by Alp Mortal
“Here goes!”
At the office, Hannah merely strode in and waved her hand at security in that terribly dismissive fashion of Loretta’s in response to the expected greeting - well, she did own the building! Hannah took the elevator and exited into the outer reception area and strode confidently to the office door to find David sat as his desk with the receptionist at his side, standing a little too close.
“Loretta!”
“David; I just wanted to tell you that I forgive you unconditionally over the discrepancies with the German contract; go and tell Douglas everything and I’ll pay the penalties …”
“You will?”
“Of course, darling; we can’t have this hanging over our heads - must run, see you later!”
Hannah turned and strode out, taking the stairs so that she didn’t have to wait for the elevator and risk getting waylaid.
Oh to be a fly on the wall!
Hannah marched through reception and out into the street, grabbing a cab as soon as possible, giving the address of the antique shop where she’d bought the music. Hannah assumed that the shop owner would know of Loretta but would probably not have seen her up close.
The cab dropped her off.
“Good morning, Mrs. Colton!” said the owner, “Was the gift well received?”
“Shit!” said Hannah to herself but kept calm.
“Francine absolutely loved it; I’m looking for something similar …”
“I have another glass thimble but not quite in that league; probably a copy. It’s Eighteenth Century, but as you will see, the rose is painted onto the surface and not encased in the glass itself.”
“Please show me!” Hannah demanded with the all too familiar mania.
He fetched it and placed it in her gloved palm.
“I’ll take it!”
“I’ll box it and get the receipt written out, cash or card, Mrs. Colton?”
“Cash …”
Hannah handed over the thirteen hundred dollars and within a couple of minutes, had the thimble and a receipt bearing Loretta’s name and address.
“Thank you so much!”
“A little bird tells me you have a new playing partner …”
Hannah assumed he meant the harpsichord.
“Hush; no one must know until the unveiling at the gala,” she whispered.
“Right you are; is it the Nightingale?”
Hannah just smiled and left.
Dressed as Valerie, she went to see Francine on the pretence of giving Dominic the music to practice and to see how far the pigeons had flown.
“Valerie! What a lovely surprise,” exclaimed Francine, “Come in …”
“Thank you; I’ve finalized the piece for the gala and I wanted Dominic to have it to practise …”
She handed over the score.
“Dominic has told us about your idea to get a group together to go to the launch of the Space Shuttle …”
“I know he’s very keen to go, and it would seem to make for the perfect start to the holidays; do you think it would work?”
“He’s asking around to his friends to see who else is interested, and I said to Charles that it would be a splendid way of rewarding him for his hard work over the gala thing.”
“Excellent! After the launch, we can get him on the flight to Mexico, and I’ll be well-placed to get my flight back to the UK.”
“You’re heading back?”
“Yes; my mother is going into hospital and my father asked me to return so that I can be there to help when she comes out.”
“Nothing serious I hope.”
“Hysterectomy.”
“Ah …”
“May I see the thimble now that it’s in its rightful place?” asked Hannah.
“Of course, my dear …”
She was escorted back up to the landing where the cabinets were housed, and Francine made a beeline for the case where the glass thimble now sat on a black velvet cushion, occupying a shelf all by itself.
“Just beautiful,” cooed Hannah.
“Loretta was very generous this year; I guess because it was my fortieth. The trip to Mexico was her idea too; we’re all fascinated by the Mayan temples, and Charles has promised me a week on the beach after the “archaeological” bit …”
“When do you leave exactly?”
“The morning of the second day after the gala …”
“That is the day of the launch and I think the launch is in the afternoon. I could get Dominic on the next available flight on the morning afterwards so he’ll only be one day later than you.”
“It’ll work out perfectly … Did you do the translation work for David?”
“Oh yes - within the first week; it was pretty straightforward. I did them quickly because he said there were some questions that needed to be answered; not that he was specific but it sounded urgent …”
“Quite so … Would you like some tea or do you have to run?”
“Unfortunately I have to run; I’ll see you soon.”
Hannah left and interpreted the question over the contracts as a sign that Francine knew something but nothing specific; it was probably too early for David to have returned home and for he and Loretta to have had their conversation. Hannah was sure that once they had, the whole of the neighborhood would know that there was a problem with the contracts!
Chapter Ten – Revelations
It happened like this; David went to see the company lawyer - Douglas - and told him everything.
“And Loretta will pay the penalties?”
“That’s what she said earlier; I’m on my way home now to give her a full report.”
“The penalties amount to a staggering ten million dollars.”
“Yes; I know …”
Feeling a little ashamed of himself but better for having told Douglas everything, he went home fully expecting to have the perfect evening with Loretta who had been quite cold of late.
In the meantime, Douglas phoned Loretta and gave her the news about the penalties.
“Douglas; I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about; I haven’t been to the office today.”
Douglas recounted the whole episode. She was left stunned, and remained immobilized until David walked in.
“Loretta; what’s wrong?” he asked, genuinely concerned.
