‘You could say it’s because I’m a changed man,’ Zak somewhat cryptically replied.
‘You’ve certainly been acting mighty strange since you came back from Carlisle. You even sound different. What on earth happened to you when you were there?’
‘Perhaps I saw the light, but that would be way too fanciful,’ he hurried on, noticing the worried look that sprang into her eyes. Then, thinking she deserved an explanation, he invented something as near to the truth as he thought Naomi would still find believable.
‘I never mentioned this to you, but when I was down in Carlisle I was nearly killed by an electric shock from the television set in my room.’ Immediately, concern appeared in Naomi’s eyes. ‘The power lead was live when I touched it and it threw me right across the room. It actually knocked me out for a while. You know, luv, things like that can make you reassess your life. It makes you realize what’s important and what’s not.’
‘You poor dear.’ Naomi placed her hand comfortingly upon his and gave it a squeeze. ‘It must have been a dreadful shock.’
Zak laughed at her choice of words. ‘Yes, you could say that,’ he chuckled.
Naomi smiled in embarrassment and gave him an affectionate push.
‘You know what I mean.’
‘Of course I do and you’re right, it was a shock in both senses of the word.’ He turned in his seat and placed his free hand over hers, giving it a returning squeeze.
‘You’ve been acting so strange, I just knew something must have happened to you down there,’ she said.
Her hand felt good in his and he gave it another squeeze. He looked into her eyes and smiled. ‘I’ve got a lot to thank you for, Naomi; not least for finally making me see things as they really are,’ he said quietly.
She looked pleased. ‘You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that. I thought I wasn’t going to see you again when we spoke last night,’ she said hoarsely as her eyes suddenly filled with tears.
Zak looked around anxiously. The last thing he wanted was for Naomi to draw attention to them. He was still not used to the idea of being out with a young woman almost half his age. Sitting next to her and holding her hand while she cried quietly into her drink in the corner of a public bar was definitely not on his agenda.
‘I think we should go somewhere a bit more private, Naomi. Why don’t we go for a drive while we talk?’
‘I’m sorry, Zachary,’ she said, surreptitiously wiping her eyes on a pretty lace handkerchief, ‘I was determined not to cry when we met but I didn’t think I’d be crying with happiness. Instead of driving around, why don’t we go back to your hotel room, unless you don’t want me there,’ she added anxiously.
‘No, I’d love to take you back with me if that’s all right with you. I was worried you wouldn’t want to be alone with me,’ he said apologetically.
‘How could you think that? There’s nothing I want more,’ she said, a determined look on her face.
‘Right then, drink up and let’s go,’ he said, downing his whisky in one swallow. With the fiery liquid coursing through his body, he felt he could take on the world.
Making love to Naomi was not the same as making love to Jeannie. For a start, Naomi was much less experienced than Jeannie and nor was she as inventive or exuberant. On the other hand, she was the perfect foil for him, being both innocent and eager to learn. Later, when they both lay back exhausted Naomi gasped:
‘I don’t know what it is, perhaps it’s just this room, Zachary, but you were fantastic. It’s never been like this before. I never thought making love could be quite so wonderful. I don’t want to stop.’
Zak smiled contentedly. It did his male ego a power of good to receive such praise, especially after having received such a comprehensive slap in the face from his wife. ‘I’m pleased you found it to your satisfaction, luv, but you’re going to have to let me rest for a while, unless you want to kill me.’
‘That’s the last thing I want, Zachary dear. But why do you keep calling me luv? You’ve never done that before. Where did you pick that up?’
‘I dunno,’ he said, completely relaxed with the situation. ‘It just feels right. Look,’ he added, changing the subject, ‘why don’t you stay here with me, tonight. You could ring up the friend you’re staying with and make some excuse, couldn’t you?’
‘I suppose so,’ she said somewhat doubtfully.
‘What’s wrong?’ Her response was not what he expected.
