The Devil in Disguise

by Martin Edwards

  ‘We all need to move on,’ Kim said quietly. ‘Speaking of which, I suppose we’d better grab a table. Those people over there look as if they are about to leave. Nice to meet you, Juliet. Harry, I meant to call you to say I’ve arranged an early handover with Windaybanks. I report to MOJO headquarters next Monday morning at nine.’

  ‘So quick?’

  ‘I’ll be coming back here a couple of days a week to start with, so that I can help out with any of the problem files that Quentin Pike is taking over. But the plan is that I’ll be full-time in my new job very soon.’

  ‘We can’t wait for her to start,’ Jethro Wood confirmed.

  ‘Good luck, then. I hope you’ll keep in touch.’

  ‘I promised, didn’t I?’ She glanced at Juliet. ‘But I guess I’ll be pretty busy for a while.’

  He nodded. ‘Of course you will.’

  She turned to go, then looked back over her shoulder. ‘By the way, I gather that it’s all still happening at the Kavanaugh Trust.’

  Harry managed a grin. ‘The number of angels in that quarter is diminishing rapidly. Even the toffee-nosed benefactor turned out to be a conman.’

  ‘And the word on the grapevine at court is that the treasurer who took an overdose may have killed the chairman.’

  ‘It’s a theory that suits everyone. It closes all the files.’

  ‘You sound doubtful.’

  Juliet smiled. ‘I don’t think Harry likes easy explanations.’

  ‘When the police settle for an easy explanation, the end result is often a miscarriage of justice,’ he said.

  ‘If you’re casting round for alternative suspects,’ Kim said, ‘take a tip from me. Tim Aldred didn’t kill Luke Dessaur.’

  ‘You must admit, he has the track record.’

  She shook her head. ‘You’re the last person to fall for another easy explanation, Harry. Tim is a good man, I’ve always been convinced of it.’

  Jethro Wood had begun to shift from one foot to another. As the waiter arrived with the coffee, he said, ‘That table’s free now. We’d better stake our claim.’

  Kim turned to Juliet and said, ‘Harry simply can’t resist a mystery. Once he’s hooked, he never lets go. You’ll need to keep your eye on him.’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry,’ Juliet said with a sweet and, Harry sensed, deliberately provocative smile. ‘I’ll do that.’

  When they were alone again, she asked, ‘Am I right in guessing that Kim is an old flame?’

  He finished his wine. ‘Sort of.’

  ‘Nice-looking. You have good taste.’

  ‘You say that after seeing the colour scheme in my office?’

  She laughed. ‘Sorry, I realise I shouldn’t pry into your private life. You see, we share at least one vice in common. Insatiable curiosity. I simply can’t help it.’

  Now it was his turn to pour. After taking another drink, he said softly, ‘So you won’t mind if I indulge in a spot of vice too?’

  ‘Be my guest.’

  ‘How did you manage to come by that bruise on your cheek?’

  She bit her lip. ‘An accident.’

  ‘I see a lot of women who have similar accidents.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t deny that Casper likes to give me a beating,’ she said, with a sudden flash of bravado. ‘The accident was that I let him make contact. Over the past few years, I’ve developed a better body swerve than half the footballers in the Premier League.’

  He stared at her defiant expression and realised how little he knew about her. ‘What happened?’

  ‘He was careless. I found a letter from his latest lady friend in his jacket pocket. He decided attack was the best form of defence and accused me of being a snoop.’

  ‘You don’t have to put up with violence. Not in this day and age.’ And not, he almost added, with your kind of money. There was no way Juliet May would finish up in a refuge or hostel.

  ‘Oh believe me, Harry, I know that. I stay through an act of free will.’

  ‘Are you afraid of him?’

  She considered. ‘Not often. And you mustn’t get the wrong idea. This sort of thing’ - she gestured to her cheek - ‘doesn’t happen often. Usually he turns his anger on other people. I’m only the last resort.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘I don’t expect you to. I’m not sure I do myself. But none of us are rational all the time, Harry. We don’t do the sensible thing. Wouldn’t life be simpler if we did? But wouldn’t it also be infinitely more boring.’

