Breathlessly, she jerked the door open, her arm over her ample chest so he wouldn’t notice she was braless. ‘Oh Dad, you’re back!’ she asked as innocently as she could muster. ’Did you forget something?’
‘My ruddy toolbox,’ he replied, striding past her. ‘Stupid of me. Can’t do a thing without my tools.’
‘Where did you leave it?’ she asked, shamming.
‘In here, I think,’ he answered as he went into the front room. ‘I tried to look through the window to see if I could see it, but I couldn’t see in properly. I thought I saw movement though. Were you in there?’
Oh good God, she thought. He saw me but didn’t see me! ‘Here it is by your chair, Dad.’ She answered, avoiding his question. She tried to lift the heavy box and then decided to leave it to him. ‘That’s too heavy, Dad. You should clear out the heavier tools.’
‘All my tools are essential, girl!’ he replied adamantly. ‘Clear tools out? You do have some strange notions.’
He headed for the door again. They repeated their farewells and then he was gone, apparently none the wiser about her nudity when he’d peered through the window. Charlotte stood leaning her back against the door, breathing deeply. Ye Gods, that was close, she said to herself.
*
Charlotte’s father hadn’t long left when Todd returned home - hungry, weary but satisfied with his morning’s work. He stripped, sank down onto his towel-protected kitchen chair and tucked into the healthy lunch that Charlotte had ready and waiting for him.
‘How was your morning, Darling?’ Charlotte asked and listened with genuine interest as he told her of the case that he’d solved that morning. As always, she was supportive of her smart husband.
‘So what about you? How was your day?’
Charlotte told him. He grinned at the episode with Sven and roared with laughter when she told him about her father’s surprise return. Todd slipped on his shorts and Charlotte, frowning in puzzlement, heard him open the front door. He was back moments later.
‘It seems that we actually have quite a lot of privacy in that room at this time of day as the brightness outside reflects the light, making it almost impossible to see in. I wouldn’t recommend cleaning the windows nude, but you could probably have stood there in the middle of the room in all your glory and he wouldn’t have been sure he’d seen you.’
‘I was in all my glory, but even if I’d known that amazing scientific fact, I definitely wouldn’t have tested the theory on my own father! Anyway, as I told you, he cupped his hands to the window, Todd!
‘True, but you said you were almost out of the room by then. Another missed opportunity, Angel?’
Charlotte pondered this. ‘Maybe,’ she answered, ‘but I don’t think that’s the way I want to announce it to my parents.’
‘So how would you like to announce it?’
‘Now that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?’
Chapter 35
BENJAMIN Spiralli was in the high-walled exercise yard on Saturday morning, chatting desultorily to Spike, his newly-acquired strong-arm pal, his eyes darting around the enclosure, watching and waiting. He’d heard from Henderton that Durak had failed and knew that he may need protection. Despite his caution, he was unprepared when a medium height slick-haired Latino stepped in front of him. Noticing that he was also suddenly in shade, he glanced to his right to see a bald tattooed man-mountain at his shoulder and, sensing more, discovered another slightly smaller but still huge Latino at his left shoulder. Spiralli’s new minder was nowhere to be seen.
‘Ey amigo,’ the shortest of the trio uttered softly, standing directly in front him almost nose to nose. Spiralli attempted to step back, but the giants on either side prevented him from moving. ‘I ‘ear jou ‘ave been taking matters into jour own ‘ands. Eez zees true, pendejo?’
Spiralli took up his usual aggressive stance, despite the odds. ‘What the fuck are you talking about?’
The man continued speaking quietly and politely. ‘Jou remember Senor Martinez, pendejo, our respected lawyer, zee one zat defended jou an’ made sure jou got what jou deserved for ze sake of our leettle company. ‘E arranged eet so that we can watch over jou.’ He stabbed his finger into Spiralli’s chest.
‘So?’ Spiralli tried to catch the stabbing finger. He missed and found his fingers crushed in a surprisingly strong grip.
