“You thought he’d bled to death somewhere,” Kate finished the sentence for her and Sarah nodded.
“I felt awful afterwards and I thought that if someone else was trying to kill him, like he said, then they might finish him off and I’d be off the hook, so I daren’t tell anyone.”
“Why?” asked Andy gently. “It was self-defence, he could have killed you with the spanner.” Sarah shrugged. Andy continued, “Nobody would blame you for that.”
“You clearly weren’t trying to kill him or you’d have gone for his body,” pointed out Kate.
“I just couldn’t tell anyone.” Sarah looked down and her forehead creased.
“But, why not,” pressed Kate.
“Because I wanted to kill him. In that moment, I really did want to kill him and I could have done it. I’ve never been so angry. I could have killed him with Amy in the house.”
“Don’t worry, she’s seen worse on the TV,” said Andy with a smile, and he hugged her close.
“What did the police say about it?” asked Kate.
“They said it’s not murder, even if he’s died from his injuries, so they’re not pressing charges at the moment. They are very keen to find Shaun. He’s in some sort of trouble, but they wouldn’t say what.”
“I’d love to be there when they call Irene,” smiled Kate.
“How could she have lied like that to the police? She told them I’d confessed to murdering him and buried him under the patio! She really is a witch. I hope they charge her for wasting police time, but I guess while her son is still missing they won’t.”
“She’s just jealous of your patio, that’s all,” grinned Andy. Kate saw the look that passed between them and thought it was probably a good moment to make her excuses and leave them to it.
Chapter 23
Sunday had been a very quiet day after the emotional overload of Saturday. Only Amy had appeared to have her usual energy levels, so Andy had taken her off to Sarah’s to start sorting out the patio. This left Kate and Sarah with a few hours to themselves before Sarah had a shift at the pub. Sarah had a long soak in the bath and then padded into Kate’s bedroom to borrow her array of beauty products. Kate was just out of the shower and was towel-drying her hair. Sarah tightened the belt of the borrowed dressing gown she was wearing, then climbed onto Kate’s bed and lay back against the many cushions that were neatly rowed up across the top of the bed. Sarah grabbed one of the large ones and threw it at Kate and missed.
“You weren’t in the netball team, then?” Kate said, as she concentrated her drying efforts on the ends of her long hair. Sarah picked a smaller cushion and made a direct hit.
“Oy!” Kate folded her towel and reclaimed the cushions from the floor and returned them to their usual positions.
“Your bedroom needs to see more action than cushion-arranging,” said Sarah, as she watched Kate.
“Not very likely. So what happened with you and Andy after I went to bed?”
Sarah moved quickly to sit up, crossed her legs, and spun around to face Kate “We finished the bottle and went to bed. Separate beds!”
“You’re kidding, I only went to bed so that you two could have… some private time.”
“Do you mean a snog?”
“You have such a way with words. So did you have a snog?” said Kate.
“No!”
“Why not? It’s obvious you two really like each other.”
“I’d love to bump fuzzies with Andy, but there’s Shaun…”
“I didn’t know you were into threesomes.” Kate raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. “What’s it got to do with Shaun?”
“Andy and Shaun used to be good mates and, with Shaun missing, it doesn’t seem right.”
“So you’re going to save yourself until Shaun reappears?”
“I don’t know.” Sarah flopped back onto the cushions, “I don’t even know if Andy’s interested.”
“Get your eyes tested! He adores you and Amy.”
“He could just feel sorry for us. It’s all too complicated.”
“Life is complicated. Get over it,” Kate said, as she bopped Sarah playfully on the head with a cushion. “Don’t let Shaun get in the way, he’s spoiled too much already.”
“Would you? You know, dance the horizontal tango with Andy?”
“Why can’t you just say sex?”
“You are such a grown-up,” groaned Sarah. “So would you have sex with Andy?”
“No! That’s virtually incest. He would have been my brother in law if… well, you know. If I were you I wouldn’t leap into bed with him; I’d check he wanted a relationship first.”
