Brian smiled. “You are, Gina,” he said.
“Good!” Gina turned back to Rachel and continued with her story.
“Well, then. When they asked him about the affair, it was to accuse him of only being interested in his own fight with her husband. They tried to say that he wasn’t working for our interests at all. Robert was forced to reply under oath. He said that it wasn’t true. He said that it was only because he knew that Mrs Williams would have wanted her organs to be used after her death that he had decided to fight this case for us. They asked him how he knew such a thing, and Robert said that he was with Mrs Williams when she first got the card. He said that she spoke to him about it, and that he saw her fill it in. He said that was why her husband didn’t know anything about it, because they didn’t discuss things like that together anymore.”
“It didn’t half cause a stir,” Brian added. “Mr Williams was watching from the gallery at the time. He stood up and called Robert a liar. They shouted back and forth at one another until the judge had Mr Williams escorted from the court.”
“It serves him right!” Gina said. “Causing all this trouble for nothing! I’m glad it’s over with!”
Rachel looked surprised. “You mean it’s all finished? So soon?”
“I’m afraid so,” Brian replied. “Proving the existence of the organ donor card to the judge was what was important. With two independent witnesses both stating under oath that they had seen the card, I don’t think there’s any doubt that the judge will now accept that the card did exist.”
“And that’s it?” Rachel asked. She sounded disappointed.
Brian nodded. “Oh, Davidson went through the motions of course, and called a few more witnesses, but I think it’s all a foregone conclusion now. We just have to turn up tomorrow to hear the judge’s verdict. I think he’ll criticise the staff of the MRI for losing the card and getting the bodies mixed up, and that Dr Askwith will get disciplined, but I don’t think there is any doubt that the judge will find in their favour.”
Brian shrugged his shoulders. “It means we’ve lost, of course. But that was the plan, to make the MRI fight and win. I never dreamt that it would work so well, in fact I didn’t think it would work at all. I’ll say this for Robert, he’s got nerve. He’ll get into all sorts of trouble over what he did. The Law Society frowns on any kind of conflict of interest, but he took it to new heights today. They’ll definitely call into question his motives in taking this case, and in withholding information crucial to its outcome. Robert knew that would happen, but he didn’t care. When Robert told me that this case would be unconventional, he wasn’t joking.”
Rachel looked worried by the prospect that Robert would face some form of punishment. “Will he be alright?” she asked, hating herself for blushing slightly under her mother’s stares.
Brian dismissed her concern. “Don’t worry, Robert can take care of himself. I think he has his future already well planned out. He’s even given your mother a list of alternative solicitors. At least now I can concentrate on the real job. I can’t wait to face Sir Richard Hargreaves!” Brian looked delighted at the prospect. “Now that the case for negligence against the MRI has been disproved, I’m going to slaughter him in court! I just hope that they don’t chicken out and settle beforehand.”
Talk of settling produced an instant reaction from Gina. “We won’t settle,” she told Brian in a grimly determined voice. “Not after all the trouble he’s caused us. I don’t just want to make him pay; I want him to suffer! And when he does pay, I want everybody to know and see him pay!”
Rachel didn’t hear her mother’s words. She was looking down, fiddling with her glasses in her hand. It wasn’t fair, she thought to herself, miserably. She had missed it all again! And, what was far worse, she suddenly had this terrible feeling that she never would meet Robert McCord. Somehow she knew what his well-made plans would be. With the case all but over, and the Law Society on his trail, it would be just like him to go back to America.
Chapter Thirty-Two
...and Turn
“You let him beat you!” Alex Williams accused Helen Worthington. He was angry, almost hysterical, and he was shouting at her. And he didn’t seem to care about who heard him anymore, either. They were in the lift of the building where the firm of Worthington, Leech and Harrington had their offices, and there were three other people in the lift with them. They all moved as far away from the arguing couple as the confines of the lift would allow.
Helen was just as angry as Alex was. Not just because of what had happened in court, but also because of the way Alex was treating her. He hadn’t stopped shouting at her since they had left the court building in Crown Square. Now Alex almost poked her in the chest with his finger as he ranted on.
“At the first opportunity, the first hurdle, you fell!” he shouted. “I told you that we should go first! I told you that he was up to something! But no, you wouldn’t listen! And now he’s won! He’s beaten me again!”
“It’s not over yet!” Helen argued, brushing aside his dagger like finger. Her voice was raised too. “I told you we should have made the Law Society aware of his conflict of interest!” she went on. “But no! You wanted to keep it quiet! You tied my hands, Alex! This is your fault! If I had my way, McCord would have been out of the picture right at the start!”
The doors opened and Helen swept out of the lift. Alex followed quickly after her.
“My fault?” he said as they hurried along the corridor. “Was it my fault you employed that incompetent, Hargreaves?”
Helen almost kicked the door open to her offices. She stormed through the reception area without a word to the secretaries, her partners or anyone. Alex followed behind her, still ranting at her.
“I told you this would happen! I told you not to allow him to go first!”
The door slammed behind them, but their raised voices could still be heard.