‘It’s just that I haven’t got any night clothes or any wash things with me and if I stay I’d like to look nice for you in the morning.’
He was relieved. ‘I’m not worried by any of that, luv, and I’m sure you’ll look just as gorgeous in the morning as you do now. If it makes you feel better, you can borrow a pair of my pyjamas and there are plenty of spare toothbrushes and soaps in the bathroom. Or, if you prefer, I’ll drive you around to your pal’s flat so you can pick up an overnight bag. How about it?’
‘Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind, I’ll give Jilly a ring and tell her not to expect me back tonight. She’s a good friend and I know she won’t tell anyone where I am.’
‘That’s settled then,’ Zak said with a smile. ‘Now, where were we?’
Zak was right. Naomi did look just as gorgeous the next morning and it was with great reluctance that he left her to go off early to the office. Still half asleep, she reassured him she would get up later in her own good time. He, on the other hand, had to get to the office early. He had a car to return and he didn’t want anyone asking awkward questions. There were also various purchases he needed to make.
As he drove along his usual route to the showroom, he was surprised at how well he felt. In fact, considering his lack of sleep together with all his exertions during the night, he felt surprisingly strong and wide-awake. There were definite advantages to owning a fit, healthy body, he decided. Difficult though it was, he tried to put all thoughts of Naomi out of his mind because this was to be an important day. The bank manager, Stafford Crowley, as well as young Vincent Osborne, of Osborne, Osborne and McAdam, the company solicitors, were coming in at ten o’clock to witness him signing the bank loan as well as the purchase agreement for the Carlisle business, and there were important matters he needed to attend to first.
He arrived back at his showrooms only just in time. George Humphries, the garage supervisor, clocked in just minutes after he drove away in his gleaming new car to make certain essential purchases. Because he was far too early for the shops, he had to wait nearly an hour before they opened.
In the event, Zak’s preparations were more difficult to achieve than he expected and he was late arriving at the showrooms. An anxious Phil had asked Diana to advise him the moment he showed up and he had scarcely sat down in his office before Phil rushed in to see him. It was nearly nine forty-five. Crowley and Osborne were due at ten.
‘Are you all r…’ The words froze on Phil’s lips when he saw Zak’s heavily bandaged hand.
‘What’s wrong with your hand?’ he demanded.
‘I tripped over in my hotel room this morning when I was getting ready to come out and I fell over and sprained my wrist,’ Zak lied. ‘I’ve only just got back from the hospital.’
Phil looked critically at the bandaged hand. ‘I must say, they didn’t make a very professional job of tying it up. That bandage won’t last the day.’ He sounded suspicious.
Phil was perfectly correct. Zak should have got someone to tie the bandage for him - Naomi would have been ideal - but Zak had decided that the fewer people who knew what he was up to the better, so he had done the job himself, and a sorry mess he had made of it.
‘You’re absolutely right. I’m not too pleased with it, either. Some young kid of a doctor did it for me. I reckon I’d have been better off with a nurse. He didn’t have a clue about bandaging injuries. I think I should go and get it done properly by my own doctor.’ So saying, he stood up.
Immediately a look of panic crosse
d Phil’s handsome features. ‘You can’t do that. We’ve got Crowley coming in any minute now with the bank loan document for you to sign, as well as Vincent Osborne with the Ibbotson contract which also needs signing and witnessing. It’s taken a deal of work to arrange all this. You can’t possibly go until you’ve signed.’
Zak waved his hand under Phil’s nose. ‘Come on; there’s no way I could sign anything with my hand in this condition. I doubt if I could even hold the pen, let alone write with it.’
‘You could sign left-handed, Phil said hopefully. ‘That would still be all right if it was properly witnessed.’
‘No, that wouldn’t be right. Even if Crowley and Osborne were willing to accept a left-handed signature, I wouldn’t want to finalize such an important deal in that way. It would seem unlucky, somehow. You know, it would be like a bad omen and I don’t want anything to jinx this deal.’
