Gifthorse: The next instalment of the riveting Marnie Walker series

by Leo McNeir

  Dominic frowned. “And that’s how she’s bringing up Maurice’s nephew, a debauched life of sex and drugs and rock’n’roll?”

  Ralph chuckled. “Absolutely not! She’s a very good mother, educating Ben at home. He’s an extremely bright boy, a gifted child, and the local school thinks he’s receiving a sound education.”

  “So they’re here, in this village?” Dominic said, looking out of the window again, as if expecting to see Willow and Ben passing in the street.

  “They have been here,” said Marnie, “but now they’ve moved on.”

  Dominic shook his head. “You make them sound like gypsies. I can’t believe it’s come to this, Maurice’s own relatives living like vagrants.”

  “Forgive me for saying this,” said Marnie, “but you seem to be very quick to judge them. I can’t say anything about David, though he hasn’t been an exemplary husband and father, but Ben is a fine boy, and Willow has done a first class job in bringing him up. Anyone would be proud of him.”

  Dominic’s expression softened to a smile. “You’re quite right, Marnie. I’m so up-tight, I’m willing to believe anything and jump to the worst conclusions imaginable.”

  “You must care very much about Maurice that you take so much trouble to find him,” said Ralph.

  Dominic nodded. “I’ve already lost my sister and her baby. It would be unforgivable to let something awful happen to my brother-in-law without doing everything I can to help him.”

  They lapsed into silence until Marnie spoke.

  “You’ve written to Maurice.”

  “Yes. I’m hoping he’ll come to collect it from the post office and I’ll see him when he does. I want to ask him to come home. He can stay with my wife and me until he feels able to cope with things.”

  “Your letter has already been delivered to Maurice,” said Marnie.

  “Already?”

  “Yes. He won’t be coming here to get it.”

  “Oh.”

  “I don’t want to pry into your affairs,” said Ralph, “but what did you ask him to do when he got your letter … phone you … write?”

  “Both of those,” said Dominic. “Or just come home.”

  “Presumably your wife is at home at the moment? She could let you know if he’s replied?”

  “Yes. She’ll phone me at once if he makes any response.”

  “And you’ve heard nothing from her?” said Marnie.

  “Nothing so far. I live in hope.” Dominic sat forward in his chair. “You know where he is, don’t you?”

  Marnie hesitated. “Roughly.”

  “But you won’t tell me.”

  “He made us promise to tell no-one,” said Ralph. “That promise still stands, I’m afraid.”

  Dominic nodded. “I respect that.” He smiled. “Maurice seems to have found two true friends in you.”

  *

  The rest of Marnie’s day did not go as she had originally planned. She and Ralph arrived back at the office to learn that Beth had rung while they were out. Marnie returned the call, feeling guilty that she had not been in touch with her sister for some while. As she pressed the buttons on the handset, she reflected that she was not nearly as dutiful a sibling as Dominic Brodie.

  “Hi, Beth. Sorry I missed you. Everything okay?”

  “Sure. I just wondered if you were still alive, or if you’d reached retirement age or anything.”

  “I know, I know. I don’t know where the time has gone. There’s just so much, you know.”

  “Yep. So much that you don’t have any time left for your big sister.”

  “Beth I –”

  “It’s all right, I’m only kidding. Anyway, I thought we could have a nice chat as it’s Saturday.”

  “Er.”

  “Don’t tell me. You’ve got to run.”

  Marnie explained about meeting Dominic Brodie and gave Beth an outline of the background to his visit.

  “And you think he thinks his brother-in-law might really …” Beth did not complete the sentence.

  “Seems that way.”

  “Do you in fact know where Maurice is hiding, Marnie?”

  “I think he’s up the Blisworth Arm. I don’t suppose he’d moor on the main line if he wanted to stay out of sight.”

  “And will you tell Dominic?”

  “No. We gave Maurice our word we’d keep his whereabouts secret. Dominic has written to him. We’ve delivered the letter. It’s up to them now.”

