The Village Fate

by William Hadley

  At the Manor Angus fixed himself some lunch. The Tesco delivery had been and there was more meat in the fridge than he could remember seeing at one time before. He made a ham and cheese role, with real butter. He grabbed a bag of crisps, another seldom seen treat, and took it all through to Maggie’s study.

  Angus looked around the room, he decided to keep the chair and the desk, but they needed to be moved. With a bit of effort, and the threat of a hernia, he pushed the desk to its new position under a window. From there he could look out at the garden and Victoria’s roses . The pictures on the walls were hideous modern art, Angus knew they were valuable, he’d been surprised by their cost when Maggie bought a few at auction. But she’d been told they were all by “up and coming” artists, and that they represented “a shrewd investment”. His wife might have liked them but they weren’t to his taste. He took them all down and stacked them in the utility room. Next time he went to London he’d have the pictures valued; he’d probably sell them all.

  Angus’s next task was to get rid of her car. It was registered in his name and was just used by Maggie. Well she wouldn’t need it any longer and it reminded him of how unforgiving she could be. He called the local dealer and was routed through to a salesman. As soon as he heard the voice, he recognised it as belonging to the kid who’d delivered the vehicle when it was new, Maggie had rewarded him with a romp in front of the camera. The young man was delighted to be talking to Angus and asked after his wife. Angus disconnected the call and dialled another dealership.

  After an hour of phoning around he settled on an independent reseller. Forever 4X4 offered the best price, but still thousands less than he’d paid. He just wanted to be shot of it, so Angus accepted their offer. They’d send an appraiser later in the day, and if everything was as Angus described, they’d transfer the money and collect the car the following day.

  It was time to show his face at the office. Angus roused Hamish and they left by the back door. A light rain was falling and the scent of wet roses hung heavy in the air as they stopped beside the statue of Eros. Angus bent and cleared some weeds which obscured a plaque and Victoria’s epitaph. Hamish cocked his leg against a rose.

  At six o’clock Angus and Hamish locked the office and walked back through the trees to the garden. In his mind he was replaying the last journey Maggie had taken, going the other way in a wheelbarrow, like some sort of waste material to be disposed of, grass cuttings perhaps, on their way to a compost heap. It was true he didn’t really love Maggie at the end. They would probably have divorced, and she was planning to leave him anyway. But did she deserve to be choked in her own gymnasium, and then disposed of in such a brutal way? These thoughts disturbed him as he walked across the lawn, past the pool and into the house.

  Claudilia would be there at seven thirty. She had cakes to ice and horses to feed. She had called earlier and left a message on his mobile - unless he wanted her smelling like a dung heap, seven thirty was the earliest she could manage.

  That was fine with Angus, he had some work to finish before she arrived. Deftly he cut and copied sections of camera footage from the previous weekend into a new movie. The opening scene featured Claudilia cycling up the drive on Saturday afternoon, then it cut to her crossing the lawn and entering the gym. For good measure Angus added some of the sauna action, in case she’d forgotten what was happening amongst the hot rocks and the steam. Saturday closed with Claudilia riding away on her bike. Angus had even made that bit fade out like a real movie. Sunday’s footage started when Claudilia was coming back up the drive. She has a drink by the pool with Maggie and together they go across to the gym. On the screen the two ladies are going this way and that. Mrs Macintosh is obviously talking about the different pieces of apparatus. Next Maggie is lying on a bench as Claudilia steps in and out of view, she is positioning herself behind the younger woman’s head. A bar is raised and lowered a few times in a slow and controlled manor. After a rest period the bar is lifted again, but this time it comes down and Claudilia can be seen leaning in hard, but she’s not completely in shot. Maggie’s leg flails and her arm waves around wildly. In the next scene Claudilia carries Maggie’s lifeless body out through the gym doors, she places it in the wheelbarrow before she’s tracked across the grass into the trees. The movie fades out then fades back in again, the angle of view has changed, the watcher is looking towards the trees from the office on the other side, Claudilia is wheeling Mrs Macintosh towards where the chipper had been parked. The penultimate shot is a red stream of liquid pumping into the delivery hopper. The image fades out and then back in again the view has changed back to the house this time, Claudilia is seen cycling down the drive, her basket is obviously heavily loaded.

  Angus sat back and considered his handiwork. Quentin Tarantino had better look out he thought, Angus saved his work and copied it to a fresh memory stick. He placed that into an envelope and wrote his name and the date on the front, then he sealed it. He wrote a short note to Tony Screwem of solicitors, Screwem, Deep and Long, with instructions that if he were to go missing for any long period or die unexpectedly, the contents of the envelope should be handed to the Warwickshire police without delay.

  Angus put the envelope containing the memory stick and his note into a bigger envelope and sealed it. He wrote Tony’s name on the front and locked it inside his briefcase. He’d deliver it in person to the law office of S D and L the next day, he explain as little as possible.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Angus closed his case and stored it under the desk as the doorbell rang. That’s another thing I’ll have to change he thought, as he listened to the Archers theme reverberating around the house. He opened the front door of the Manor and could see that Claudilia had made an effort. Not a great effort, she hadn’t gone as far as a dress, but she looked smart in blue trousers, a white blouse and a cardigan. She walked in and handed over a bottle of wine, … I can’t turn up empty handed can I?

