Jane Forxworthy

by Paul Kelly

  “Who are you? What do you want?” she cried, trying to control the tremor in her voice,

  “I meant what I said,” an eerie voice whispered coarsely, “GET OUT!”. . .

  Evie dropped the telephone and clasped her hands to her mouth as the dialling tone persisted and she picked it up again and banged it into its cradle.

  ***

  “Operator . . Operator. I’m having some strange calls on my telephone. Can these be traced please?” she asked as she ran her hand over her skirt to see that her palm was damp and her head was beginning to ache. “These calls are malicious and I want them stopped.”

  There was a pause as she waited.

  “Malicious Madam? What do you mean by malicious?”

  Evie’s nerves were shot.

  “Malicious . . full of malice. What does malicious normally mean, for God’s sake. Someone . . Some man is trying to frighten me.”

  There was an even longer pause before the Operator spoke again.

  “We don’t usually have this sort of complaint Madam. It could well be children larking about.”

  Evie’s eyes narrowed and she pushed her hair back from her forehead where it had fallen.

  “I’ve spoken to you before, haven’t I? My name is Slade. Mrs. Evelyn Slade and I live at Brigadoon. My telephone number is Glenfarach 974. Do you remember the incident of the telephone directory?”

  “I already know your name and telephone number Madam, that is my job, but I do not have the time to carry on a conversation with you. I will report your complaint to the engineers. Good day.”

  “But the engineers won’t be able to . . . . .”

  The line went dead and Evie replaced her receiver with a deep sigh of despair.

  “For some reason, you don’t like me, you bitch . . .Do you?” she complained as she ran her fingers over the arm of the telephone and pulled at the twisted wire connection. “You and someone else in this God forsaken place . . . But who and why? . . and how many?”

  Then she thought . . .yes, HOW MANY . . . There was more than one man’s voice on the phone . . and sometimes it was a female who spoke.

  ***

  Wills was a little late for the dinner appointment and Evie waited hungrily anxious and desperate for the moment when his car would arrive. She heard the crackling of the wheels as he sped up the drive towards the house and she ran to the front door, switching off the lights in the house as she went.

  “Hello Darling,” he called out as she appeared in the light of the porch, “Leave a few lights on, will you? I don’t want people to think were not in. They might get some funny ideas.”

  She ran back and did as he had suggested without question and came back to sit with him in the car. Everything seemed to automatic . . her movements, her voice as she spoke to him . . as if she was living on her nerves and he was worried.

  “Do you think someone may think to burgle us?” she asked nervously as she looked about in the dark surroundings outside.

  “Just a hunch Evie. Better safe than sorry.”

  She watched his hands as he drove. They were strong, reliable hands and her fears diminished as she gave him the instructions of how to get to the ‘Wild Ferret’.

  “They seemed to have the best menu and besides, they didn’t grunt at me. They were positively most polite. . . and I’m fed up being grunted at . . .”

  “I take it you’ve had a few grunts then?” he asked smiling.

  “I should say I have indeed, but I’ll tell you about that during dinner.”

  Wills turned a corner and dodged a scurrying rabbit on the road.

  “How are you finding the people in Glenfarach, Evie? We’ve been here for what seems ages now and I can’t make head nor tail of most of them. How long is it since we’ve been here anyway?”

  She stared again at his strong hands before she spoke and wished he could stay by her side forever. His fingers were long and sensitive and gave her a feeling of security. She was afraid, but she didn’t want Wills to know that.

  “Nearly six months now Darling and I haven’t met many of them. Only Miss Foxworthy and she’s a sweetie.” Evie giggled as she said that. “Sweetie from the sweetie shop, eh?”

  Wills kept his eye on the road and didn’t smile at her joke.

  “Anyone else?” he asked solemnly.

  “Well . . There’s Miss Foxworthy’s niece Cynthia . . or Cyn . . .as she likes to be called although God only knows why. I think a good old fashioned sin would knock a bit of sense into that one.”

  Wills slammed on his brakes as she spoke and an antlered creature sprang out in front of his car, staring wildly at the lights before it darted up through a green verge to the right of them and disappeared out of sight into a mass of heather.

  “What was that? Evie asked anxiously, “That thing there on the road. It gave me a fright.”

  “A deer I guess. Anything can appear on these roads at night, it seems. It is so dark and there isn’t a light about for miles. Mark and I saw quite a number of dead rabbits and porcupines, crushed into the road when we went to Dundee.”

  “Oh! Don’t Wills. You’ll make me feel sick and I want to enjoy my dinner. Poor little things. How is Mark anyway? I should have asked you before.”

  “He’s O.K. Love. Now we are coming up to some place now which is all lit up. Is this is?” Wills strained to read the sign on the road. “The wild . something or other?”

  “The Wild Ferret Darling. Yes this is it.”

  ***

  The dinner was most enjoyable and the service was excellent. Evie felt she had made a good choice in the Wild Ferret as she sat back to enjoy her cognac.

  “What were you going to tell me about Mark McLean, Darling?” she asked and Wills’ eyes twinkled as he wrinkled his nose.