  “So you’re keeping out of it.”

  “Sort of.”

  “Meaning?”

  “We’ve invited Dominic to eat with us this evening. It seemed the least we could do.”

  Chapter 40

  Dominic’s Story

  On Saturday evening Ralph went up to the pub to collect Dominic Brodie in the Discovery. The field track was muddy, and it seemed a shame to soil Dominic’s shiny Lexus or his hand-lasted shoes.

  Emerging from the path through the spinney, Dominic stopped dead when he saw Sally Ann and Thyrsis at their moorings. Anne had placed candle lanterns on the roofs of both boats, and they glowed like a stage set in the dark, chilly winter air.

  “This is magic,” he exclaimed. “Beautiful. I never realised canals could be so charming.”

  While he stood at a loss for words, Anne came out onto the stern deck of Sally Ann and welcomed him aboard.

  “You have a daughter!” said Dominic. “How lovely.”

  “Not actually,” said Ralph. “Not that she isn’t lovely, but she isn’t in fact our daughter.”

  Anne held out her hand as Dominic stepped up onto the deck. “I’m Anne. I work with Marnie.”

  “And you live on the boat?”

  “No. I live over the shop. I have the attic in the office barn.”

  “That sounds delightful.”

  “It is.”

  Anne led the way through to the saloon and galley area, apologising for the cramped space. Once again Dominic was enchanted by the boat, with candles and oil lamps and delicious aromas of food hanging in the air.

  “Why did no-one tell me canalboats were so delightful? I always imagined they’d be cold and damp inside.”

  Ralph offered Dominic a seat. Both he and Marnie noticed a marked change in Dominic’s demeanour since their meeting that morning. Dominic seemed relaxed and at ease, as if with friends rather than new acquaintances. The air of anxiety that had pervaded their previous encounter had lifted.

  When Ralph poured him a glass of white Burgundy and Anne set before him half an avocado with vinaigrette, he asked if he might say a short grace. Ralph nodded. Dominic put his hands together, lowered his eyes and intoned.

  “Benedictus benedicat in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.”

  With a general murmuring around the table, Dominic raised the glass to his hosts.

  “To happy meetings and a successful outcome to my search.”

  “Your good health,” said Ralph in reply.

  During the meal Dominic plied them with questions about the boats, their work, their plans, their life in Knightly St John. While Marnie removed a salmon soufflé from the oven, Anne tossed a mixed salad with a German dressing she had learnt from Donovan that included soured cream.

  “This looks wonderful,” said Dominic, tucking in. “And you produced all this in the boat’s galley? Extraordinary.”

  “It’s not hard to be creative in a small space if you organise things properly,” said Marnie. She saw Dominic reach for his glass with a twinkle in the eye. “And there’s no need to toast me,” she added. “Just enjoy your meal.”

  Dominic chuckled. “Aye, aye skipper.”

  Marnie knew it was inevitable the conversation would turn to Maurice, but in the meantime she tried to steer it in a new direction.

  “Tell us about you, Dominic, if you don’t think I’m being nosy.”

  He shrugged. “Not much to tell, really. After leaving school I did business studies at university –”

 
; “Which one?” Ralph interrupted.

  “Warwick.”

  Ralph nodded. Dominic continued.

  “I joined a company in London and settled down to become an accountant. In the fullness of time I set up as an independent and gradually started my own firm. That’s about it.”

  “And you live in Hampstead?” said Ralph.

  “Not far from there, the borders of Highgate and East Finchley.”

  Ralph pictured in his mind the tree-lined streets of that part of north London, with each large house set back from the road, and expensive cars sitting on the drive.

  “Do you have a family?” Marnie asked.

  “Sadly, my wife and I haven’t been blessed with children.” His smile was tinged with regret. “It was not God’s will. Some things in life you just have to accept.”

  “Your family is obviously very important to you,” said Ralph.

  “That’s why we were so devastated to lose Melissa, my sister. It was unbearable.”

  “Of course.”