Despite all Phil’s appeals and blandishments, Zak remained firm. They would have to wait a few more days for the final signing, he insisted. By this time, already made deeply suspicious by the very amateur attempt at bandaging, Phil had the strongest reservations about the injury his boss claimed to have sustained. But other than calling him a damn liar to his face, there was little he could do other than accept it. He made one last attempt to save the situation.
‘These are busy people, Zachary, and if we put them off I don’t know when I’ll be able to get them together again. Also, I’m not sure how long Bill Wragg will be prepared to wait. Take it from me, he sounded very impatient when I last spoke to him. I’ve worked bloody hard putting this deal together, and I don’t want you to lose this once in a lifetime opportunity over something as trivial as a signature. At least give it a try, won’t you?’ So saying, he held out his gold, Mont Blanc pen.
‘I shouldn’t worry about Crowley or Osborne. You know what solicitors are; they’ll charge for their time whether I sign or not. As for Wragg, that’s a chance we’ll just have to take.’
Nevertheless, taking the proffered pen with his left hand, he sat down at his desk again. Carefully he slid it between the fingers and thumb of his bandaged hand, wincing with pretend pain as he did so. Phil looked on, an unfathomable expression on his face. Making sure he put no force whatsoever into his grip Zak made a show of trying to move his hand in a caricature of a signing motion. The pen made a few scratchy marks on the paper but that was all. Pretending to make another supreme effort, Zak tried a second time but with almost identical results.
‘See, it’s just like I told you. It’s no use. I can’t grip the damn thing. The doctor warned me I wouldn’t be able to hold anything for a few days. At least he was right about that.’ Shaking his head sorrowfully, Zak carefully slid the pen out from between apparently lifeless fingers with his left hand and returned it to Phil who took it without comment. After replacing the cap and returning it to his inside pocket, he turned and made for the door, saying as he went.
‘I’ll explain to our visitors that you are indisposed. By the way, in case they want to know, when do you think you might be able to use your hand again?’ He had a bleak, hard look in his eyes.
Tying his best to sound deflated and apologetic, Zak replied, ‘The doctor said about a week but, remember, he was the one who put this bandage on, so I’m not sure I’d believe a word he said.’ The last thing he wanted was to raise Phil’s suspicions any more than they were already.
‘Right, I’ll let them know. I’ll also give Bill Wragg a ring while you’re out getting your hand seen to. Let’s hope he doesn’t decide to give up on us.’
After leaving the showrooms, Zak headed back to the Mount Plaza hotel. He rang his room on the way hoping to catch Naomi still there. He was in luck. She had not yet left. She had taken a shower, followed by a leisurely breakfast and had been on the point of leaving when Zak’s call came through.
‘If you could hang on, I’ll be with you in about twenty minutes,’ he began. ‘There’s something important I need you to do for me. I’ll explain what it is when I get there.’
The only thing Naomi had to do was find another job so she was more than happy to delay her departure until Zak arrived back but when she saw his bandaged hand she immediately became agitated. Quickly he waved her concern away.
‘It’s not as bad as it looks. In fact, it’s my hand I want you to help me with.’
‘What can I do? You need a doctor.’
‘Not this time, luv. The truth is, there’s nothing wrong with it.’
‘Why is it bandaged, then?’ she said, wrinkling her nose prettily as she spoke.
‘That’s because I want certain people to believe I can’t write with it at present but, as you can see, I’m flaming hopeless when I’m working one-handed.’ He could have added that he was little better when he had the use of both hands. ‘I can’t go to a doctor,’ he continued, ‘because he’ll only start asking awkward questions. That’s when I thought of you. You’re not going to start asking awkward questions, are you?’
In the event, Naomi asked no questions whatsoever and, in addition, she made a reasonably professional looking job of the bandage. This time Zak made sure she tied it in a way that made it impossible for him to hold a pen. He was a poor actor and did not want to have to repeat his performance of earlier in the day.