Helen threw her briefcase across the room and turned on Alex, pushing him back against the door. “I told you!” she almost screamed. Alex was surprised by the sudden violence, and stared at Helen as she continued to shout at him. “I told you McCord’s relationship with you and your wife was the only way to get rid of him! We should have used it! It was you who persuaded me not to! It was you who lost us this case, Alex! You! You and your stupid attempt to hide your precious wife’s affair!”
Alex came back to life. He grabbed Helen’s arms and pushed her roughly away. “Don’t bring Sarah into this!” he shouted.
Helen stepped forward again, determined to stand her ground. “She’s in it already!” she snarled. “Right up to her saintly armpits! McCord has seen to that! And there’s nothing we can do about it! Oh, we can get rid of him now! No problem! He’s admitted to it openly! But now it’s too late! Because no matter what we or anyone else says now, the MRI have won this case!”
“He lied!” Alex shouted.
“But they believed him!” Helen shouted back. “The judge believed him, everyone believed him! Even I bloody well believed him!”
Alex began stalking around the room in his frustration. “But he did it on purpose! Couldn’t they see that? Couldn’t they see what he was up to?”
“Of course he didn’t do it on purpose! You make it sound like he just walked in and announced it!” Helen held up her fist as she went on. “They accused him of it!” she said, her voice hoarse with shouting. “Right there in court! Without any warning! They just came right out and said it! And you could see that he was just as surprised as we were! He genuinely wasn’t expecting it! And that’s why they believed him!”
“Then overturn it!” Alex demanded. “Have it thrown out!” His final words were almost a plea. “Do something!”
Helen didn’t reply. Instead she brushed at her hair, calming herself as she went around her desk and sat down in her leather chair. Even then she didn’t answer, and only the sound of their heavy breathing broke the sudden silence in the room as she gathered her thoughts. Helen rubbed her hands ba
ck and forth along the arms of the leather chair, as if trying to gain some strength from it. Finally she stopped and said, “There is a way.”
“Then get on with it!”
“It will mean making your wife’s part in McCord’s embezzlement public knowledge.”
Alex turned away. Now he didn’t answer. This time it was his turn to be thoughtful.
“It’s the only way, Alex,” Helen went on, her voice now almost back to it’s usual silky tones. “We won’t be in court tomorrow. So there’s nothing we can do to affect the outcome of this case. But if McCord were to be arrested, if it subsequently became known that he conspired with your wife to rob you, while he was acting as your solicitor at the time, then his evidence can be called into question. It won’t stop the judge’s ruling on this case, but we can overturn it when we come to court against the Carter’s. McCord’s arrest and his conspiracy with your wife will be classed as new evidence. We can question his motives and his integrity. Who knows? If he can cheat on one client, he could cheat on another. Or maybe even lie in court.”
Helen paused for a moment, watching Alex closely. He still had his back to her, his head down. “You’ve nothing to lose now that the affair is out in the open,” she went on. “You don’t have any choice now. We have to use it, or lose.”
Alex slowly turned to face her. “There still isn’t any evidence to connect him with the theft,” he said downheartedly, his voice calm at last.
“We have the cheque book and the cards,” Helen pointed out. “They show that he was involved. Why else would they be in the name of Mrs Sarah McCord?”
Alex briefly closed his eyes. It was as if saying the name had physically hurt him. “It’s not enough,” he said.
“Maybe not to get a conviction,” Helen replied quickly. “But for our purposes, it’s enough.”
Alex stood still and stared at her for a moment. “Alright,” he said at last. “Do it. I’ll see that all the information I have is handed over to the police today.”
“Good!” Helen picked up the telephone. “Marcia? Come in here, please. I want some letters doing right away.” She turned back to Alex. “We can still win this, Alex. But remember, I only found out about your wife’s affair and McCord’s embezzlement today. I don’t want a kicking from the Law Society for withholding information.”
Alex nodded. “Tell me Helen, how did they know about the affair? How did they find out?”
Helen shook her head. “I don’t know, Alex,” she said as there was a timid knock on the door. “Come in Marcia! It’s quite safe!” she called out. Marcia came into the office, and Helen gestured the secretary towards the chair nearest to her desk. Then she said to Alex, “I suppose someone else who knew must have told them.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
An Evening Out
Rachel sat in her bed, thinking. Just like the night before, Gina had stayed for a while after Brian had left and they had sat and talked for a couple of hours. Eventually, Rachel had cheered up a little. But now, sitting here in the dark, alone with her thoughts, there were only two things on her mind. First, she had still not been able to meet Robert McCord. And second, the case was now virtually over, and she had this feeling that he might soon go back to America.
She had to see him before he left. She just had to. Slowly an idea had been forming in her mind. Her clothes were in the small wardrobe in the corner of her room. She could get dressed and be out of the hospital in minutes. She knew her way around dead easy. And it would be quiet now. It was half past nine. Nurse Kaye had already been in to see her, and Rachel would probably not be checked on again until the morning. She was sure she could be out and back again before anyone found out.