‘E sent message to me. ‘E say “Diego, a leettle bird whisper to me. Zat dumbass, zat pendejo, sent a ‘eetman to wipe out ‘eez girlfriend because she was sore at ‘eem beating ze ‘ell out of her”. I ask jou, amigo, iz zees true zat jou would be so stupido?’ He released his grip on Spiralli’s fingers. Spiralli tried to rub the circulation back into them.
‘What do you mean hitman?’ Spiralli replied, indignantly. ‘I told him to rough her up a bit, that’s all. It’s not my fault if he fucked up!’
‘Jou bo’ fucked up, pendejo. Jou weell know full story from ‘eem soon enough. ‘E weell be ‘ere for a long time. But don’t jou worry, nobody weell not connect jou with his stunt to wipe out jour girlfriend. Zat iz our leetle gift to jou. Eet weell not affect jour good be’aviour record. My bosses want jou out of this place as quick as possible before jou fuck up some’ting else.’
‘So what’s it to you?’ Spiralli asked insolently.
‘Our leetle company tol’ jou to stay low an’ out of trouble. Jou cause us too much trouble on Sout’ Coas’. We lost our sheepment and many good men sanks to jou.’ The finger began stabbing again. ‘Jou theenk management eez ‘appy with jou?’ Diego asked, gently slapping Spiralli’s face three times. ‘We are ‘ere to make sure jou do that. Me, Santiago ‘ere,’ he said, pointing at Man-mountain, ‘an’ Lucas.’ He pointed to the slightly smaller man-mountain. ‘Comprendes?’ He slapped Spiralli once more, much harder.
‘I don’t need you or anyone else to…’
The fast sharp punch from the quiet South American, just below his ribcage, doubled him up. As the three men casually turned to walk away, Lucas slapped Spiralli across the side of his head with force enough to lift him off the ground. ‘Zunga!’ he sneered, but Spiralli didn’t hear him. He was out cold.
Whistles sounded and wardens ran towards the small affray but Spiralli heard none of that. The Colombians had melted into the crowd of grinning onlookers.
A lone wee Scotsman, no taller than Spiralli himself, squinted hard at Spiralli’s outstretched unconscious form from his place against the high wall.
Chapter 36
THE wee Scotsman made a call from his burner phone. ‘Jock?’
‘Scotty. How are things inside?’
‘Interestin’, Boss. I think we may’ve fun’ the connection yoose wanted with they frogmen.’
‘Tell me.’
‘Spiralli was the guy that fucked them up down South and he ended up here at Hardston. You ken, he lost them the package and four of they goons. They gave him a beating that put him in med today.’
‘Why now?’
‘Ah dinna ken, Boss. They gave him a bit of a blether first. I heard them tell Spiralli to keep his head doon in future. For some reason they dinna want him mackin’ any bother.’
‘Interesting, Scotty. Thanks. I’ll look into it. Onythin’ you need?’
‘Jist the usual, Jock.’
‘Aye, right. I’ll send it in by the usual way. Let me know if anything else develops.’
Jock disconnected and stared at the large aquarium in his plush office, his favourite Angelfish appearing to stare back at him, mouths opening and closing. The Colombians were a thorn in his side. He’d had the run of New Albion for years until they appeared looking for new drug-traffic routes a few years ago. His heart’s desire now was to reclaim his empire - by any means possible. He’d watch Spiralli. Perhaps his connection to “they frogmen” would open something up at last.
Chapter 37
AFTER leaving Charlotte, Fraser Duffy drove home deep in anxious thought. He wasn’t completely sure but he was almost certai
n that when he’d cupped his hands to that window, he’d glimpsed his daughter backing towards the door, carrying something, but it appeared to him that she didn’t have any clothes on! Surely his eyes deceived him, he thought. And why would she be naked anyway? It didn’t make any sense.
He was as embarrassed for himself as he was for his daughter if he’d really seen what he thought he’d seen. He knew he shouldn’t have peered in like that but at the time it had all seemed so innocent; he had simply been looking where he may have left his toolbox.
He was still in a disturbed daze when he returned home. His wife, Patience, wasn’t home yet. He distractedly prepared a cup of tea for himself and sat his slightly overweight frame at the kitchen table, staring unseeing in front of him, his tea going cold in his hands. That’s how Patience found him on her return shortly afterwards.
