Chapter 5

 

Saturday and Lilly Beauchamp drove her Mercedes sports to the village through the dappled shade of the narrow tree lined lanes for coffee and lunch with Viv Banner. Eleven and the main street was busy the Saturday shoppers with kids in tow filling the roads and pavements, ambling a bit, just sauntering in the sunshine. Too many cars in the car park entrance and a few chests puffed up with impatience and it took a while to get parked.

May's up-market cafe one of those places that makes brightly coloured plastic tablecloths look good with an eclectic menu and endless coffee options attracting the well to do set and always busy. Meeting early enough for a flat white decaf and late enough to follow with a nicoise salad or avocado something or whatever the latest fad is. Viv one of those long time friends people have, the sort of friends from school with that long time understanding and a kind of right to intimate knowledge and of course coffee every Saturday morning and an early lunch.

Viv, looking younger than she was with her mid length wavy hair dyed a kind of blond with pale pink highlights and one of those plastic Alice bands, the ones with the inlaid shiny bits, slipped on top supporting the pushed up sunglasses with the pale pink arms. She sipped a black Americano holding the large cup in two hands sitting forward looking elegant and relaxed with her elbows on the table, and said, “What’s new then darling?” she called everyone darling, “Anything happen this week that’s changed your life? You look a bit down.”

“I’ve lost Molly, she’s gone missing.” Lilly said, shifting her gaze from the lady with the pearls and fur collar and long blue chiffon number Lilly thinking she looked deliberately overdressed and sweaty hot with that ridiculous fur collar. Not the sort of day for fur collars and that’s a fact.

“She’ll come back, I’m sure. Cats often go off, don’t they” Viv said, putting down her cup and pushing an irritating strand or two that had escaped the clip.

“And Freddie is still after the money but in a big way now. Wants his job back. You remember Aubrey sacked him a while back. And he wants me out the house.”

“I might say that’s more important than Molly but I’m not sure I should.”

“Molly is twenty two and talked to me.”

“And she’s part of you, I know that.”

“And Freddie does not talk to me he shouts and is tiresome. That’s all he ever does these days is shout, And want money of course and the job back. Oh and the house. I forgot to mention he wants the house.”

“When did Molly go?”

“Two days ago. I’ve not seen her for two days. They take themselves off, you know, when it’s their time. That’s what bothers me about her going off now. She was so old. They do just go and not come back. Kind of selfish really.”

“Probably for the best. Twenty two’s a good age for a cat.”

“I know but I’ll miss her. Like Aubrey I miss him as well.”

“I know you do. We all do.”

“You know at breakfast on the day he was run over he was kind of a bit quiet as though he was thinking. I just put that down to the row he’d had with Freddie. He had said, ‘you know I always remember that holiday we had in Rome and all the photos we took. It was the best holiday ever wasn’t it?” and I said it was, and he said, “You know I look at them a lot. Did you know that?’ I said I didn’t and he said that I should look at them sometime. “They were really good memories.” That was just about the last thing he said, then he left and never came back. I thought it was just a great way to say he loved me.“

“And have you looked at them?”

“No, they’re on the shelf in the study along with all the others. I will one day. Just at the moment I think it’s too sentimental and I’m not ready to cry that much.”

 “What about Freddie? When did you last see him?”

“Yesterday and it was not pleasant. We rowed and I paid him off but he’ll be back. I know he won’t stop not until he’s got what he wants. Did I tell you Max is on holiday?”

“No. That’s a bit sudden isn’t it?”

“A bit I suppose. He just came in and said he was going. It was a bit strange, like he was reluctantly going. You know he didn’t just ask me he came in and just stood there until I asked what he wanted. I felt he didn’t know how to ask me.”

“Well, not much Freddie can do without your consent so no need to worry really, is there? Don’t get yourself all shook up about Freddie and the money. It’s not worth it. How d’you manage without Max?”

