Swindled

by Mayes, June

  “I’ve been waiting all day for this,” she said to Beth and gave her sister a much relieved look.

  “To put your dirty feet on our nice clean coffee table?” Beth asked flicking her sister’s feet with the magazine in her hand. The two of them were sitting side by side on the couch in sweatpants and sweatshirts. It was the perfect autumn evening to enjoy sitting under a cosy blanket with a good movie. Brian’s death seemed more unreal then ever as they sunk into their normal evening routine.

  “Mmm that’s just what I dreamed of… really. No, oh obnoxious sister, what I have been waiting to do is putting my feet up. Might as well enjoy this piece and quiet while I can,” Vickie replied exasperated. Beth knew that Vickie wouldn’t be putting her feet up for long. With all that tea in her system, she figured that Vickie would be making a break for the bathroom in less then five minutes.

  “Absolutely,” Beth nodded vigorously in agreement. “In a few weeks it’s going to be all screaming baby, nappies and a husband acting like a girl’s blouse when it comes to the icky stuff,” she replied. Actually, Beth was as excited as Scott and Vickie about the upcoming birth. It was funny to think that in just a week or so there would be a new life in the house, a new member of the family. The idea that something so small and fragile would be depending on them was daunting but exhilarating. Beth was planning on spoiling her niece or nephew to the extreme.

  “Very funny. It’s all going to be lovely. This baby is never going to cry and my husband will be changing all the nappies,” Vickie said brightly sipping her tea and stroking a hand fondly over her belly.

  “Oh right. Have you mentioned that last bit to your husband?” Beth asked with a laugh. Both of them knew that Scott would do what he could but there was no way that he was going to be able to handle any of it without a great deal of support from his wife.

  “Not yet,” Vickie replied with a wicked smile. “I figured I would wait until the baby is here. Much better that way, don’t you think?” They laughed.

  “More like he is going to be so besotted with his prodigy and so guilty about you going through labour that he is going to agree with everything you say,” Beth paused and snorted, “Well for a little while at least!” The two sisters smiled at one another. Scott was going to be head over heals for this child forever.

  “Which is why I better take advantage of these quiet moments while I can,” Vickie continued looking vaguely at the magazines she had piled up next to her.

  “Yup,” Beth cheerfully agreed. “We both know you are going to be run off your feet once Scott wakes up from his besotted stupor.” And she was going to love it, Beth thought. Vickie was as gleeful as Scott about the baby.

  “Um hum. I figure that will be day four!” Vickie smiled and toasted her tea cup to Beth.

  “So you are planning on sitting here with your feet up for the next two weeks?” Beth asked with a cheerful grin, “You deserve it of course.”

  “Well,” Vickie slowly drawled looking back at Beth. “Actually…”

  “Yes?” Beth replied sitting up straight on the couch. She eyed her innocent looking sister. Vickie really was looking like a beached whale Beth thought fondly, a cute whale but a beached whale.

  “Wouldn’t now be the time to, oh I don’t know, get out and about while I still can?”

  Vickie asked sweetly. She looked innocently up at the ceiling as if she were contemplating deep meditation rather then some mischief.

  “Well now that you mention it,” Beth said nonchalantly looking at her nails. “How would you feel about taking a little drive? Nothing strenuous of course.”

  “Were you thinking of taking a drive past, say Brian’s offices?” Vickie asked quirking an eyebrow. “It could sort of be in memory of Brian”

  “Hmm a Brian memorial drive. I like it. And it might be nice of us to save Anne the trouble of sending the paperwork if we fetch it ourselves. I’m positive it will be in his flat so we’ll actually be doing her a favour by sorting it out ourselves. It wouldn’t be too strenuous and it would get you out and about,” Beth figured it was simple logic. She almost had herself convinced.

  “How true,” Vickie giggled. “And with so many benefits, I can’t see the down side, she drawled putting down her mug, “Although wouldn’t it be more sensible to wait until tomorrow when it’s daytime?”