“Douglas just called and told me the strangest thing; I have no recollection of visiting the office today yet I did; neither do I recall knowing anything about the problems with the German contracts but apparently I know everything and have sworn to pay the penalties of ten million dollars.”
“You were there; at the door to the office and after you told me that you knew about the problems and would pay the costs, you left very quickly. I didn’t have time to catch you before you’d disappeared; did you take your pills?”
“I’m sure I did; but if this is all true then how did I find out about the problems with the contracts because for certain YOU DIDN’T TELL ME!”
“Loretta, please; calm down!”
She didn’t calm down and in the end, she threw him out.
“I’LL PAY THOSE COSTS, DAVID; IT’LL BE YOUR DIVORCE SETTLEMENT. YOU’LL NOT GET ONE CENT MORE FROM ME!”
He went to see Charles but this was after Hannah had called on Francine. He spoke confidentially to Charles, who of course, told Francine, who went straight round to see Loretta, who was gaily ripping her husband’s wardrobe to shreds.
This was exactly the kind of distraction that Hannah was hoping for; not that she found out for some days, and it was only when Dominic said that the Colton’s weren’t now going to Mexico.
“Oh, what a pity! What happened to make them change their minds?”
“They’re getting a divorce; I heard mom say so to dad.”
“Really? How dreadfully upsetting …”
“But we’re still going and I can definitely go to the launch if you’ll come with me and make sure I get the plane the next day to Mexico.”
&n
bsp; “Of course; we’ll make all the arrangements the next time I see your parents.”
“Did you get the new speakers and see about the casing?”
“I did!”
By the time he left, the sound of the instrument was getting pretty close to what Hannah wanted but the final adjustments would have to wait until the casing was ready and that was still another whole month away.
That evening she spent a good part of it filing the key blank she had purchased so that it matched up to the impression of Dominic’s door key that she had taken whilst he’d had his head in the electronic guts of the synthesizer. Happy with her progress on that front, she started to go through the sheet music she had bought at the antique shop.
“Oh, Hannah!”
Chapter Eleven – Ten thousand dollars later
Ten thousand dollars was going to be the eventual cost of the restoration but for that Hannah was getting a faithful copy of the Nightingale. The two thousand dollars that David had given her had paid for the synthesizer and the travel trolley.
“So far so good …” was her own assessment.
She and Dominic debuted the piece on the synthesizer, which she took over to his house in a make-shift casing, and his parents were delighted. So much so that the objections over his own project of building a computer were fairly well quashed.
“You have a way with children, Valerie,” said Francine, “Are you planning to have a family of your own?”
“Someday; when I meet the right one.”
“Loretta is feeling unwell and it looks likely that she and David will not be joining us in Mexico.”
“But that’s not for another two months; won’t she have recovered by then?”
Francine said nothing and just gave her that look that said “it is going to take a very long time …”
“I’ll pop in and see her,” ventured Hannah.
“Yes; do that …”
Hannah did, and found the spent shell that was once Loretta.
“Oh, Valerie … how nice of you to call,” she managed.
“Francine said you were feeling unwell and I wondered if there was anything I could do for you.”
“Such a thoughtful girl; perhaps I could ask you to play at the gala - my duet with Dominic; I feel sure that I won’t be up to it.”
“Of course; but that’s still two months away, Loretta; I’m sure you’ll have recovered your strength by then … Where’s David?”
Hannah got it all through the agonized and bitter sobs.
“What will people say when they find out?”
“No one need know, Loretta; Charles and Francine won’t say anything and I’m sure I won’t …”
“Everyone has expected it for years but you know, I really thought that as we got older, we’d work it all out.”
“Perhaps you just need a break; to shed new light on things. Do you think you can forgive him?”
“No; it’s just been one lie after another, and I’m partly to blame … spoiling him because I couldn’t give him a child. I’m thinking of moving back to Rhode Island; it’s where I grew up.”
“Don’t cut yourself off from your friends, Loretta; take a break but don’t run away. We’re all here to support you.”
Hannah didn’t know where the well of sympathy had sprung from but Loretta cast such a pathetic figure that even she found it hard not to feel some of the pain, and that was not out of guilt for having been the instigator.
“It worries me that I can’t remember going to the office that day. The doctor says I’ve blanked it out; probably due to the rage of finding out about the contract … and God knows how I found out about that. I suppose I should be grateful I did; paying the penalties has prevented a very messy legal battle. I would have paid the costs if he’d told me sooner; like I always have …”
“Then it sounds like it was time for things to move on, Loretta; a fresh start for you both. There is still so much you could do …”
“A little old to embark on a concert tour, don’t you think?”
“Nonsense, and it sounds like just the tonic. Take Dominic with you; it’ll be the making of him and it’ll kick start your own renaissance.”
“You say some very wise things for a young woman, Valerie …”
Was all Loretta said, and Hannah left to pay Jonas one last visit before the casing was due to be delivered.
“It’s perfect, Jonas; when can I collect it?”