“Oh not bad really. I quite like cooking, even just for myself but he’s back Saturday so I’m not too long to be on my own. What about you, any news?”

Viv smiled and sighed and looked wistful and said, “No, just the boring same old. Saturdays are the highlight of my week you know. We need some excitement in our lives, that’s what we need. What d’you think?”

And Lilly thought that was so true. “I think that life’s dull and is set to just get duller. It needs spicing up, that’s what I think and there’s nothing more boring than sorting out finances. What we need is excitement, something truly exhilarating. You know I’ve contacted that financial advisor, that one I saw six months ago. Max reminded me before he went. He’s coming Monday. I’m finally going to sort things out. I want to get organised if only to stop Freddie’s schemes. Then we can talk about spicing up things.”

“Robert, that was his name, wasn’t it? The financial chap.”

“That’s it and he was nice as well.”

 

 

He was not a show off. Freddie was many things but a show off was not one of them. He left that to those dumb people who said things a milli-second after someone else so everyone thought they knew as well and that made them look knowledgeable. Then they went to the pub and told the story and sat with the other fellas but only because they bought the beers. Freddie did not need to buy the beers to get a seat, just his round at that right moment. What he did was speak his mind and said it how it was in black and white. There was none of that in colour stuff for him. Anyone who did not like it could up and leave. What did he care.

He was starting to think he should be looking after his mother more, treating her better but then thought, why? She had it all. Why should he have to suck up to her to get some of what he thought was his. His father had been loaded but had left him nothing. Just his crummy Patek Phillip and gold signet. And he had lost his job. He blamed James for that. “That bloody solicitor,” he thought, “persuading him to get involved.” He could have sorted out the problems without getting involved. But then he thought that was unlikely but he still blamed James. Anyway, why should he be nice? He thought again. 

He had woken in one of those panics, the sort that wakes you up in the early hours in a cold sweat and he never woke up in a sweat but the thought of there being records had changed all that. “Bloody James.” He needed to find them before James found out and if James found out they would find out and that was where the waking up sweat came in.

Then he thought the thing with power and money, it did not matter which, the thing with all that was the more power you got, the more power you wanted. The more money you got the more money you wanted. It was like a drug. It was why wars were fought and why millionaires who had enough became billionaires who had too much. Enough was never enough. Eventually a fog appeared and smeared the red off those lines we all have and it all got cloudy and the difference between the right way and the wrong way got blurred. They were all the same, the rich and powerful, they were obsessed. He was not rich or powerful but he wished he was and thought he deserved to be and that was worse, the not having but wanting.

He drove to the house not expecting his mother to be there. Saturday with Viv was about as solid a routine as you could get. He could see the two of them twiddling their spoons and eating lettuce in that twee little place in the village with all that healthy food and over dressed ladies and laughed. But just in case, he let himself in, punched in the code into the alarm keypad and shouted if anyone was there and checked the garden room and kitchen then went into his father’s study with its big oak partners desk and walls of books and long elegant curtains.

He could see his father years ago sitting there talking with his handsome face smiling wide and hair quite long and in casual clothes, the sort he wore on a casual day. Jeans and a polo. Him when he was no more than ten standing, listening as his father told him about the school he was going to. Kind of excited to be telling him like he was doing something really great for him. A posh place full of rich kids and him hating the thought then it turning out to be the perfect place for a natural born bully to grow up and mature and develop a set of dubious skills and tastes. Then he saw his father six months ago furious then suddenly standing and striding around the desk and slapping him hard across the face. A good old fashioned solid backhander. The sort you saw in films. The sort that made your nose bleed and eyes water. The shock had been profound. His father had never hit him before, had never even said a bad word or raised his voice.

He had shouted at him, “what have you done? What have you got us involved in? Tell me and I don’t want any of your normal evasive crap. You tell me how it is.”

“What you mean what have I done? I haven’t done anything,” is all he could say.