  “Nothing Sweetheart, but there was something I did want to talk to you about and I don’t want you to get alarmed . . OK?”

  Evie looked worried.

  “Well that’s a sure way to get me alarmed when you tell me I shouldn’t,” she said and raised her eyebrows as Wills shifted his dessert spoon and tapped it on his serviette.

  “Have you had any more of those weird phone calls?” he asked solemnly without looking at Evie.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve had a few calls lately and you’ve been telling me they are wrong numbers or that someone doesn’t answer when you speak . . . That’s what I call weird calls.”

  Evie tried to evade the question, but Wills stared directly into her eyes and simply called her name.

  “Evie?”

  She sighed and looked away from him.

  “Evie . . Are you telling me the truth?”

  “Oh! Well then, I guess it’s just some children playing tricks,” she said and sipped her brandy, but Wills continued to stare at her and she found herself to be nervous of his candid glare. “I never get any answers . . that’s all . . Just some funny noises,” she went on, purposely neglecting to tell him of the voices. . .

  Wills selected a large slice of Black Forest Gateaux from the sweets trolley whilst Evie chose fruit salad and cream.

  “Funny noise, eh?” he asked again, “And nobody ever answers you? . . . “ he waited for her to say something but she didn’t. “That cream will add pounds to your weight, you know,” he said to tantalise her out of her apparent euphoria.

  “Go on Funny face . . Spoil my evening,” she retorted, knowing that she did not want to talk any more on that subject, but equally aware that it would never go away unless she dealt with it, sometime . . Wills dabbed his lips gently on his serviette and spoke to Evie in a quiet, casual manner.

  “I’ve had three myself today,” he said and Evie’s mouth feel open.

  “So now you tell me,” she choked, “And you’
ve been making me think I was imagining things, Wills Slade. What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know Evie, but I’m damn well gonna find out. Now tell me the truth about your calls and don’t leave anything out.”

  She pushed her fruit salad to one side and played with the long, thin stem of her brandy glass.

  “Someone did speak last night . . and again this morning” she said and lowered her eyes.

  “Yeah? Tell me more?”

  “Wills, I’m sure they’re nothing but crank calls,”

  “Just tell me Evie . .” he insisted and she paused to take a deep breath.

  She told him about the voice that had been so insulting and which had demanded that she get out of Glenfarach.

  “Mark has received a similar call,” he said, “Did you know that?”

  “No . . I never thought about Mark in this situation. He was here before we arrived, so why would he suddenly have these strange calls now?”

  “I don’t know Evie and I wouldn’t have known about the calls to Mark if I hadn’t twisted his arm. He thought they were for me, as he was sitting at my desk in the office when they came through.”

  “But surely the receptionist should know where the calls came from . . or the Telephone Operator.” Evie laughed . . “No use asking that dear lady. She ignores everything I say to her, God alone knows why. I’ve never even met her.”

  “There are some strange goings on at the Main Site, Evie and these calls may well be connected in some way.”

  Wills helped Evie on with her wrap as he smiled at the waiter and handed him the bill, with a large tip and the waiter smiled.

  “I hope we shall see you again soon, Sir . . Madam . .” he called as they were about to leave and Wills waved at him.

  They sat quietly in the car for a few moments before driving away. Wills seemed pensive.

  “You look as though you’ve got a bad bout of indigestion, Wills. I thought the meal was excellent.”

  “It’s not the meal Darling.” he sighed, “I just wish as I have always done since we first came up here, that someone else had been asked to do this job.”

  “As bad as that, eh?” Evie queried and reflected on the raucous voice on the telephone. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Wills put his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to himself.

  “You’re doing more than enough to help me . . just being who and what you are, my Love.” He kissed her forehead and pressed his foot down on the accelerator pedal as the engine roared and broke the silence of the night. “It’s more complicated than I first thought it was . . or ever could be. I’ve been making my enquiries and my investigations now in this God forsaken place for the past six months and I’m no farther ahead and the future looks just as bleak as it was when we first arrived. Materials are being bought too cheaply which suggests that they are sub-standard and often they are bought without official receipts.”

  The car moved away and Evie tied her neckerchief around her head.

  “Is that such a bad thing Darling? I mean, is it that important? . . and would that be a strong enough reason to make someone want to get rid of you?” she asked softly.

  “Darling, contract agreements are missing from the files. If anything should happen in any of our sites . . I mean, if there is an accident due to the deterioration that bad materials can effect, it could mean a serious loss of life . . or lives and we wouldn’t have a leg to stand on . . insurance wise, I mean. The business here is being run rather shoddily, to say the least. There are too many loose ends and I can’t seem to be able to tie any of them up.”

  Evie dabbed her wrists with her favourite perfume and asked again,

  “Would that be a reason for getting you out, Wills? Surely not.”

  “You can bet your pretty little head it would Sweetheart, because old Willson Slade is rocking the boat and someone . . or some persons . . don’t like it. Not one little bit.”

  Evie looked up at the sky where the clouds were clearing to make room for the stars.

  “Oh! Darling . . If only I had thought this out more clearly, I would never have encouraged you to come here. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. What are we going to do.”