  “Where is your sense of adventure? We’re just picking up paperwork. Anyway, if we go tonight then Anne won’t be there to get worried about us showing up there upsetting everyone,” Beth laughed. “And aren’t you curious? He’s bound to have some other info in there on the family.”

  “Yeah right. Bet we have some great grand aunt who was a prostitute or something suitably impressive,” Vickie agreed and then asked as she sighed, “Heave me out of this chair would you? Only I can’t get up on my own any more.” It was time for the bathroom run.

  Chapter 18

  One phone call and twenty minutes later the twins were sitting in their shared car outside of Brian’s offices. The building was a typical Edwardian which gleamed white in the night. The building looked soulless in the night, empty as if Brian’s presence was already being wiped away. It was now just an impressive building, nothing else. There were lights based under each of the ground floor windows which gave the building the ambiance of a sensational classy place to work. The pillars framing the front door added a touch of intimidation and professionalism. The building looked immaculate. It was enough to give the twins second thoughts.

  “I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Beth said to Vickie as they huddled in their seats. It had gotten very dark all of a sudden and there was the feeling of rain in the air. Generally an evening that should have been spent curled up on the couch watching a movie. Not an evening spent loitering outside the residence of a dead man.

  “Me?! What do you mean I talked you into this? I seem to remember it was all your bright idea,” Vickie retorted giving the building a worried look through the car windshield. Being brave at home was completely different then being virtually a stones throw from almost certain trouble. Something was going to go wrong with the plan despite their scheming. No, Beth tried to convince herself, all they were doing was picking up paperwork it would work out fine. So what if it was night. They had every right to be here and pick up what belonged to them. The police would have done all their investigating the day before, once the body was discovered. The front door to Brian’s flat wasn’t even marked off with crime tape. They had a key so it wasn’t breaking in. There was no reason this would be a big deal. Well, other then the fact that whatever mischief Beth and Vickie got up to, they inevitably didn’t do it alone. Oh and that there was a murderer on the loose.

  “Would you two stop bickering? And anyway what are you complaining about?” piped an irate voice from the back seat of the car. Charlotte was sitting sideways looking slightly cross as Bee helped tie the back of the black leather corset she was wearing.

  “Oh hush,” said Beth trying to stifle her laugh. Charlotte looked like a cupie doll in bondage and Vickie looked like she had something incredibly large stuffed up her shirt. Anyone passing by would be able to give an accurate description of not only the car but most of the occupants as well. So much for subtle. She said to Charlotte, “You know you’re going to love this.” Trying to keep a straight face Beth widened her eyes at her friend.

  It was true that Charlotte thrived on seeing how far her charms could get her with the opposite sex. It was really an unfair advantage given that most men couldn’t take their eyes off her long enough to realise what she was up to. This sort of thing was just up Charlotte’s alley.

  Charlotte snickered in agreement then gasped as Bee gave another pull on the ties, “Yes I know but I’m still going to make you guys pay for making me do this. How did I manage to draw the short straw by the way?”

  “We didn’t draw straws,” Bee explained as she tied the satin bow at the top of the corset, giving it a little pat when she was finished. “We took an exe
cutive decision that you were the best for the job.”

  “What!” Charlotte said outraged turning to face Bee. She gave a quiet whimper as the move made her try to suck air in to a much compressed chest. “I’m hurt!” she said batting her eyes pitifully back at Bee.

  “No you aren’t,” Karin said as she stuck her head in the car window. The four friends in the car gave various screams in shock. Beth put a hand to her chest trying to calm her beating heart down. Vickie looked like she was wilting in her seat.

  “Are you ready?” Karin continued with a grin ignoring the irate looks she received, gleeful that she had managed to take them by surprise.

  “As close as I’ll ever be,” Charlotte mumbled as she tried to scramble out of the car in her ultra high heels and tightly clinched corset. When it looked like she wasn’t going to quite manage it, Bee helpfully put her foot on Charlotte’s bum and pushed.