  ‘You like that sort of thing?’ he asked incredulously.

  ‘No, I’m not a masochist. At least I don’t think I am. The truth’s more complicated than that. For all his faults, Casper is the most exciting man I’ve ever met. He’s wild and dangerous, but he can be witty and charming.’ She smiled. ‘And when the black clouds lift, he swears it will never happen again. Of course logic tells me it will, but somehow I keep hoping things will change. I’m sorry to sound like something out of a women’s magazine, but it’s the way things are between us. He turns me on. Your friend Kim is lovely but she strikes me as a battle-hardened feminist. She would tell me that I should be ashamed of myself, that I’m a traitor to the cause of women. But I can’t help it.’

  ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘It’s none of my business.’

  ‘But I can tell from your face you think I’m crazy to stay with him.’

  ‘If you want a blunt answer, then yes, I do.’

  She emptied her glass. ‘And if you want me to be honest with you, then all I can say is that each time Casper and I have reconciliation sex, it’s the best I’ve ever known.’

  Horrified, he stared at her. Her expression was defiant rather than teasing. For a few seconds neither of them spoke. The bleeping of a telephone broke the deadlock. Juliet blushed and pulled a mobile from her bag.

  ‘Inge? Well, it’s not perfect timing, but of course I’m glad to hear from you...’ Her face darkened. ‘You’re not serious? After everything that’s happened? Have you taken leave of your senses? Only yesterday you were saying...’

  Harry could tell from her face that the phone had been put down at the other end. She swore vividly and banged the mobile down on the table.

  ‘What’s happened?’

  Juliet gazed at the heavens. ‘Perhaps I should be the last one to criticise. You’re going to think that every woman prefers pain to pleasure.’

  ‘What did she say?’

  ‘Only that she and Gary Cullinan have got it together again.’

  Chapter 20

  ‘I’d like to think that something good will come out of all of this,’ Gary Cullinan said.

  His tone was sober and he was holding Inge Frontzeck’s hand as tenderly as if it were a fragile piece of china. The couple were sitting together on the sofa in the Caldy flat. Every now and then they gazed into each other’s eyes. The air was heavy with the scent from a huge bunch of roses in a vase on the table. For Harry, there was an even greater risk of throwing up over the carpet than when he’d had a skinful on his last visit here.

  ‘I’m sure it will, darling,’ Inge said. Her head was on his shoulder. ‘Our love has been tested. And we’ve found that it’s stronger than ever.’

  ‘I don’t deserve you,’ Gary said. ‘And what’s more, I’m quite certain Harry agrees with me.’

  Harry writhed in his chair and thought: For once in your life, you’re telling no more than the truth.

  Inge turned to him and said, ‘You saw how distressed I was when you and Frances told me about your discussion with the journalist. Of course, it was a great shock. But I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I only cared for Gary because of his pedigree. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was the man I loved, not the family name. What upset me was the thought that I migh
t have lost him. When Gary called me and begged me at least to give him the chance to explain, how could I say no?’

  Gary stretched his legs out in front of him. The creases in his trousers were as sharp as ever; his shoes still shone as though a valet had spent half the night polishing them. ‘I told her that I didn’t expect her to take me back. How could I? I’d been living a lie. The truth is, that’s what I’ve been doing for most of my life. Inge’s a wealthy young woman, I thought she was bound to believe that my love for her was about as phoney as my identity as a well-born financial consultant.’

  ‘But your doubts were overcome?’ Harry asked.

  ‘It only took a few minutes,’ Inge said. ‘I needed to hear everything from his own lips. Once I’d done that, all I had to do was decide whether I trusted my own judgment in Gary’s character.’ A pause, accompanied by a soft smile. ‘It wasn’t the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to take in my life, Harry, hard as you may find that to understand.’

  ‘I find plenty of things hard to understand,’ Harry said. Like lust for reconciliation sex with a man who has beaten you up. He’d parted from Juliet an hour earlier, still mystified by her willingness to tolerate brutality. He knew that if he had any sense he would make an excuse and not see her again. But where women were concerned, he never had any sense. ‘Mind you, I have to admit it’s a good story. I hope Reeve is paying you well.’