  Max trotted in behind her. Claudilia had long ago decided that wherever she was invited so was Max. He was her plus one. The fact that she’d invited herself made no difference, the rule still applied …Bloody right too, Max has better table manners, holds a better conversation and is less interbred than most of the folk around here.

  Angus welcomed Claudilia with a light kiss on the cheek and they went through to the kitchen.

  “I thought I might see you at the stables today,” she said.

  “Sorry no, I had work to do and I needed to pop into Stratford.” Angus cringed at the thought of getting back on a horse. He’d try it again in a day or two, right now everything was still a little tender.

  Angus poured the wine and they took their drinks into the garden. Max and Hamish were running around and there was less chance of things getting broken out there. They sat on the patio, and for a moment they looked without talking at the sheep in the field at the end of the lawn.

  “Any news of Maggie?” asked Claudilia, knowing full well there wouldn’t be.

  “Not a word,” he replied with the most convincing sigh he could muster. “I don’t expect I’ll see her again. I think she’s gone for good. Maybe a request for a divorce will appear one day. But I’d be surprised if she ever set foot back in this house.” Angus marvelled at how he was keeping the charade so real. Come to think of it Claudilia was doing a good job of looking concerned too. Concerned for the wellbeing of someone she’d shredded.

  “How are the kids taking it?” Claudilia asked.

  “I talked to them both today. I said Maggie was still missing and we thought, but couldn’t be sure, that she had gone to New York. I said I didn’t expect she’d be here at the weekend.” Angus sipped his drink. “I said the local paper would be printing an appeal for anyone who knew her whereabouts. It’s standard practice according to that police woman, Josie Robinson, sometimes it jogs a memory. A taxi driver might have picked her up or a passenger may have seen her on a bus. …As if Mrs Muck ever travelled by bus! Anyway I told the kids th
ey weren’t to worry.”

  “And are they worried?”

  “Well, I think they would like to know more. But they didn’t seem too upset that she won’t be around at the weekend. They’ve never really liked Maggie.”

  “Will they help with the shooting range at the fete?”

  “Oh yes, they’ll love that, and on a good day Angus junior’s a crackerjack shot.”

  “How old is he now?”

  “Just turned seventeen, Holly’s thirteen. Angus wanted a car for his birthday but I said he needed some driving lessons first. If he does well in his A levels I’ll get him a car. If he does badly he’ll need a summer job. He’ll have to earn some money and buy an old banger.”

  “And will he do well enough do you think?”

  “Yes, he’ll be fine.” Angus smiled. “He’ll do well enough to get his car anyway.”

  “And exactly what qualifies as “well enough” for a car”, Claudilia asked. “Does he just need to turn up, write his name at the top of each answer sheet and try not to crush the pencil”

  “Yep, that sounds like “well enough” to me.” Angus laughed. “I haven’t told him that of course, he thinks nothing less than an As or an A stars will do.”

  Their drinks were gone and Claudilia was getting hungry. “Come on then Mr Macintosh, let’s get cooking and you can refill my glass.” Together they went back into the kitchen, Max and Hamish had finished tearing around the garden and they trotted in behind. Hamish took Max on a tour of the house, showing him the most comfortable chairs and where his toys were hidden.

  In the kitchen they chatted as they cooked. They had another glass of wine and another after that. By the time dinner was ready the first bottle was empty. They switched to red with the bolognese and after a couple of glasses Claudilia was feeling slightly tipsy. She didn’t want to drink and drive, even a short distance, much better to leave the car at the Manor and walk back to Bindweed Cottage. The fresh air would do her good, and some water before bed would take the edge off a hangover.

  After dinner, which Claudilia declared as success …because I did most of the cooking, they went into Angus’s study. He already thought of it as his room and not Maggie’s. In a few days all traces of her would be removed, and then in time from the rest of the house.

  “I’ve found the money,” said Angus as they collapsed onto comfortable chairs.

  “What money?” said Claudilia, wondering if he’d discovered a few quid down the back of the sofa when he was moving the furniture around.

  “The money Maggie inherited from her mum when they sold the house. One point two million pounds, and some change.”

  “Sorry Angus could you say that again.” Claudilia couldn’t quite believe what she’d just heard. “Did you just say that Maggie has over a million quid stashed away?”

  “That’s right. One point two million,” said Angus “The exact amount depends on the exchange rate but we can round it down. Call it one point two and change.”

  Claudilia just sat and stared. Her mouth dropped open. The way he was talking was so matter of fact. For the first time in her adult life Claudilia was lost for words.

  “You’re doing a fish impression,” said Angus. Claudilia closed her mouth. “She’s been planning to leave for a while, it was her run away fund.”

  “Have you told the police? I assume they’ll want to track it or something, see where she picks it up.”