“Still, not had a one-night stand, then?” grinned Sarah.
“No!” squeaked Kate, as she started to batter Sarah with any cushion she could grab.
It felt good to get back to the relative normality of filming on Monday morning, although it was all very different as they were out on location in Bath for the next few weeks. Kate was keen to speak to Tim as she’d only managed a brief call with him the day before and he was being cagey about something. There was still no answer from Didi’s flat, so Kate just wanted to check that she was okay. The weather had taken a sudden turn for the worse, with a chilly wind and drizzly rain making the soggy Monday feel more like November than June. It was hard to believe that they had been sitting in the sunshine only two days earlier. Her taxi pulled up outside the park and she could see a huge marquee had been set up for them. Some casual-looking security guards were patrolling the area and a few groups of fans and onlookers were clustered about despite the miserable weather.
Kate showed her pass and, thankful that she’d gone for the skinny jeans and mac rather than a dress, was heading for the marquee when she saw Didi at the entrance, laughing with Marcus. Didi was wearing a smart black-and-white dress and black heels, and looked every bit like one of the cast.
“Hey, look who it is,” Kate said, as she stepped out of the rain and Didi gave her a warm hug. “Don’t you look well?”
“I feel fabulous,” grinned Didi, looking a good ten years younger than the last time Kate had seen her. Her make-up was flawless and her hair had been cut and styled. “Tim said I could be an extra!”
“Did he, now?” laughed Kate, wondering what Tim was up to and she felt a little bit guilty for automatically assuming he had an ulterior motive.
“She’s going to be in the café scene,” said Marcus, giving Kate a brief kiss on the cheek. Kate couldn’t get over how amazing Didi looked.
“I’ve been in hair and make-up already. Didn’t they do a good job?”
“Amazing. Remind me to see if I can get a walk-on part and have the same treatment,” said Kate, looking around for Tim.
“Tim’s in make-up now,” said Marcus, answering her thoughts. “I take it you two have made up, then,” he said, ushering her and Didi further inside.
“I wouldn’t go that far, but he was a big help this weekend. Not that I could get an update out of him.”
“I won’t hear a word said against him. He’s been marvellous,” extolled Didi. “He is an utter sweetheart.” Kate gave Didi a disbelieving look. “He is! I’ve had the best time ever.”
“Is he paying you to say that?” Kate said. She had thought Didi was a better judge of character, but then, if she’d only experienced Tim in full-on charm offensive, that would explain her current point of view.
“No. I’ve just spent some time with him and, talk of the devil.” Tim walked purposefully over to them, wearing one of Patrick’s expensive handmade suits and his own sunglasses; it was a deadly combination. Pippa was marching up behind him, looking bedraggled, thanks to the weather, and running through a long list of things, but Tim didn’t appear to be listening.
“My favourite girl, you look stunning,” said Tim as he air-kissed Didi. Kate had felt a momentary flicker, as she couldn’t see through the sunglasses who he was looking at, and for a moment she thought it was her, but thankfully the feeling left
her just as quickly. Pippa gave up and stomped off. “Marcus, Che is looking for you. Kate we need to talk,” and he took her by the elbow and marched her back through the marquee, out into the rain, over the grass and to his car. Terry waved through the glass and Kate waved back. “Get in,” Tim instructed.
“Why?” Kate stood next to the car and felt defiant. The rain was falling harder now and it was running off her mac in resolute lines.
“Because I don’t want anyone to hear what I’m about to say.”
“Right, okay,” and, feeling a little silly for her pointless churlishness, she got inside the car.
“I’ll have to cut this short,” started Tim, “but, basically, Didi’s flat has been ransacked and drug dealers are living in it.”
“Oh, my God!” Both Kate’s hands flew to her mouth.
“I guess the place was left empty too long. Did you know it was in a seriously bad area?” Kate shook her head, her hands still at her mouth. “I had a run-in with the drugs gang, but I escaped, thanks to my stunt training and Terry’s impressive driving.” He wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to be the hero in this story. “I’ve set Didi up in a suite at my hotel in London, but we need to sort out something permanent for her. Shall I get Pippa onto it?”