That done, he persuaded her to stay on with him. He enjoyed having her around and it was nice to think he had at last found someone he could trust. As it happened, she needed somewhere to stay while she got her life back together and he had plenty of room in his suite of rooms. In exchange, she could do some shopping and keep him company. She would also be on hand to bandage his hand as the need arose.
Naomi was already finding the cramped conditions with her friend, Jilly, not entirely to her liking, as nor was it to Jilly's and she needed little persuading to move in with Zak. In fact, the suggestion suited her down to the ground as she was anxious to spend as much time as she could with him and the arrangement gave her just the opportunity she wanted.
Zak spent the remainder of the morning helping Naomi move in and when not listening to her excited chatter, he considered his next move. What he desperately needed now was information. But, until he knew what was going on, he was like a rudderless ship. How to get that information was the problem.
Chapter 13
Zak
Zak was still wondering how he might make progress with his investigations the next day when an item on the early evening news gave him the germ of an idea. According to the report, the police had bugged the telephone of someone they suspected was about to commit a serious crime. Then, with the information obtained from the tap, they had apprehended the criminal in the very act of committing his crime. Zak desperately needed to find out what game his Financial Director was playing and wondered if he might be able to use the same method. He had no idea how to do it but he did have two very strong cards in his hand; first, he owned both his family home and his business offices, so getting discrete, out of hours access to both properties would be easy; second, he was now very wealthy and could afford to hire someone to do the difficult and dangerous work for him; including gaining access to Phil’s private house.
Checking through the Yellow Pages, Zak found any number of Detective Agencies offering private investigative work. With no time to waste, he decided to try one or two private individuals first since they gave their mobile telephone numbers as their points of contact.
He was unimpressed with the answers the first three investigators gave to his questions but he appeared to strike gold on his fourth attempt. Duncan Brierley, the PI at the other end of the line, was available and as it was still comparatively early, they agreed to meet later in a quiet bar on the outskirts of the city. Time was short so Zak and Naomi ate a hasty meal in a nearby café and afterwards, leaving Naomi to amuse herself for the next couple of hours, Zak headed off to meet Brierley.
The firm of Duncan Brierley, PI, proved to be a one-man operation but before starting up on his ow
n, Brierley had worked as an investigator for a major insurance company. When Zak contacted him, he’d been independent for a little over a year and was just beginning to establish himself, he told Zak. Over drinks, Zak assessed the man’s suitability for the work he needed doing. They were much the same age and Zak quickly made up his mind in the P.I’s favour. Brierley seemed the ideal person to carry out the investigation and it wasn’t long before Zak was describing what he needed.
‘I’d like you to start almost immediately. In fact, I’ll pay extra if you can start straight away.’
‘As it happens, I’m between assignments, Mr Storie, so starting immediately won’t be a problem.’
‘I appreciate your honesty, Mr Brierley, but my offer to pay extra still stands.’ Taking a deep breath, Zak began.
‘For a start, my wife wants a divorce and I’m pretty certain she’s having an affair with a business colleague of mine. I’d like you to find out if she is and, if you can, how long it’s been going on.’
Brierley nodded knowingly. He’d been here many times before. Divorce was by far the most usual domestic problem into which he was drawn.
Zak continued.
‘But that’s not all. I think something else is going on that could affect my business and the reason there’s so much urgency about this investigation is because my signature is required on a contract that, depending on how it turns out, could make or break me. So, before signing, I want to be certain I’m not being set up.’
This sounded much more interesting and Brierley sat a shade more upright in his seat. His drink remained untouched on the table.
‘So, how can I help you, Mr Storie?’
As he had given voice to his concerns, Zak’s mouth, inexplicably, had gone dry and he took a deep drink from his glass before continuing.
‘I want you to bug the telephones in my home as well as the phone in my colleague’s office? I can give you private, out-of-hours, access to both.’
SWITCHED: The man who lost his body but kept his mind. Page 22