  Angus already knew where his wife would turn up. She’d be spread thinly across several acres of farmland, but he didn’t mind playing along. “She’s not really done anything wrong. She’s just left me that’s all. It’s humiliating but I’ll get over it.”

  “If you’ve found the money can you move it? Wouldn’t that force her to get in contact,” asked Claudilia. They both knew that would need at least a séance.

  Angus got up and helped Claudilia to her feet, he led her to the desk. “Come and sit over here, I’ve got something to show you.” He was remembering when she surprised him with a horse. Let’s see how you like this surprise in return, he thought.

  “What?” asked Claudilia, changing seats to a less comfortable one beside him.

  “Just wait a moment for the laptop to boot up.” Because of the screen saver on Maggie’s machine he had decided to use his own.

  Angus clicked a few keys and started the video player.

  “We’ve got CCTV cameras all around the house and the AD plant,” said Angus. “I only thought about them last night when I got home from your cottage. so I checked the footage from the weekend.”

  Claudilia felt suddenly sober, and a bit sick at the same time. Why hadn’t she thought of cameras? Of course he’d have bloody cameras. This is the twenty-first century for God’s sake …Keep cool Claudilia, you don’t know what they saw, maybe they were broken or pointing the wrong way. Then again, maybe I’m an Olympic high-jumper and he’s offering to be my coach.

  “I’m not sure what you’re getting at Angus but I probably should go.” She said as calmly as she could. “We’ve both got work in the morning, and I need my beauty sleep,”.

  “Just hang on a moment,” Angus leaned over and hit the play button. He was showing her the footage he’d given to the police, or at least the edited highlights.

  Claudilia sat for eleven minutes but it felt like eleven hours. She sat without moving or saying a word. She watched Maggie and Tish exercise in the gym. She watched Maggie in the sauna with the gardener. She saw herself cycle up the drive, she crossed the lawn and went into the gym. Then she left the gym, crossed the lawn and cycled back down the drive. Maggie and the gardener went swimming. It got dark, Giles drove away in his truck, and then it got light again. Maggie left for church and later returned. The screen went blank and Claudilia took her first breath for what felt like an hour. …Okay, nothing incriminating there.

  “Is that from this weekend?” Claudilia asked, trying not to sound worried.

  Angus nodded. “It’s just the edited highlights, I can show you a family of foxes playing on the lawn if you like.”

  “Maybe later,” said Claudilia, “Has anyone else seen it?” she asked.

  “I took a copy to the police this morning. I thought it might help with their enquiries …too right it will, I can’t believe they’ve not picked me up yet. I’m done for.

  Claudilia stiffened her back. A thousand years of breeding kicked in as she asked the question she really needed answered, not a shake or quiver in her voice, just a confident woman who would take whatever was coming. “Did you see anything else on the cameras?” …You know, nothing special, just maybe a scene where I killed your wife, disposed of her body and staged her disappearance. Easily missed I’m sure, but I thought I’d ask?

  “Yes,” said Angus and he hit a few more keys.

  The screen came back to life and started showing a second film. This one was much more interesting for Claudilia at least, it also ran for about eleven minutes.

  “Ah,” she said as she watched herself ride down the drive with her heavily loaded bike.

  “Any comments?” asked Angus

  “Well that cardigan doesn’t go with those trousers, and it’s right what they said about the camera adding ten pounds.”

  “Is that all?”

  “Sorry,” Claudilia said quietly, and then checked herself. “Actually I’m not sorry, she was a hideous creature. Too thin, prissy and spiteful. She made you a laughing stock, she sent you out on that stupid bike, she fed you like a rabbit and all the time she was screwing anything with a pulse behind your back. It was disgraceful, she didn’t love you Angus, she just wanted your money.”

  “She was going to leave me,” he replied. “She’d been planning it for a while.”

  “In that case I just hurried things along a bit.”

  “I’m curious, why did you do it?” asked Angus.

  Claudilia looked at her host. “I didn’t do it for you, if that’s what you’re thinking. Sure, you’ll be free of the manipulating bi
tch but I didn’t do it for you.”

  “Why then?”

  “I just told you. Because she was a hideous creature. She was always putting people down and never spoke of anyone in a positive way. She had to be the best, have the newest car, the biggest house, the most handsome husband. It was all about flaunting her possessions, you included, and pointing out how insignificant everyone else was. She was horrible. And she knocked over my garden wall.”

  Claudilia stopped and took a breath, then she began to explain what had happened on Sunday. “We were in the gym, I’d already been there once the day before, but she was screwing that man in the sauna and I didn’t want to interrupt. I wanted to talk about the fete. Anyway, I came back on Sunday and she went on and on about using the gym for the W.I. Then she said she’d seen Helen and Emma at church and guessed they were a couple. She said it would be fun to get them in the sauna, the three of them along with Tish. She said Tish likes younger women, much younger women, as well as men. I had to stop her, I had to shut her up, so I leaned down and pressed the weight across her neck. She put up a bit of a fight, well you could see she struggled, but I was angry and I’m really quite strong. She didn’t have a chance, it was all over in no time.”