  “Hey!” there was a yelp and Charlotte ended up half sprawled, half standing on the curb looking disgruntled but like every security guard’s fantasy. Plan A was well under way.

  Chapter 19

  With Charlotte chatting up the security guard, asking for directions to a fictitious dress up party, the next phase of Plan A could begin. Beth opened the private door to Brian’s flat with the spare keys Brian left at their home. With his frequent break-ups with both girlfriends and wives, Brian felt it was much safer to leave the keys with his rarely seen sisters. Beth just hoped that the security cameras weren’t being watched enough to draw attention. They just weren’t up for discussing things with private security about if and when they should be able to go into their brother’s flat. With Charlotte’s cleavage they had the best of chances to go undetected but still, Beth thought, you never know.

  Legit visit or not, Beth and Karin still cast anxious looks over their shoulders as she unlocked the door. They were dressed in black from head to toe which made their pale faces look like they were floating in the darkness without bodies. Not exactly inconspicuous Beth thought. Studiously ignoring the duo were Vickie and Bee still sitting in the car. They were supposed to be keeping an eye out for any office staff working late. Okay, okay it was highly unlikely anyone was going to work that late but it had been used as a good excuse to keep the suitably rotund sibling in the car.

  Beth was surprised that the excuse had worked but wasn’t willing to kick a gift horse in the mouth. Bee’s quiet agreement when she came up with the plan had probably helped a great deal. Still Beth wouldn’t put it past Vickie to show up inside if they didn’t hurry. Mainly for the use of any bathrooms but Beth was determined to keep her sister out of it if at all possible.

  “This is spooky,” said Karin as the two of them stepped through the wide entryway. The massive door led into a dimly lit dark wood floored entryway that was about six feet across and eighteen feet long. To the right was a majestic staircase with a curved banister, massive gold framed oil paintings were hanging on the wall to the left and at the end of the hall was a door.

  “What’s that?” Karin asked pointing to the door which had a big code lock.

  “It leads to the office reception,” Beth replied. “Brian could stroll right in without leaving the comforts of home. The lock was there to stop the employees returning the favour. They have to go around to the front door and ring the bell like good little minions. Oh and the ultra big lock also seemed to impress whichever latest squeeze he might have brought home,” she added as an afterthought glancing in the tiny and neatly arranged cupboard under the stairs. She wondered if that was the door that murderer had walked through. Beth shook her head not wanting to think about it.

  “Oh nice,” Karin said rolling her eyes.

  “Oh it gets better,” Beth laughed. “Do you see that board to the right of the door? It’s a speaker system wired into the offices. Brian liked to listen in to the office gossip.”

  “He really was a sad excuse for a man wasn’t he? Hey, why are all the lights on?” Karin asked looking around as they walked around the hallway and Beth opened up the doors of the sideboard.

  “Automatic timers. Brian never knew when he was going to be around so all the lights go on and off automatically unless the system is turned off. He hated coming home to a dark house.” Beth shrugged. Brian had his quirks.

  Together they walked to the right and up the broad stairway that led to Brian’s actual apartment. The hallway was empty. Karin was right, Beth thought as she looked around, the atmosphere was heavy and there was an almost sinister feel about the place. While the police tape had been removed and their searches had been neat enough it just didn’t feel like Brian’s place anymore. It felt abandoned.

  Memories flooded back of the last time Beth had been in the flat. Only four weeks before the sisters had come to discuss the business plan in order to demonstrate to Brian that they were meeting the development targets as planned. Brian had sat there like the king of the castle with his financial papers and spreadsheets. He had shown them trends in the market and how hard it would be to make it without the right connections. He had made it impossible for them not to make him a partner rather then just another shareholder.