  “We were absolutely thrilled when she married Maurice. He was completely devoted to Melissa, and she to him. They were a perfect couple. He was a rising star in the City. She was a lovely young woman, not a classic beauty but tall and rather elegant with a ready wit. May I show you?”

  From his wallet he extracted three photos. The first showed Melissa and Maurice on their wedding day, holding hands under a bower of roses in a sunny garden.

  “This was just before they left to go on honeymoon. The other guests were still in the marquee having lunch, and I’d volunteered to drive them to the airport. You can see how happy they were.”

  Marnie made no comment, but the difference in Maurice was extraordinary. He looked as joyful as his bride, confident and full of energy. She tried not to think of the broken man with the stoop and air of defeat he was to become. She tried not to think of the tragic death that awaited the radiant bride.

  The second photo was a group shot. Dominic explained this was the family gathering to celebrate his mother’s sixtieth birthday. Melissa was seated to her mother’s right, with Maurice beside her. Again, they were holding hands. Their smiling faces told the story of a blissful marriage.

  In the third photo, a different group was sitting in a garden under a parasol. In the background, pots of red geraniums clashed with purple bougainvillea in strong sunshine. Marnie could feel the warmth emanating from the scene.

  “Is this their house in the south of France?” she asked.

  “It is. We went to stay not long after they bought it. You can see my wife and me there. The other woman is Helen, the wife of our friend, Alex Wise, who took the picture.”

  Maurice and Melissa were sitting close together at the far end of the table with their habitual smile. Maurice had his arm round his wife’s shoulders. Melissa’s head was inclined towards her husband. It was like looking into a different world.

  Marnie passed the photos to Ralph and Anne. She found them almost unbearably poignant. Glancing at Dominic she said quietly, “I can understand how much your family meant to you … means to you.”

  “Yes.” Dominic’s voice was a croak. He cleared his throat. “Yes, very precious.”

  In that moment, with his eyes misting over, Dominic reached sideways and briefly took Anne by the hand. She smiled at him as he squeezed her fingers before releasing his grip.

  “Sorry,” Dominic murmured. “This has been a very upsetting time for us.”

  “And it all started out so beautifully,” said Marnie. “Such a tragedy.”

  “Yes,” said Dominic with a sad smile. “You should have seen them in those days.”

  “I think we have had some insight,” said Ralph, handing back the photos.

  Dominic slipped them into his wallet. “It wasn’t all plain sailing by any means. It eventually came out that they’d been trying to start a family for some years without success. A friend of Melissa’s suggested they try IVF, but of course they weren’t keen to do that.”

  “Being Catholics,” Ralph suggested.

  “Yes. Then, Melissa announced that she was expecting their child and we were overjoyed. But there were complications. The surgeon warned that Melissa’s life could be in danger if the pregnancy continued. She insisted on going ahead, of course, but eventually further complications arose. Melissa was rushed to hospital and fell into a coma.”

  “So Maurice was faced with a difficult decision,” Marnie said quietly.

  “A decision he had to take alone,” Dominic said. “The surgeon advised the only chance of saving her was to have an immediate operation. Maurice didn’t want Melissa to die, so he reluctantly gave his consent.”

  “Reluctantly?” said Ralph. “I would’ve thought he’d do anything to save her.”

  “It was tantamount to an abortion,” said Dominic.

  “What happened?” Marnie asked.

  “The baby was delivered. It was very premature and died almost at once. Melissa lingered for a few days in a coma …”

  “I’m sorry,” said Marnie. “I didn’t mean to bring back all these distressing memories.”

  “You didn’t,” said Dominic. “I live with them every day.”

  Marnie took a sip of wine. Replacing the glass on the table, she said, “You’re worried more than just for Maurice’s state of mind, aren’t you?”

  Dominic looked up sharply. “Yes. I’m very much afraid someone might wish to do him serious harm.”

  “An investor?”

  “Yes. There are some very wealthy and powerful people who have reason to be angry with Maurice.”