  ‘Money isn’t the main consideration,’ Gary Cullinan said. It was rather, Harry thought, like a politician saying there was more to life than votes. ‘We have to be realistic. The cat is out of the bag so far as my impersonation of poor Matthew Cullinan is concerned. This fellow Reeve is obviously determined to spill as much ink as he can over the story. He’s even dug up some lad who went to the same school as me, someone I can barely remember. We may as well take the opportunity to put our side of the story. Stop misinformation being put about by the Press.’

  He spoke as if committed to providing a public service. Perhaps one day a career in Parliament would beckon: he had the requisite chutzpah. It made Harry’s flesh prickle and in any other circumstances he would have left by now, unable to bear any more of it. But there was still the chance that Gary Cullinan might help him to make sense of the puzzle surrounding the deaths of Luke and Roy.

  ‘So you’ve given them your life story?’ Harry reflected that Davey Damnation might be knocked off the front page any moment now.

  ‘It sounds very grand when you put it like that,’ Gary said in a self-deprecating tone. ‘Really, I’d be the first to admit that there’s plenty in my life to be ashamed of. Right from the start. I’m illegitimate, as it happens. Cullinan was my mother’s maiden name. I never knew my father.’

  ‘Who can tell?’ Inge said with a smile. ‘For all any of us knows, your father might have been a peer of the realm. Someone with a guilty secret who didn’t dare to acknowledge your birth.’

  Gary smirked. ‘That would be a nice twist, wouldn’t it? One thing’s for sure, though, my dad never provided for either my mother or me. We lived in Birkenhead, near the old shipyard. Money was always short and Mum fell foul of the law. There was a business about some forged cheques - she had to go away. I was brought up by an elderly aunt, thinking that my mother was some glamorous gangster on the run. The truth was rather more prosaic. She was doing time.’

  Inge squeezed his hand. ‘It must have been dreadful for you.’

  ‘I won’t pretend life was easy. Of course, I dreamed that when I grew up, I’d make a fortune and look after my mother. She died before I had a chance to make the fantasy come true. I was only nine years old. I suppose after that, one thing led to another. I mixed with bad company.’

  Over the years Harry had acted for many clients whose misfortune had been to fall in with a bad crowd. One of these days, perhaps he would meet someone who admitted to being the bad crowd’s moving spirit, rather than one of its luckless victims. He said, ‘So you got into trouble with the police?’

  ‘Nothing too serious,’ Gary said with a grin. ‘I soon learned how to talk my way out of a tight corner. But eventually I decided that it was time for me to leave Merseyside. Seek my fortune elsewhere, so to speak. I wanted to make it big. Learn how to talk nicely, behave like the rich people I saw on the telly. I must have been all of fifteen.’

  ‘Didn’t you say you sold cars for a living?’ Inge asked. It was clear that she admired his enterprise, his determination to better himself.

  Gary gave a careless wave of the hand. ‘Cars, office equipment, property. You name it. I went to Spain for a while and bought a share in a bar with an expat. For a time we did very well out of it. When things went sour, I came back to this country. I still hadn’t found my niche, but I met a chap who had a financial services business. He needed a salesman and we joined forces. Some of the clients were high net worth folk. One was a blue-rinsed lady who was especially well-connected. She leapt to the conclusion that I was one of the Cullinans and I’m afraid I did nothing to disabuse her.’

  ‘You are a terrible man,’ Inge said fondly.

  ‘I must admit I found it enormously entertaining that she thought that I was one of Lord Gralam’s sons. So much so that I decided to check out the family. When I realised quite how rich they were, I started to think: wouldn’t it be nice if I really were one of the Cullinans. It wasn’t such a big leap to turn the idea into reality. I discovered that Matthew had departed for Madras. I fancied working for myself rather than making pots of money for someone else. So I decided to return to my home ground - not as Gary the likely lad, but as Matthew, the wealthy and respectable financial services guru. And you know what?’