The more she thought about it, the more she knew that she could do it. She felt fine. She would be going home soon now, anyway. And Dr Cornwall had kept saying that she was as strong as an ox.
With sudden determination, Rachel threw back the covers and got out of bed.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Evidence
Helen Worthington waited until Marcia had gone out of the office before she opened the envelope her secretary had brought her.
After Alex had left earlier that day, something he had asked her had been praying on her mind. If they and McCord hadn’t told the MRI’s counsel about Sarah’s affair, who had?
She thought about ringing up Davidson and asking him. But she knew that would be foolhardy. Even if he knew, he would enjoy not telling her. She was sure McCord was intending to reveal it, but someone had beat him to the gun. But who else could possibly benefit from the MRI’s victory?
It was driving her crazy.
Suddenly she had a hunch. She made a few long distance phone calls, got the clearance and arranged for the transmission of the information she wanted, and then waited. It all took less than an hour.
And now it was on her desk. She took out the contents of the envelope and laid it carefully on the blotter in front of her. It was a photograph. She looked at it closely, quickly retrieving a magnifying glass from the back of her desk drawer and placing it over the photograph. She peered intently at the small, fuzzy, people in the picture. Finally she smiled.
Helen picked up the telephone and rang Alex Williams. She heard the message on his answer phone and waited impatiently for it to finish. After the beep she said, “Alex, its Helen. I’m coming over. I’ll be there in about an hour. I’ve got some information on your missing money. I now know who stole it. And I think you’ll be very surprised when I tell you who it was.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
The Rising Sun
Robert McCord was sitting in his office when his phone rang. He was busy preparing his reply to the expected investigation by the Law Society. Unlike Brian Morgan, he was less positive about the outcome. He picked up the phone and wedged it between his chin and shoulder, still concentrating on his letter.
“Hello?” he said, not really paying attention.
There was a slight pause, and then a timid voice said, “Hello, Robert?”
The voice sounded very familiar. In fact it was so familiar it startled him, and the phone fell from his shoulder and bounced on the floor as the cord stretched. He quickly grabbed for it, and brought it back up to his ear. “Hello?” he said again, his attention all focused now. “Who’s that?”
“It’s me,” the female voice said. “I heard a funny noise. Are you alright?”
Robert swallowed. He could feel the sweat breaking out on his skin. “I dropped the phone,” was all he could say. He quickly pulled himself together and demanded, “Look, who is this? Because if this is a joke, I don’t think it’s very funny!”
“I’m sorry,” the voice said after a pause. “It’s Rachel. Rachel Carter. You know, your client.”
“Oh, Rachel!” Robert repeated the name with sudden recognition. He rubbed his forehead and breathed out slowly as the tension suddenly left him.
“Yes. Did you think I was somebody else?” Rachel was saying on the phone. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No! It’s nothing! It’s just that –Are you still at the hospital?”
“No, I’m outside in a telephone box in the square.”
Robert stood up and went to the window. “Show me,” he said. Down in the semi-darkness of Lincoln Square, a figure emerged from the telephone box and waved.
“Can you see me?” Rachel asked.
“Yes, I can see you. I’m coming down. Don’t move, Rachel. Okay?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. He put the phone down, grabbed his jacket, switched everything off and left.
Rachel waited in the telephone box. She felt like her heart was in her mouth. She had hardly been able to answer him when she had heard his voice. And now he was coming to see her. At last they would meet.
The door of the office building opened and Robert McCord hurried quickly across the square towards her. As he came closer, Rachel almost had the urge to run to meet him. But she stood her ground, and waited for him. H
e came to stand in front of her, staring at her, his hands on his hips.
“What the hell are you doing out of hospital?” he demanded in obvious amazement. “Are you nuts, or something?”
“I wanted to meet you,” Rachel said. She felt sort of deflated.
Robert scratched his head. “You wanted to meet me?” he repeated. He looked around the square in exasperation. “Your mother’s gonna kill me!” Then he suddenly stepped forward and took her hand. “Come on!” he said, leading her across the rest of the square at a brisk walk.
“Where are we going?” she asked as she trotted along behind him.
“Somewhere warm to have a quiet talk!” he replied, and he led her into a small pub on Queen Street that faced the square. It was called The Rising Sun.
Rachel was led to an empty table and plonked down in a chair. “Wait there!” Robert said, as he went to the bar.
Rachel was suddenly left on her own. She brushed her hair back into place and pushed her glasses back up her nose. She had a quick look around. It was only a small pub, and it was probably half full of people. Some of them were looking at her, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious.
This was not going the way she had imagined it at all. And it had been so promising at the beginning. She was sure that he recognised her voice on the phone. She could almost hear him panic. And he admitted that he had dropped the phone. He must feel the same as her! He had to!
Robert came back with two drinks and sat next to her. “Here’s an orange juice for you,” he said, handing her the glass. “Because I guess you’re still on medication. And a Scotch for me, because right now, I damn well need it!” He raised the glass to his lips just as Rachel plucked up enough courage to say what was bursting in her mind.
“That’s because you thought I was Sarah on the phone.”
An Affair of the Heart Page 10
