After a few minutes of silence, she heard a screeching of brakes as a car came to an abrupt halt on the asphalt drive, then all hell seemed to break loose as doors were opened and a man’s voice began to shout. A few seconds later, she heard fists hammering on the front door, then the letterbox was lifted and a clearly worried female voice yelled through it.
‘Jess, Jess… It’s Sam. Are you all right? Come on, love, let me in.’
Chapter 37
Jess opened the door and fell into Sam’s arms as the sound of a scuffle ensued from the side of the house. A minute or so later, Sam’s boyfriend, Jamie, half-marched, half-dragged a hooded figure through the gate and onto the asphalt.
‘Caught him at the back of the house,’ he said, keeping a careful hold on his captive’s arm.
Jess peered around Sam to get a better look. ‘What are you doing hanging around my house,’ she stormed.
The man lifted his free arm, pushed back his hood and pulled down the woollen snood that covered the bottom half of his face.
‘Dad! What the hell…’
‘I was just checking that you were all right, Jess.’
‘With your face covered like that? Pull the other one,’ Sam spat.
‘It’s cold,’ muttered Bill. ‘Honestly, Jess, I was worried about you, what with those men hanging around the farm.’
‘Men?’ Sam gave Jess a puzzled look.
‘Two blokes came around trying to put the frighteners on me, that’s all,’ said Jess, ‘I was never in any danger then… but I tried to ring you when I thought they may have come back.’
She turned her attention to her father.
‘If you were so concerned, why didn’t you just knock on the door like any normal person? Why the flashlight through the windows, and why try the door handles?’
‘I did tap on the door, but not very hard, I didn’t want to scare you.’
‘I didn’t hear you knock, but I do know that you sneaked around the back and tried to force the door.’
‘I thought someone might have broken in. I was just testing it.’
‘Don’t give me that, Dad. You were trying to scare me into handing over the money you need.’
‘That’s diabolical.’ Sam took a couple of steps toward Bill and shoved her face into his. ‘And you’re a disgusting, creep. What type of father would do something like that?’
Bill struggled to break free from Jamie’s grip. When he spoke, there was a note of desperation in his voice.
‘I promise, Jess. I’m only dressed like this because it’s so cold. I tried to ring, but when you didn’t pick up, I thought I’d better walk down to make sure you were all right. That’s all there is to it.’
‘I’m calling the cops.’ Sam pulled her phone from her pocket.
‘No, please… don’t bring the police into it, Sam.’ Jess put her hand on her friend’s arm. ‘They won’t be able to prove anything. There’s been no damage done. They’d have to give him the benefit of the doubt.’
Sam looked from Bill to Jess and reluctantly returned her phone to her pocket.
‘If you’re sure…’ She turned back to Bill. ‘I don’t care if she’s your daughter or not, if I ever hear of you even getting as close as the end of the lane, I’ll call the police and have you arrested for harassment.’
Jamie looked at Jess and shrugged. ‘So, do I let him go?’
Jess nodded.
Once free of Jamie’s grip, Bill straightened his jacket, pulled up his hood, and fixing Jamie with a glare, turned and walked onto the pavement that ran alongside the lane. As he reached the first of the bushes in the long hedgerow, he turned back and pointed a stumpy index finger at the tall, young man.
‘You had better watch out for yourself.’
‘Just clear off, Dad,’ Jess called. ‘I mean it too, go back to where you came from. Leave us alone, you’re not wanted here.’
Bill waved her comment away with a flick of his arm, then turned and disappeared into the dark night.
Back in the house, Jess, guided by the flashlight on Sam’s phone, relit the candle, then, using her lighter, lit all four burners and the two ovens of the gas cooker. Filling a saucepan with water, she put it on the hob and took three clean mugs from the hooks fixed to the closest of the wall units.
Before the water had even begun to simmer, the power came back on. Two minutes later it went off again, then five minutes after that, it came back on for good.
Jess plugged the charging cable back into her phone and loaded up the operating system. When the home screen slashed up, she checked her call log to find the only recent calls and texts she had received had been from Sam.