Kate looked puzzled. It was a lot of unexpected information to have fired at you, especially when you’d assumed that Didi had been tucked up in her own bed for the last couple of nights.
“Can’t we get the council or police to sort out the drug dealers, so she can go home?”
“Kate, nobody of Didi’s age should be living there; it’s gangland hell. I’m amazed she’s stayed there this long.”
“I had no idea. I thought she had money. St Gaudentia’s isn’t cheap.”
“Her niece paid for that. Apparently she never visits and obviously wasn’t about to put her life on hold to look after Didi, so paying for the convalescent home was the easy answer.”
“I think I probably need to talk to her niece, then. I’ll get her details and call her in the next couple of days.” Kate looked at Tim to see if he agreed.
“Why put off until tomorrow that which you can delegate today?” Tim recited in a thespian manner, but catching the look that Kate gave him, he added, “I’ll ask Pip.”
“So, if you were planning to sort this all out, why are you asking me?” said Kate, not sure why she was feeling so niggled with Tim, as he had clearly gone over and above with regards to looking after Didi.
“She’s your friend. I didn’t want to just take over.”
“Not until you’d asked if you could take over first. I see.” Kate got out of the car, and walked away with as much dignity as the driving rain would allow. Tim watched her leave, his face showing the expression of a man who was damned whatever he did.
The rain caused all sorts of problems for filming, so most of the day was spent holed up in the café and only a couple of usable scenes had been shot. Che was in a foul mood and was barking at everyone; woe betide anyone who suggested that they abandon filming for the day. Dennis had implied it and Kate had thought that Che was going to spontaneously combust with fury. At least the script was working well, and Lumina and Tim were both doing an amazing job. Patrick was letting his guard down and Tim played it brilliantly.
Didi was enjoying every second of her 15 minutes of fame. She was ushered here and there under a large umbrella by a runner and brought countless cups of coffee. Didi was an instant hit with everyone and Kate thought that she could detect a little bit of jealousy from Lumina as Tim fussed around Didi instead of her. Eventually, Che admitted defeat at four o’clock and everyone set about packing up. As Sod’s Law would have it, by four-thirty the rain had ceased, the sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds and the wind had disappeared completely.
After a few autographs for those who had been patiently waiting, they all retreated to the hotel bar. Kate crashed out in what turned out to be a surprisingly low chair overlooking the gardens and considered jotting down some more of her novel; the fairly blank day had given her a few good ideas. She was just resting her head on the back of the seat with her eyes closed when a tap on the shoulder made her spring up.
“Good grief, Lumina, you frightened the life out of me,” said Kate.
“Sorry, just wanted a private word.” If it was about her and Tim again, Kate really didn’t want to know.
“It’s about me and Tim,” said Lumina. Kate wanted to hide. She even looked outside to see if that might provide an escape route. Pippa was walking Horse around the grass just outside and gave a faint smile and a half-hearted wave in Kate’s direction. Kate grimaced back.
“I don’t really think I’m the right person to talk to.” Kate went to get out of the chair, but Lumina gently put a hand on her shoulder to keep her where she was, and the look in her eye was the final persuasion she needed. Kate relaxed and accepted the inevitable.
“Okay, how can I help?”
“I haven’t seen Tim all weekend. I knew there was someone else…”
“Has he not explained that he was helping Didi most of the weekend? He’s been a Good Samaritan. Her flat has been taken over by drug-dealing squatters.” She hoped it sounded dramatic enough to get Tim off the hook.
“I know. It’s Didi I’m worried about. Look at him! He’s obsessed with her.” They both looked over to the bar, where Tim and Didi were perched on bar stools cackling their heads off.
“Oh,” was all Kate could manage in return.
“He cancelled our weekend in Monaco for her. I mean he can’t really prefer that to me, can he?” Lumina looked disdainfully in Didi’s direction, as Kate realised that actually he had ditched Monaco in favour of her doorstep.