  “You think that’s why he’s in hiding?”

  “I’m almost certain of it.”

  “Do you think he might be in hiding to protect your family?” Anne asked.

  “That’s exactly what I think. If not the sole reason, it’s probably a major part of it. That’s very perceptive of you, Anne.”

  Anne thought of Donovan, who had kept away from her and from everyone at Glebe Farm when he feared the far right were hunting for him following the death of their leader the previous year.

  Dominic turned to face Marnie and Ralph. “One thing I’ve never understood is how you came to know Maurice.”

  “That’s not an easy question to answer,” said Marnie.

  “No?”

  “Not really,” Ralph added. “We can’t explain that without breaking his confidence.”

  “And you still don’t feel able to talk about where he’s hiding?” said Dominic.

  “A promise is a promise,” said Marnie.

  “But now that you know the full facts about his situation?” Dominic looked hopeful for a few seconds, but his expression changed. “No. Of course I can’t expect – I wouldn’t expect – you to reveal what he asked you to keep secret. But could you at least let him know how we feel about him?”

  *

  That night Marnie slept badly. Early in the morning when the sky was still dark, she crept out of bed and went along to the galley to make a cup of tea. It was impossible to get Maurice out of her head. She and Ralph had promised to tell Maurice that his brother-in-law was worried for his safety and wanted him to go and stay with them in London until his health improved. Her mind was in turmoil.

  How do you do it? How do you get yourself involved like this, Marnie? How do you manage to get embroiled in other people’s lives?

  She took the cap off the kettle to prevent it from whistling and disturbing Ralph. Pushing the door to make sure it was firmly shut, she felt resistance. When she let go, it swung open and Ralph looked in.

  “I hope you’ve got enough water in there for me to have a cuppa,” he said. He kissed Marnie on the lips in passing and sat at the table. “What are we going to do about it?”

  “I normally have mine with milk and no sugar,” Marnie replied with a straight face.

  Ralph looked at her steadily.

  “Sorry,” she said with a wan smile. “I suppose we should go to Blisworth, find Mau
rice and deliver Dominic’s message.”

  *

  It was a wintry Sunday morning, overcast with the threat of rain, when Marnie gunned the Discovery up the field track. Behind her, Anne followed in the red Mini. Halfway up the high street, Anne stopped and reversed onto the drive of a cottage that was up for sale and had been empty for some months. Through straggling shrubs in the front garden she could observe the pub without being seen. If any vehicle left the car park to follow Marnie, Anne would know it.

  It took Marnie less than twenty minutes to reach Gayton Junction where the Blisworth Arm joined the Grand Union main line. She parked on a grass verge and walked briskly past a row of cottages towards the bridge where she could access the towpath.

  Beyond the boatyard was a secluded section of the network before the long flight of locks leading down towards Northampton in the distance, an ideal location for tying up out of sight.

  Although Marnie had not actually visited Maurice and was not entirely sure what his boat looked like, she knew roughly where it would lie and that somehow she would know it when she saw it. She passed no-one on the towpath and saw no activity in the boat centre. The whole country seemed to be having a lie-in.

  Then, a distant sound reached her ears. Marnie inclined her head and listened. From far off she could hear church bells ringing. Someone was abroad on that bleak morning. She set off again at a steady pace. Ahead of her the canal curved to the left, overhung by trees. Somewhere in the next hundred metres or so, she would find him.

  *

  Anne sat patiently keeping watch from her vantage point. No-one was likely to see her there, but she could watch every movement in the high street down to The Two Roses and beyond. She had brought a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. Marnie and Ralph had laughed when they saw it, but now she slipped it behind her back, grateful for its comforting warmth. She could stave off the cold without running the car’s engine.

  By now, the village was coming to life and a few cars had passed her, heading in the direction of the church. She recognised one of them as Angela Hemingway’s Escort. Minutes later the first peel of bells rang out.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by another ringing. She picked up the mobile from the seat beside her and pressed the green button.