  As they walked up the stairs, Beth kept expecting to hear Brian’s voice making some droll comment about unwanted guests. It felt strange to think that he was gone and that he wouldn’t be saying anything again, unless, of course, Brian decided to come back to haunt them as a ghost. She shook her head. Better not to even think about it. Knowing Brian, if he thought that it would irritate them, he would come back from the dead and do exactly that.

  Beth shivered. “Whose bright idea was this anyway?” she asked looking back at Karin. Karin looked as pale as Beth felt but there was a determined glint in her eye. They had come this far there was no turning back.

  “Yours wasn’t it?” Karin replied with a grin as they headed into the open plan living room. The room echoed with their footsteps on the wooden floor. The pristine white couches looked like the latest vogue style. The Persian rug underneath was elegant and far too expensive to be walked on and huge windows showed views of the street, park and buildings across the square. High ceilings and a state of the art entertaining system finished the room off with style. It really did look like the set for a magazine or movie. Whatever could be said about Brian, he lived in style and lived it up.

  “Lets make like real thieves and find everything quickly okay?” Karin said looking over her shoulder at Beth. They shared a glance. Planning this had been all fun and games but it was kind of scary actually doing it.

  “Agreed!” Beth said with false cheerfulness. “Look all we want to do is get our paperwork. Just leave anything that looks like stuff to do with Brian,” she said to Karin casting a wary glance around the room.

  They made quick work of going through the apartment. Not that they wouldn’t have been happy to snoop longer but everything was so pristine and neat that there just wasn’t anything to go through. There was nothing in the sideboard in the living room, the kitchen looked like it was designed for a gourmet chef who only needed limited cupboard space and the dinning room fit to entertain the highest of high rollers without the benefit of drawers or equably suitable storage places.

  Brian had lived the high life without a doubt. Minimalist in style, the flat looked pristine. With nothing on the first floor of Brian’s home, the friends reluctantly headed up to what Beth affectionately considered ‘the Lion’s den’. She wondered how many conquests Brian had persuaded up the gleaming wood stairs before meeting his untimely death there.

  The master bedroom stretched half the length of the living space below. With its on-suite bathroom and dressing room, not a single luxury had been left out or missed. The huge king size bed in the centre of the room was piled high with a jumble of silk cushions. Heavy chocolate coloured silk drapes framed the windows and the scenic night outside. This was definitely seduction territory. Only the fine dusting of powder and the missing bed sheets seemed to signify anything out of the ordinary had oc
curred.

  Karin was standing to the side of the bed near the windows. She was staring down. Beth wandered closer. There was a dark stain on the wooden floor. It didn’t have an outline of where the body was but it was undoubtedly the spot where Brian had died. Beth shivered rubbing her hands up her arms. The room felt cold. It felt unreal that it had all happened here and that all these things had born witness to Brian’s last gasping moments.

  Shaking herself out of it, Beth said, “Let’s hurry,” which jerked Karin into action. “The faster we find our papers, the faster we can get out of here.” They opened drawers and the closets searching thoroughly but found nothing.

  “It has to be here somewhere. I know he had a whole load of family paperwork. Our paperwork will be with that. I’ve seen it.” Beth said with frustration. Each of the closets and drawers revealed neatly arranged rows of their contents. It looked like a boutique for shopping in, not a home where someone actually lived and certainly not Brian. He had been, quite simply, a slob.

  Karin suddenly turned toward the door to the bedroom. Her eyes wide and panicked she said, “I can hear something! What do we do? What if it’s the murderer?” She gasped out in a rush before hurrying over to the windows. Beth couldn’t figure out what Karin planned to do when she got there. Unless, of course, she had a pair of wings under her suit jacket.

  “Quick,” Beth said pulling her mind back to what was happening. “We’ll have to hide in here.” Opening a door to one of the walk-in closets, Beth dove in with Karin on her heels, pulling shut the door behind them. There just wasn’t enough junk in there to conceal the two of them so they headed into the back corner and kept low to the floor. Outside there were the sound of footsteps on the first flight of stairs.