“No, I really think you’ve got the wrong idea here. They just get on really well. They’re similar characters; they both put on a good front to hide what they really feel. Sort of playing a part most of the time, keeping the real them under wraps. Sometimes you see a glimpse of it and then, before you know it, the masquerade is back in full swing.” Kate paused and saw that Lumina had a look about her of a chimp trying to do applied mathematics, but slightly more pained.
“You don’t think he and Didi…”
“God, no!” Kate was horrified at the thought and dismayed by Lumina’s paranoia.
“Good. But you think Tim is acting all the time?”
“That wasn’t exactly what I said… but have you noticed how he’s different when he’s one to one?”
Lumina shook her head slowly and turned to look out of the window. “Watch him!” she shouted as she banged on the glass, making both Kate and Pippa flinch. Horse was merrily chewing on a trailing geranium and looked rather pleased with himself. Thankfully, Lumina stormed off to reclaim her pet and left Kate to work out how best to get out of the ridiculously low chair without looking as if she needed a hip replacement.
Kate found Pippa with a mobile glued to her ear. She was sitting on a damp-looking bench in the courtyard garden and waved to indicate she wouldn’t be long, so Kate perched tentatively on the edge of the soggy wood and hoped it wouldn’t leave a wet patch on her trousers. Pippa’s hair was not looking its usual sleek self. The rain had obviously unleashed a natural kink that was usually kept in line with a daily dose of hair-straighteners. It suited Pippa to be a little less angular, thought Kate. Finally Pippa ended the call with a big sigh.
“Think I’ve got the answer to Didi’s problem.”
“Great, what is it?”
“The niece is a harridan, couldn’t give two hoots about Didi. She said something about promising her mother that she’d look after her. She was all for putting Didi in a nursing home.” Kate looked shocked. “Exactly. Anyway I spoke to Tim’s accountant and he’s got a couple of Docklands apartments, one of which is vacant.” Pippa looked at Kate to indicate that was apparently the end of the sentence, but Kate was looking blankly at her.
“And…” Kate encouraged.
“And Didi could live in o
ne.”
“How much rent does the accountant want? I don’t think Didi has much of an income, you see.”
“Not the accountant, Tim. It’s Tim’s apartment and he bought it for capital appreciation rather than rental income. God knows, he doesn’t need the money.”
“But, you’re going to check with Tim first?”
“As a fait accompli, yeah,” Pippa grinned. Kate daren’t think what Lumina would do when she found out.
Andy was getting twitchy about the speed at which his house was coming along, so decided to take a couple of days off to have a concerted effort at making it one hundred per cent habitable. He also needed a few nights back in his own bed. Sleeping under the same roof as Sarah was driving him slightly crazy. Shaun dominated virtually every conversation and, with Kate away, there was an awkwardness between the two of them. Being in his own house felt good and reminded him that he was meant to be a carefree bachelor.
A couple of days of hard work really brought the place together. Andy had been flat out on the decorating and snagging, and a mate in the carpet trade had done him a good deal on carpet for upstairs. The kitchen hadn’t needed much, but the finished tiles had made a strong statement and the solid-oak table and benches made it look complete. He looked around the bare walls and had an idea. Andy retrieved the screwed-up piece of paper from his glove box and set about ironing it. Once it was in a picture frame, the picture that Amy had drawn him of three sunflowers was quite impressive and totally original. He hung it above the seating area, where it would have pride of place. It had taken a while, but Andy had finally fathomed out what was missing from his new home. It was the finishing touches, the things that actually made it feel like a home rather than a nicely decorated box.
He bounded upstairs and took a good, hard look at his bedroom. The bedroom, he had thought, was finished. The fitted ash wardrobes were still simple but elegant, the wrought-iron bed still a classic and the white walls, white blinds, white duvet and matching pillow cases could offend nobody. The single hanging light bulb, on the other hand, wasn’t the prettiest sight and gave off a harsh light. Andy stared around the room,
It Started at Sunset Cottage Page 27