‘Well, if there was any doubt, here’s the proof. He didn’t call.’
‘I didn’t think he had for a moment,’ replied Sam who had known Jess’s father for a few years. He had asked her to lend him money on more than one occasion when Jess was away at Uni.
‘Ah, well, he won’t come back now. I’ll call the police myself if he does.’ Jess pulled the photograph of the two men who had paid her a visit from the coffee table drawer and handed it to her friend. ‘Any idea who these two muppets are? They’re local that’s for certain.’
Sam shook her head. ‘No, but then, I wouldn’t, living and working where I do.’
Jamie took a quick look and shook his head. ‘I only moved in with Sam a few weeks ago. I’m from out of town.’
Sam put the photograph on the coffee table and wagged a finger at Jess. ‘Report them. If they are local hoods, the cops will know them.’
‘I will if I get any more trouble,’ Jess promised. ‘And thanks so much for coming over to rescue me.’ She looked from Sam to Jamie and clapped her hands. ‘Right, coffee or wine?’
‘It had better be coffee for me if I’m driving,’ said Jamie.
‘You’re not,’ said Sam, firmly. ‘At least not until the morning. You, my big, strong, knight in shining armour, are going to stand guard over us tonight. There’s no way I’m leaving her alone after all that has happened.’
Jess walked to the fridge and pulled out the half bottle of wine she had bought from the store. ‘Damn it. I actually picked two up but put one back, there’s not enough left for me, let alone all of us.’
Sam looked directly at Jamie and raised her eyebrows. ‘Sir Knight, your services are required. We have two damsels in distress, or at least they will be if their wine supplies aren’t topped up.’
Jamie turned away holding his arm in the air.
‘Sir Pinot de Grigio at your service,’ he said, as he walked into the hall.
Jamie came back half an hour later with three bottles of wine. Placing them carefully onto the kitchen table, he went back out to the car and returned carrying three huge, pizza boxes.
‘One Hawaiian, one meat lovers and one of those pointless veggie and cheese things,’ he announced.
‘You bugger, you know I’ve been on a diet these past three weeks.’ Sam lifted the lids on all three boxes, took out a slice of Hawaiian, bit into it, then closed her eyes in ecstasy. ‘Oh pizza, how I have missed thee.’
Jess rubbed her hands together, ‘Ooh pizza, what a treat.’ She put two of the wine bottles into the fridge, and placed three wine glasses on the table. ‘In here or on the lumpy sofa?’
‘Sofa,’ said Sam and Jamie together.
The three friends ate, drank and laughed away the evening. At eleven o’clock, Sam yawned, stretched and announced that she was going to bed as she had to be up early for work. Jess stood up unsteadily and gave her a hug.
‘Thanks again for looking after me.’
‘That’s what friends are for, my darling.’ Sam returned the hug.
‘You two go up. I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight.’
‘Not a chance,’ replied Sam. ‘The fates decree that I will, once again, be sharing your bed, my dear.’ She turned to Jamie. ‘Don’t get any wild ideas if you hear the sound of bed springs, boinging away. We won’t be having kinky sex. One of us will just be turnin
g over.’
Jess laughed. ‘I’ve got a new bed now, so he won’t have a clue what we’re up to.’ She winked at Jamie.
‘Well, if you find you need a man to assist you in your nocturnal endeavours, just give a shout out.’
Sam kissed him on the lips and pointed to the back door.
‘Know your place, Sir Keeper of the Watch.’
‘I’m so sorry about the state of the sofa,’ said Jess, pulling a sad face. ‘I’ll get you a duvet and some pillows.’
When Jess got up at seven-thirty the next morning, she found that both her visitors had gone. When she walked through to the kitchen, she found a note on the table.