And he had slapped him again, harder. His signet ring taking a chunk out of his cheek and blood ran down onto his pristine white shirt. “Don’t lie to me. I know everything,” he said, “this man came to see me and told me. I want to know why.”

Freddie knowing he was beaten said in a much quieter voice, “there were gaps in the finances and they needed filling. It’s as simple as that.”

“Nothing’s as simple as that. There are always consequences. Why were there gaps?”

“I spent the money, all of it. All the money in the businesses. The cash flow had gone and there were people to pay. I was desperate.”

“What do you mean you spent it? How can you spend that much? Those businesses were extremely profitable.”

“I just did and it’s all gone.”

His father had sat down, kind of shell shocked, “Why did you not tell me. Something could have been done.”

“I was afraid to,” Freddie said, “you are always so intimidating and I was afraid and I had to do something.”

“How did you get into this?”

“James. He’s got all the contacts. How else do you think he’s got so rich?”

“I can’t believe that. Why would James get involved?”

“Greed and power. That man’s as slippery as a snake and as slimy as an eel. There are few pies without his digits in them. And you never even knew it.”

“Well I’ll not have it. This stops now. You're no longer in control. I’m taking over. Then George will replace you. He’s been there long enough and should have taken over years ago. Instead of you. That’s a mistake I won’t repeat. I can assure you of that.”

“What d’you mean? I’m sacked?”

“That’s right, you're sacked and tomorrow I’ll see James. Now get out.” And Freddie had left the office passing Lilly who he just brushed aside.

 

He had always thought the study was a nice room, the best in the house and he thought when he moved in, when the house was his, it would be his sanctuary locked away from the endless parties and girls he’d fill the place with. Yes his domain and he’d have cameras fitted with banks of those tall monitors so he could keep tabs on all those naughty girls that would fill the many rooms.

A nostalgic person might get all dewy-eyed looking at that desk and all the papers stacked up like they always had been and all those memories. A hard, self-obsessed man would just riffle through looking for anything of interest and Freddie was feeling bitter. Nothing was locked and the drawers were full. An hour later and it looked like nothing had been touched but all the drawers and cabinets had been searched and he was getting frustrated. Sure there were statements and ledgers but he knew all about those. He was looking for something in particular. He knew his father and if there were any records he would have hidden them very carefully but he had no idea where. He looked at his Patek and saw that there was only about half an hour until Lilly might return.

Searching through the rest of the room revealed nothing. He started checking the book cases. Pulled out a few of the thick ones and gave them a shake. Then some thin ones and flicked the pages. All the words were in the right places. He had read most of the novels. That is one thing he had done, read books and that had made him knowledgeable. In all those crime thrillers the plot was the same. A death and a killer, a robbery and a robber, a scam and a scammer. All that changed was the who, the why, the how and the when. And that was just stuff. When you started you already knew the finish. The bad guys would cop it. Sure there could be twists and turns but in the end the bad guys still copped it. But maybe not always he thought. He thought with a smile that he would cop it all, all right. He would cop the lot but he needed that ledger.

Checking his watch again he had no option and, setting the alarm, left slamming the front door in his usual petulant fashion. Throwing up the gravel his Mercedes crunched down the drive skidding on the loose surface as he sped around the tight bend leading to the gates and headed home. He was thinking all was not lost. Did it matter if James knew? Not really he thought he was hardly likely to tell his bosses, was he? Not if he had them and said he would give them to him. He could still use the threat of the ledger to put pressure on James. All he had to do was convince James he had found it and that would not be too difficult. Convince him and James would do everything he wanted to get possession of it. And that included getting him control of his father’s money. His mobile lit up when he turned it on and he thumbed down contacts and punched James. Selected message and typed, ‘I’ve found a ledger with all the details. We need to meet. I will be in your office at ten on Monday.” He felt it was only a matter of time now until it would all be his and he was happy. It was good to be single. No complications and when that house was his……” and he laughed out loud.