any way. That includes not telling him about stupid threatening phone calls or any other problems of any kind. The doctor said he must have rest, and rest he shall have.’

  He turned on her, his voice harsh. ‘Then it must be Soame who has turned him against me.’

  ‘Why on earth would he do that?’ she asked, astonished.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said, bleakly. ‘But when I saw Max this morning he was very distant, almost cold. Max and I were good friends before your precious “lodger” came along. Now I can see I am going to be systematically shut out.’

  ‘Oh, Richard, that isn’t true.’

  He jammed his hands in his pockets and scowled at her. She’d never seen him untidy or upset before – not even when Roger died. It gave him a new dimension, somehow. Controlled, careful Richard Hendricks apparently had a weakness – and it was for her. All the dinners and the attentions she had thought mere kindness were apparently much more, otherwise why was he so angry, so hurt? She was annoyed by his anger, and even more annoyed to discover she was excited by it. It made her feel foolishly valuable – with the accent on foolish, she told herself, abruptly.

  ‘Richard—’ she began, in a gentle voice.

  He interrupted, glancing towards the shadow of Ernie Flowers, who was ostentatiously lingering nearby. ‘Why don’t we finish this over dinner tonight? Is eight o’clock still all right?’

  ‘Oh. Oh, dear.’ She felt herself flushing, and looked down at the floor. Presumably this was some previous arrangement, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember making it with him. When she looked up again, his expression was wary, as if he knew from the set of her shoulders exactly what she was going to say. But she had no choice. ‘I’m sorry, Richard, I hadn’t realized that was a firm date. As I hadn’t heard from you I’m afraid I’ve made other plans. You see, John felt we ought to have a working dinner . . . ’

  Richard Hendricks’ face went white. ‘I see very clearly.’

  ‘Well, Max is getting better, and his lessons have to be organized—’

  ‘I don’t think it’s only Max who needs lessons, Tess. I think you have a lot to learn about people, and how foolish it is to take them on face value. Well, I wish you both luck in your education. Perhaps, when you find out more about this Soame – as I firmly intend to do – you’ll ring me and admit you were wrong. Until then, I leave you in charge of your life, since that seems to mean so much to you. I hope you – and Max – don’t have reason to regret it.’

  THIRTEEN

  Tess stared after Richard Hendricks’ retreating figure with resentment. His outburst was simply wounded vanity, the lion growls of a self-appointed king of the jungle who’d got a thorn in his paw through grasping the wrong end of the stick. Of course, she would pay no attention to it, none at all. It was outrageous to suggest that there was anything sinister about John Soame.

  Wasn’t it?

  And Richard Hendricks was a jealous, possessive idiot.

  Wasn’t he?

  ‘Hey, how ya goin’?’ asked a soft Australian drawl from above her left ear.

  Startled into a sideways leap that nearly ended in a broken ankle, Tess found herself confronted by a lanky, sandy-haired man in very large suede boots. He’d appeared so suddenly and so quietly that he might have been a ghost. He was dressed in a bright brown suit that matched, almost perfectly, his bright brown eyes. He was tall, tanned, and handsome – a lad from Ipanema by way of Bondi Beach.

  ‘I’m Archie McMurdo,’ he told her, with a devastating grin. ‘And I don’t think Aunt Dolly is going to be very happy with the kitchen windows you’re putting in.’

  Ten minutes later, Tess was in the phone box on the corner. From its cat-scented confines she could see Archie McMurdo deep in conversation with Ernie Flowers, who looked less than enamoured of this new source of irritation.

  ‘But Adrian, why didn’t you tell me Mrs McMurdo was leaving London?’ Tess demanded, when she’d finally got through to her boss.

  ‘I did,’ Adrian said, absently. ‘I’m sure I did.’ He sounded preoccupied.

  ‘No, you didn’t. I just called the Savoy and they said she’d gone abroad. Where is she, may I ask? And how long will she be gone?’

  Adrian sighed heavily to convey that she was causing him pain and suffering. Again. ‘Dolly McMurdo has gone to Italy, dear Tess. She’ll be back in three months or so. She phoned me last Tuesday, I think it was. Or Wednesday.’

  ‘But how am I to get on without her?’ Tess demanded.

  ‘A great deal more easily, I should imagine,’ came the bland reply. ‘She gave you carte blanche, darling girl. Use it.’

  ‘And do I have carte blanche to deal with darling Archie, as well?’ Tess asked, drily.

  Adrian’s attention was finally caught. ‘Who?’

  ‘Archie McMurdo, Aunt Dolly’s dear nephew. He showed up here at the house a few minutes ago and said he was deputizing for her. He then proceeded to complain about absolutely everything.’ She bent slightly and peered out of the callbox. ‘In fact, he still is.’

  ‘Never heard of him,’ Adrian said. He was trying to sound breezy, but a fretful undercurrent in his voice betrayed him. ‘She gave us complete authority, my dear. In writing, if you remember, at my very cautious and obviously necessary request. Are you certain he said he was her nephew?’

  ‘Yes. He seemed to know quite a lot about her – and he showed me some letters from her.’

  ‘About the house?’

  ‘No, just personal letters. But that’s not the point, Adrian,’ Tess continued in exasperation, spacing out her words as if she were speaking to a recalcitrant six-year-old, which, in a way, he was. ‘I think you should get in touch with her and clarify the position. If he’s spea
king for her, fine, we’ll have to do our best to keep him happy. But if he’s not, I want her to say so, preferably in writing, before he drives all the workmen crazy – to say nothing of me.’

  ‘Well, I’ll do what I can, ducky.’ He sounded rather doubtful.

  ‘Thank you. In the meantime, what do you suggest?’

  There was a short pause, during which she was certain Adrian was doing something other than considering her problem. Like reading a book or filing his nails. Finally, he spoke. ‘Charm him.’

  ‘What?’ She wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.

  ‘Charm him, I said. Tell him how clever he is, and that you’ll think over everything he suggests, and perhaps when it’s all done Aunt Dolly will invite him round to see it. Bat your eyelashes, dear. Stick out your boobs. Swivel your hips.’

  ‘Unzip his fly and suggest we go upstairs?’ Tess asked, in honey and vinegar tones.

  ‘That was unworthy of you,’ Adrian clucked.

  ‘Well, so was your suggestion unworthy of you.’

  Adrian sighed – he was a world-class sigher. ‘I am absolutely certain you can manage him. Now run along and leave me to wrestle with this ghastly list of new requirements from the Sheik’s secretary. Would you believe he wants solid gold bath taps?’

  ‘Yes, Adrian, I believe it,’ Tess said, resignedly. ‘I also believe you will be shortly called to court in order to bail me out for assaulting Archie McMurdo with a deadly weapon – probably a brick.’

  She hung up on his ‘tsk-tsk’ and marched back up the street to Number Eighteen to confront Archie, who now stood alone, having been deserted by an impatient and disgusted Ernie Flowers.

  ‘Your little man seems to think he knows best,’ Archie said, with maddening insouciance.

  ‘I am sure he does,’ Tess said. ‘Unless, of course, you have a degree in architecture, structural engineering, or are a qualified surveyor?’

  He beamed down at her, but said nothing.

  ‘Well?’ She demanded. ‘Are you any of those things?’