Any more nonsense, call the cops. Sam xxxx
As the kettle boiled, Jess tidied up the wine glasses and pizza boxes, then sat on the sofa to watch the morning news, but the only topic on offer was the upcoming General Election. Jess had got into politics during her Uni days and had been a bit of a radical, but over the last few years her opinions had mellowed. Recently, the rancour and the constant bickering in the House of Commons, with vote after endless vote on the Brexit Bill, had pretty much turned her off politics. She would vote, but she hadn’t yet made up her mind which way.
After a bowl of muesli, she nipped around with the vacuum before showering. By the time she was dressed and ready to face the day, it was almost nine o’clock.
Jess was still determined to have it out with Martha, and picked up her phone to dial her grandmother’s number, only to slip it into her bag without making the call.
Why should I warn her that I’m on my way? She just turned up here without a by your leave.
Jess pulled on her thick, winter jacket, grabbed her keys and bag, and walked out to the car. Still angry about Martha sticking her nose into her affairs, she started up her Toyota and fixing the road ahead with a stern look, she set off up the lane.
Ten minutes later, Jess arrived at the house that Martha shared with her younger sister, Marjorie. She parked up in the drive and walked slowly to the door, knowing that her grandmother had seen her arrive.
‘Hello, Jessica, this is a nice surprise,’ Marjorie gushed as she let Jess in.
‘How’s the tooth?’ asked Jess.
‘It’s much better now, thank you. Martha sat with me while the dentist filled it.’
Jess stood on the door mat looking over her great aunt’s shoulder towards the lounge.
‘Is Grandma in?’ she asked after a twenty-second silence.
‘Oh, yes, she’s in the drawing room. Do go in. I’ve just made tea, would you like a cup?’
Jess stepped into the lounge to find Martha sitting in an armchair, watching a house renovation program on TV.
‘I had plans for that farmhouse, and the land around it,’ she said, stiffly.
‘Ah well, never mind, Grandma. I’ll tell you what. Jot your ideas down on a bit of paper and I’ll have a look. See if anything appeals to me.’
‘Don’t be facetious, Jessica, it doesn’t become you.’
Jess dropped her bag and sat down in the armchair opposite Martha. The old woman looked up from the TV and studied her.
‘What brings you here?’ she asked with a look of suspicion on her face.
‘Can’t a granddaughter just drop by to see her relatives?’ asked Jess, innocently.
Martha bridled. ‘We both know why you’re here, Jess. Now, stop beating about the bush and get to the point.’
‘All right, Grandma, let’s do it your way.’ Jess’s face hardened. ‘I have one simple question and it’s this. ‘What do you think gives you the right to continually stick that big nose of yours into the affairs of others?’
Martha snorted.
‘Affair is the right word for it. Don’t you know he’s a married man?’
‘Was, married, Grandma… was.’ Jess’s hard stare matched her grandmother’s. To her surprise, it was Martha who looked away first.
‘I was doing what any caring relative would do. I was looking after your interests.’
‘Looking after your own, more like.’
‘I can assure you, Jessica, I did what I did because I love you and don’t want to see you hurt.’
‘Oh, what a wonderfully, caring family I have,’ Jess replied with a steely look. ‘My father was saying something similar only last night.’
‘Your father wouldn’t know how to do the right thing if there was a sign in front of his face, saying, this is the right thing to do,’ Martha snarled.
‘I agree, Grandma, but you and he are made from the same mould. The only difference between the pair of you, is that you are more subtle with it.’
Martha got to her feet and looked at Jess with narrowed eyes.
‘Your, MARRIED, solicitor, hasn’t followed the guidelines laid down by his own legal association. I know, I’ve looked into the matter at the library.’ Martha began to pace the room. ‘He is breaking their rules by having a sexual relationship with a client.’ Martha stopped and leaned over Jessica. ‘It is frowned upon even more, if the solicitor is making decisions that affect the client’s financial situation. You would be classed as vulnerable under the rules of the professional organisation he belongs to. I couldn’t just leave him to take advantage of you like that. I had to act. It was in your best interests.’
Jess reached over the side of the chair and picked up her bag.