“The end of the week, Frau Bohm.”
“Excellent! And the Nightingale looks positively ethereal.”
“Over three hundred years old and it looks like it did the day it left Zenti’s workshop.”
“Mrs. Colton will be delighted I’m sure … especially in light of her current troubles … How much do I owe you, Jonas?”
“Another five thousand dollars, Frau Bohm.”
“I’ll have a draft for you on Friday when I collect it.”
Chapter Twelve – Could it have turned out any better?
On the Friday of that week, two months after delivering the wreck to Jonas, Hannah collected her harpsichord. She declined the offer for the workshop to deliver it because she didn’t want them to know where she lived. She used the travel trolley and by removing the slender legs and stowing it all in the trolley, it was just possible for her to move it by herself. The trolley was end up so it looked like a travel case for a harp. Thankfully she only had a harpsichord casing to transport, and that was so much lighter but even she couldn’t actually lift it.
She finally managed to get it home with the help of the cab driver and she installed the synthesizer and then tested it to see what effect the old wood had on the sound. In her view, it was an eighty/twenty result but good enough to fool most people who wouldn’t have actually heard a harpsichord played live before. The electronic cable exited from the base of the casing and was hidden for the most part by one of the legs.
“Excellent!”
When Dominic came over, he was enthralled and he played the gala piece of music on it and they both agreed it was as good as they were going to get. She gave him the rudiments of the computer he wanted to build; a box of components that she judged was a fair exchange for his future part in her subterfuge.
A month remained before the Nightingale would be ready and there was precious little to do except study of course and teach the occasional music lesson. As a test of her handicraft, she swapped the key she had made for Dominic’s own; nothing happened so she assumed it worked, and now she had the means to gain entry to the house.
She re-visited the antique shop in the guise of Anna Bohm and confirmed the delivery date for the harpsichord. The owner was delighted to inform her that he had a buyer lined up, for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, fully restored.
“There is a warehouse near the airport where the piece should be delivered,” he confirmed.
“The piece will be delivered to this shop at noon on that day in exchange for an untraceable bearer bond for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars …”
“I don’t want it seen here.”
“I am not taking it to a deserted warehouse.”
“If someone sees it come into the shop then when the theft is reported, the police will come straight here.”
“Who said it was stolen?”
“It isn’t?”
“No …”
“But it is an Eighteenth Century Zenti harpsichord, fully restored by Fitzwilliam’s?”
“Oh yes …”
“The Nightingale belongs to Loretta Colton.”
“Does it?”
“You’ll be playing a dangerous game if you double-cross me.”
“The threat is noted; but your concern is baseless. You will have what you want and so will I.”
Hannah left and smiled richly to herself; if only she could find a decent chess player, she’d give them a run for their money, she mused.
She visited Francine and Charles to confirm the arrangements for the trip to the lau
nch and the flight that Dominic needed to get.
“You’re sure you’ll manage, Valerie?” asked Francine, the picture of concerned motherhood.
“Absolutely positive; my flight is also booked …”
“Dominic will be very upset that you’re going; he actually looks forward to his lessons with you.”
“Once things settle down, he’ll be fine, especially if Loretta takes him on tour, and in any event, with your blessing to build the computer, he’ll be much happier.”
“You’ll make a very capable mother one day.”
Hannah smiled, leaving the thought hanging.
She visited Loretta. David was absent and she didn’t ask where he was; the mood seemed lighter.
“Are you sure the trip to Mexico wouldn’t do you the power of good, Loretta?”
“No; it was David’s idea. I’m off to the Mojave Desert to find my ‘vision’. When I get back, I’ll seriously look at the idea of the tour with Dominic, and I may get into these computers myself - shipping is so dull!”
“Is the Nightingale ready yet?”
“They say Friday; delivered to the concert venue at three o’clock in the afternoon. I’ll see it in the morning when I go and pay their bill!”
“Ouch!”
“Fifty thousand … but worth every cent and its future is assured.”
“I can’t wait to play it … Are you sure you won’t play at the gala?”
“Positive; you and Dominic deserve it.”
“Thank you … by the way, who is tuning it once it’s delivered to the venue?”
“Oh; do you know, I’ve completely forgotten about that.”
“I’ll do it for you.”
“You can? I mean; you would?”
“Of course; it would be an honor and in some small way it would repay your debt of kindness.”
“Oh dear child; if I had been blessed with a child, I hope it would have been like you.”
Hannah left and wondered if Hell would be altogether very terrible or if there was still time to redeem herself!
Now she knew the where and the when it was action stations.
On the Friday morning, Loretta went to Fitzwilliam’s and paid over fifty thousand dollars, cooed for thirty seconds, and left to get her hair done. Hannah was watching and saw the instrument picked up an hour later by a specialist removal firm that took the harpsichord to the concert venue.
She went home and picked up her harpsichord/synthesizer and took it to the concert venue and, being a concert venue, the sight of a large musical instrument in a travel case did not cause anyone to bat an eye.