‘Hello, dear,’ she called out cheerfully as she walked into the kitchen, her hands full of shopping bags. ‘Been home long?’ She was dressed as she always was, blouse, cardigan, tweed skirt and sensible shoes, whatever the weather. Her silver hair was permed, wavy and neat, surrounding her permanent cosmetically-enhanced round face. Neither of them were tall. Neither of them resembled their tall, attractive daughter.
Fraser shook himself out of his reverie. ‘No, just got home. How was your church meeting?’
‘Oh! I can’t begin to tell you how annoyed I am about that group. They can’t agree on anything. We achieved nothing as usual. Do you know what Elspeth told me…?’ she began to ask as Fraser started to rise from the table. ‘Fraser, are you listening to me?’
‘What? Oh, yes. Of course.’
‘Fraser? Is something wrong? You seem distracted.’
‘Sorry, love, it’s just that I’ve had a bit of a…of a jolt. I…’ he tailed off, not sure how to continue, or even if he should.
Too late for that. ‘Fraser, what’s happened? Have you had an accident? Or is it something to do with Charlotte, Todd?’ Patience asked with concern.
‘Yes...no… I mean…’ He paused, then told Patience what had happened. ‘I’m almost certain she was…naked!’
Patience actually laughed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Fraser. Our daughter? It’s simply not possible.’
‘I know, and I’m not absolutely certain, Patience,’ he replied, ‘but, well, even the thought of it has shaken me. Not so much seeing her naked, although that’s bad enough. It’s the thought that she may have been naked. Why on earth would she be naked?’
‘She couldn’t have been. You are mistaken, Fraser!’
Fraser shook his balding grey head, his comb-over shaking loose. ‘I don’t know. I just don’t know.’
*
Todd settled down to watch the latest streamed episode of the televised cop series “Bosch”. Despite its similar theme to his real life, he found cop shows on television to be relaxing and entertaining. But today, he couldn’t concentrate and after rewinding and replaying the same sequence three times, he turned it off and gave thought to the issue that was niggling him.
Although he didn’t plan to make any announcements to the world, he wasn’t particularly concerned if their new way of life became public knowledge, despite the ribbing he would receive at the station for a while. That would pass and he was OK with being known as DI Nudist or something similar. He was confident enough in his own abilities and future; naturism wouldn’t adversely affect this.
Charlotte was a different matter though. Her strict religious upbringing and cloistered schooling at an all-girls boarding school had entrenched puritan ideals into her psyche and it had been an unexpected awakening for both of them when she discovered and embraced her love for their newfound clothes-free life. In some ways, she felt that her life had actually become more complete.
Her morbid fear of revealing her secret lifestyle publicly, especially to her parents, innocent as it was, was an unfortunate result of her upbringing and the straight-laced ideals that they’d instilled in her. Todd was all too aware that she couldn’t possibly tell her parents. This was beyond her.
But it wasn’t beyond him!
*
Todd found Charlotte in the kitchen, sitting at the table reading her book. Todd sat opposite and stared at her until she looked up. She smiled. ‘Something on your mind?’ she asked.
‘Yes, something on my mind. Letting family and neighbours in on our secret is on my mind.’
‘Todd, don’t you dare suggest…’
Todd put his hand out, palm in front of him to placate his wife, whose ire seemed to be rising. ‘Hear me out, Angel,’ he told her.
Charlotte sat forward. ‘Go on,’ she said challengingly, staring closely at Todd, elbows on the table.
‘You’ll agree that we’ve become comfortable with our new life, right?’ He didn’t wait for confirmation. ‘But on one hand, we’ve agreed to keep this to ourselves so that only our naturist circle know but on the other this requires manipulation of the truth for the rest of our lives and this makes us both uncomfortable.’
‘Yes, but I see no way around this.’
‘There isn’t. Not for you that is, but let’s think it through. Someday, in the not too distant future I hope, we’ll raise a family and I can’t see us reverting to a textile life again as the kids grow up, can you?’ Again he didn’t wait for Charlotte’s reply. ‘That means that we’ll have to live a double life – secretly naturist within our family and naturist circle and textile the rest of the time.’