‘The only interests you have ever looked out for, are your own, Grandma. It’s never been any different. You were so confident that you would be made the main beneficiary in Nana’s will, even after treating her so abominably over all those years. You were her daughter but you behaved as though she was your arch enemy.’
‘Don’t you dare talk to me like this,’ Martha stood, open mouthed as Jess continued.
‘You never had a good word for her when I was growing up, you accused her of being a witch, of casting spells on you, of mistreating you as a child. You tried to extort money from her, you told lies about her to anyone that would listen. Is there any wonder she decided to cut you adrift?’ Jess looked around the large, well-furnished room. ‘You have enough to live comfortably, but you always want more. It’s not your concern for my welfare that made you do what you did. It was pure, selfish, greed.’
Jess wiped an angry tear from her eye, but then her voice softened. ‘I really liked Bradley, Grandma. He made me laugh, we got on really well together, he was everything that Calvin wasn’t, and you… you, went and ruined it.’
Without waiting for a reply, Jess stormed past her grandmother and headed for the door.
‘Jessica!’
‘Jessica turned to fire off another volley at the old woman, but her attention was drawn to the TV where the mid-morning, local news program had just begun. On the screen was a female reporter, standing in the car park of the Wilson-Beanney Solicitor’s office.
‘Jessica I really must—’
‘SHHH.’ Jess pointed at the screen where the reporter was describing what she referred to, as a ‘serious assault.’
‘The solicitor, Mr Bradley Wilson, was taken to St Margaret’s Hospital where he was treated for facial cuts and bruising. He was allowed to go home after treatment and a period of observation.’ The camera panned across to the office, then back to the reporter.
‘The attack took place at five minutes past six, yesterday evening. If anyone has any information regarding the attack, or might recognise the description of the two men who assaulted Mr Wilson, they are asked to contact Crimestoppers, or their local police. Now, back to the studio.’
Jess looked from the screen to Martha’s shocked face.
‘I had nothing to do with that,’ she said.
Jess gave her one last withering look, and turning on her heel, rushed out of the house.
Chapter 38
Jess rushed to her car and had started the engine and pulled away before she realised that she didn’t know exactly where she was going.
She wracked her brains to try to remember what Bradl
ey had told her about his living arrangements the day they had lunched together at the Café Blanc, but because of her heightened stress levels she couldn’t remember where the flat was. Pulling up at the side of the road, Jess switched off the engine, grabbed her phone and did a quick LinkedIn search. He was listed but merely in his capacity as a solicitor, so only his office address was supplied.
Maybe I could access the electoral roll at the council offices? she thought, then quickly discounted the option. In this day of data protection, she would almost certainly need a better reason than she had for wanting to know his address. She then thought about accessing the census records through her Ancestry UK account, but again, there would only be limited information available.
There has to be a way… Jess suddenly had an idea, and pulling his business card from her bag she looked for his email address. Seeing that it ended with btinternet.com, she googled her phone for the BT online phone book, typed in his forename, surname and the area in which he lived and pressed search.
‘GOTCHA!’ she cried as his name appeared on a short list of Wilsons. She checked the address the listing showed and realised it was only a couple of miles out of town, just off the main Gillingham road.
Jess left the screen open on the search page, started the engine again and set off for Atwood Park apartments.
Knowing the area well, she turned off the main road on her grandmother’s estate and drove along a narrow B-road until she hit the dual carriageway. A mile and a half further along, she pulled off onto a private track that led to a newly tarmacked area with enough room for a couple of dozen cars. Jess parked in front of a row of young Cypress trees, got out of the car, checked her phone again for the apartment number, then walked along a shrub lined path and up a set of wide steps that led to the huge, tinted glass doors that fronted the apartment block.
Built into the brickwork at the side of the doors was an electronic calling system. Jess pressed the button for flat two and waited. A few seconds later a familiar voice answered.
‘Yes.’
‘Bradley, it’s Jess.’
‘Jess? What the… I’ll be right out, give me a minute.’
The Legacy: Trouble Comes Disguised As Family (Unspoken Book 2) Page 23