  ‘Go on,’ Harry said.

  ‘I could never call myself a wizard on investment business. I find it hard enough to pick a winner in a one-horse race. But people didn’t seem to care. As long as they believed they were dealing with the son of Lord Gralam, they were happy to accept anything I said as gospel.’

  ‘As Luke Dessaur did.’

  ‘Exactly. It was amazing.’

  ‘Perhaps,’ Harry said slowly, ‘Luke was more naïve than any of us realised.’

  ‘I think so. When he invited me on to the board, I felt I could hardly say no. That’s been my problem over the years, I guess. Like mother, like son. Neither of us were ever able to resist temptation.’

  He stretched out an arm and began to stroke Inge’s hair. ‘And then a funny thing happened, Harry. I met Inge at a cocktail party - and I fell in love. But by then I was trapped. I was introduced to her as the honourable Matthew Cullinan. What could I do?’

  ‘He thought I would drop him like a hot potato if I knew the truth,’ Inge said. She gave Gary a gentle punch in the stomach. ‘You should have had more faith in me, darling. It was you I was interested in, not your family background.’

  ‘But I was afraid you would assume I was on the make, simply after your money. Let’s face it, your father still does think precisely that.’

  ‘He’ll come round,’ she said. ‘He only wants the best for me. Once he sees that you give me everything I need, he’ll share our happiness.’

  Gary beamed. ‘I must say, Harry, it’s really a tremendous relief that the truth has come out. Even though I took fright when I first took the call from Desmond Reeve. And your fellow solicitor, Reuben Fingall, is a damned fine lawyer. I could tell the police were nervous of him. And when

  I explained you acted for the Trust, he said how glad he was.’

  Harry frowned. Such a compliment from Ruby was akin to a cannibal’s expression of goodwill towards a missionary. ‘What about the missing money?’

  ‘Reuben said he was confident you would advise Frances Silverwood to take a reasonable view,’ Gary said smoothly. ‘Let’s face it, the publicity would do no-one any good. Besides, the money will be repaid within the next forty-eight hours.’

 
‘And where is it coming from, may I ask?’

  ‘Harry, please,’ Inge said. ‘Don’t look stern. It doesn’t suit you. Can’t you forget you’re a solicitor and remember you’re a human being.’

  ‘The two aren’t always mutually exclusive.’

  ‘If it matters,’ she said, ‘the money will be coming from me. Together with the appropriate amount of interest. I will let Ms Silverwood have my cheque. In addition, I plan to make a personal donation. I had it in mind when we were at the Pool Theatre. The Trust obviously does a great deal for the arts in Liverpool. I’m keen to give it every possible support.’

  ‘I don’t want you to think I’m simply content to let Inge buy me out of trouble,’ Gary said. ‘We’ve argued about this for hours.’

  ‘But I insisted,’ she said. ‘He needs to make a fresh start. We plan to start our married life with a clean sheet.’

  ‘So the engagement is on?’ Harry asked heavily.

  ‘We plan to get married as soon as possible. This business - strangely enough, it has brought us even closer together.’

  Gary said, ‘What doesn’t destroy you, makes you stronger.’ Harry reflected that the journalists would love his mastery of the confession-story cliché.

  ‘So I hope that the Trust won’t press charges,’ Inge said.

  ‘It’s not up to them,’ Harry said. ‘It’s a decision for the prosecution service.’

  ‘But you will urge Frances Silverwood not to be vindictive? I gather that she and Gary have never hit it off.’

  ‘I’ve always regarded her as a fair-minded woman.’

  ‘Spoken like a lawyer, if I may say so. Very careful. The important thing, surely, is that the Trust will not be out of pocket. On the contrary. And I gather there is a prospect of funds from the Kavanaugh estate.’

  In the background, Debussy was playing on the hi-fi. At least things could have been worse: Gary might have chosen something else by Gervase Kavanaugh. Harry said, ‘Vera Blackhurst’s solicitor has confirmed that she’s willing to agree a reasonable deal.’