‘So what? I’m sure that lots of families live like that.’
‘Yes, agreed. But most families didn’t have your upbringing and they’re usually left to live their own lives in peace. Most are simply able to avoid the subject if they don’t want family or friends to know that they are naturists. They don’t have to resort to lies and deception under interrogation and lifestyle expectations as you do. They simply get on with their lives and choose their own lifestyles.’
Charlotte had no answer for that. It was true, she knew, that she was beholden to her parents’ expectations.
‘In our case, lies and deception, which is what it will be, isn’t your strong suit, Angel.’
She nodded slowly, deep in thought.
‘Wouldn’t it be a whole lot better if those that we care about know that we’re naturists? I’m sure that once it’s out there, they’ll soon adjust to it. And then we can just be ourselves, no hiding the truth, no telling the kids to keep quiet, no double life.’
Charlotte looked up sharply. ‘No, it wouldn’t be a whole lot better, Todd! My parents would never speak to us again!’
‘Your parents may be religious and prudish but they’re not unreasonable or vindictive and I don’t believe for one moment that they’re going to cause a permanent rift.’
‘You don’t know them, Todd. This would blow their minds. It simply can’t happen. I wouldn’t even begin to know how to tell them anyway. Or your parents, either!’
‘Well, that’s just it, Angel. I don’t think you should. I think that I should be the one to gently disclose this to all of them.’
‘Todd, if you think I’m going to agree to…’
‘Charley, stop and think about it. Do you want to go on running scared as you’ve been today, avoiding the truth, deceiving your parents, or would you like to have peace of mind once they know and adjust to it?’
‘Of course I don’t want the stress I was under today but I don’t see how you can possibly do this without causing problems between my parents and us.’
‘I don’t believe it will cause lasting problems. And at worst, they’ll blame me for leading you astray.’ He smiled as he said this. ‘I can take that on the chin.’
Charlotte hesitated. ‘So, what would you say?’ she eventually asked.
‘I have it all worked out. If you agree, I’ll do it this afternoon before we go round to Freya and Sven’s. I’ll do it delicately and sensitively, I promise.’
‘This afternoon?’ she cried in panic. ‘No Todd, I just don’t f
eel comfortable with this.’
*
Todd, realising Charlotte needed time to digest his suggestion, got up from the table and prepared tea for them both. He discovered cheesecake in the fridge and put two healthy slices on plates.
‘That cheesecake is for the beach tomorrow,’ Charlotte chided, as Todd sunk his teeth into his slice.
‘Plenty left,’ he replied. ‘You asked how I’d go about it. What I plan to do is phone your dad – on his mobile as I think it’s best to approach him and not your mum - and speak to him about the location of the pool. I’ll introduce the fencing and privacy that you explained to him this morning, just to try to guide the conversation in the right direction. Then, if the conversation works out, I’ll simply tell him that we’re naturists.’
‘Todd, you can’t drop it on him, on them, like that. You simply can’t!’ she told him, shaking her head. ‘Darling, I’m really not sure. I agree that I don’t want to live a life of deceit – it’s against my nature – but I don’t want to harm our relationship with them either.’ She paused but Todd had said his piece and he waited it out. ‘Look, my business negotiation training says to me that we have opposing opinions: you want it all to come out and I want to protect my relationship with my parents. This means that we have to reach a compromise.’
‘OK. What do you suggest?’
‘I agree that you phone my dad and handle the conversation in the way you outlined, but that you tell him only that you like to skinny dip. See how the conversation goes from there, but I think we both know what will come next.
‘Yes, he’ll ask if you skinny dip too, and of course, this is where this all comes out.’
‘Exactly. But that's all we tell him, them, for now. Let them slowly get used to that. Then slowly over coming weeks and months during the winter we can gently work on them both so that by the spring when the pool will hopefully be finished and filled, they’ll be under no illusions that we prefer to skinny dip.’
The Naked Truth: Shall Set You Free (NEW ALBION Book 2) Page 9