  Wills smiled and his mouth went up a little at the left hand side of his face.

  “It’s not you fault Darling. Nobody could have imagined that this situation would arise, although I have wondered several times since I’ve been here, why old J.D. chose me for the job. It wasn’t such a promotion after all, was it? He must have seen me coming. . . and I think he knew exactly what he was doing when he asked me and not someone else.”

  “Well . . you’re a very fine architect, Wills and you’ve always worked hard for the Company, so . . .”

  “He put the cat among the pigeons when he sent me here Evie. . . and he knew that was what would happen. He wanted to cause some sort of stir to flesh the culprits out . . I’m sure of that . . and as I’ve said, the cat among the pigeons is just what he wanted . . and not only a cat, but a black cat . . .”

  At that moment a burst of thunder broke out above them and the rain poured down so unexpectedly as they were driving home. Nothing more was said on the journey and it was a welcome sight to see the lights of Brigadoon as they turned into the drive.

  “I’ll put some coffee on, Darling. “Can I run you a bath? Perhaps that would help to ease the tension?” she said as Wills turned off the ignition and grabbed his brief case from the back seat as he turned to Evie.

  “You are wonderful,” he said, “I could just do with a soak. I’ll just . . . .” He stopped talking suddenly and stared into space. “What’s that?” he asked, hardly moving his lips. Evie listened in the silence of the night. She could hear a bird cooing somewhere in the nearby field and a dog barked his disapproval in the distance, but above all . . she could hear the urgent demand of the telephone. Wills put his hand on hers. “Wait Darling,” he said as he got out of the car and ran towards the house. “I’ll deal with this. Leave it to me.”

  Wills entered the house and lifted the receiver calmly He held his breath and waiting for a second before he spoke, as he shuffled his raincoat down his arm.

  “Willson, Is that you?”

  It was the voice of Mark McLean and Wills gave a sigh of relief.

  “Yes it’s me Mark. It’s late . . Is everything O.K?” Mark’s voice sounded agitated and he was out of breath.

  “ ‘Fraid not Wills. I’ve just been called out to ‘A’ Plant. There’s been a fire. The place is gutted.”

  “My God . . Has anyone been hurt? There’s a night security guard in there, isn’t there?”

  “Yes, he’s alright Wills, but he can’t explain the fire. Thinks it must have happened when he was having his supper in the canteen. That would have been sometime between 9.0 and 9.30.”

  Evie came through the front door at that moment but Wills put his hand up, to avoid her asking any questions at that time. He had to give his full attention to Mark.

  “I’ll come round straight away, Mark. Wait for me there, will you?”

  He replaced the receiver and explained the situation to Evie who by this time had gone into the kitchen to prepare the coffee.

  “There’s been a fire at the plant . . I’ll have to go, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Just go to bed, Darling . . and don’t answer the phone . . . .”

  But Wills . . You might need to telephone me yourself . .”

  He hesitated for a few seconds.

  “O.K. I’ll give you three rings, but don’t answer it if you hear any more than that. Do you understand? . . and if by chance you do lift the receiver and it’s not me, blow a whistle down the line and tell the bastard to get stuffed.”

  Evie laughed, but it was a nervous laugh and she knew she was afraid.

  �
�Drive carefully Darling. Hope everything is better than you expect when you get there. Love to Mark. Bye Darling.”

  Bye Evie. Love you Sweetheart.”

  He kissed her cheek before he found her lips and closed the door quietly as he left the house.

  ***

  Evie pulled her chair nearer to the fire and rested her coffee mug on the floor as she selected a book at random from the bookshelf. She didn’t particularly want to read, but then neither did she want to go upstairs to bed on her own and she read a few lines from ‘Russian Intrigue’ but it didn’t intrigue her in the least. She read on for a little while until her head fell slowly forward and she lost the book which dropped to the floor before she went into a deep sleep. When she awoke to the sound of the telephone ringing, it was nearly 1.30 am and she rubbed her eyes and threw back her hair, without thinking what an ungodly hour it was for the telephone to make its demands. Somehow, there was something very resolute about a telephone ringing, especially in the dead of night . . Something demanding . . but she was indecisive as she waited for the three rings that Wills had promised her. She held her breath . . it had reached the fifth demand and her fingers trembled as she reached out and picked up the receiver.

  “Hello,” she whispered and her voice was indecisive. She waited for a few seconds, but there was no one on the other end of the line . . at least, no voice that would speak to her and she banged the receiver down immediately and pushed the phone away from her in disgust, but it rang again very soon after a few moments of agonising silence. Evie jumped where she sat; her nerves jangled and her eyes wide. Her face shook with fear as she bit her lip and swallowed hard, trying to calm her voice for what she was about to say.

  “What do you want?” she demanded slowly and with a tone much firmer than she had thought possible. It seemed in that moment of anxiety that it was not she who spoke, but someone else.

  “Hello Darling . . It’s me.”

  Wills voice came through refreshingly clear as Evie burst into a fit of tears. “Oh! Darling . . I’m so glad it’s you. I thought it was another of those weird calls. Why didn’t you give me the three rings as you said you would?”