The Secret Bullet

by Les Rixon

‘I’ve never been to the Isle of Wight.’

  ‘Well I think you will be pleasantly surprised.’

  At midday they boarded the ferry at Lymington bound for Yarmouth. The sea was calm and twenty-five minutes later they were leaving Yarmouth. Richard then suggested that when they came to a suitable pub they could stop for a light lunch. They did this on the outskirts of Ryde and after a snack lunch Mary enquired: ‘Where are we actually going?’

  ‘I will now tell you all. We are heading for Shanklin. I’ve come this way just to give you a small preview of the island. We are actually staying at the Channel View Hotel.’

  They duly arrived in Shanklin. On reaching a crossroads controlled by traffic lights, Richard exclaimed: ‘We turn left here into Hope Road.’ A short distance later they were outside the Channel View Hotel. They removed their cases from the car and entered the Hotel reception area where they were greeted by a friendly receptionist.

  Having booked in, the receptionist asked: ‘Would you like someone to take your cases to your room?’

  ‘Thanks’ replied Richard ‘but I think we can manage.’

  With that the receptionist handed over the key to their room and said: ‘There is a lift just around the corner and your room on the top floor is almost opposite. Just one more thing - would you like a morning paper?’

  ‘Yes please’ replied Richard ‘we would like the Telegraph.’

  They took the lift to the top floor and, sure enough, their room was located close by. Mary spoke first. ‘This is lovely. Richard, just look at the view from this window. How on earth did you find such a lovely hotel with such a view?’

  ‘Well, I must come clean. This hotel was strongly recommended by Tom, who had previously stayed here on many occasions. He was the only person I knew where we would be staying. I knew Tom’s recommendation would be reliable.’

  ‘You and Tom have been good friends for some time and so, may I suggest, we have him over for a meal some time?’

  ‘I would love that.’

  After a quiet afternoon they went to the bar for a pre-dinner drink then on to the restaurant for their evening meal. The room was almost full with diners. A waiter showed them to their table in the far corner which overlooked the sea in two directions.

  Mary said to Richard ‘What a magnificent room this is.’

  They studied the substantial menu, at which point the wine waiter came to their table with an ice bucket in which was a lovely bottle of sparkling wine along with a small card which read: ‘Trust you are having a lovely time. Best wishes, Tom.’ The wine waiter then opened the bottle.

  After the meal Richard and Mary went for a short walk, during which they both enthused about the lovely meal plus the wine from Tom. Returning to their room, Richard studied the Island guide then asked Mary: ‘Where would you like to go tomorrow?’

  ‘I haven’t a clue. I will leave it to you.’

  ‘Right I think tomorrow we will do West Wight. After that I will work out a plan for the rest of the week. There is so much to see.’

  The weather was good and they managed to see quite a lot of the Island and so their wonderful honeymoon came to an end. Richard went to reception to pay the bill, which was dealt with by Paul Lowe, one of the owners of the hotel. Richard said: ‘I’m sure we will be coming back at some point. We really enjoyed ourselves here.’

  Paul responded: ‘That’s what we like to hear.’

  ‘Well’ said Richard ‘the hotel does you great credit not only for the lovely rooms and excellent restaurant, but also the professionalism of the staff.’

  With that they shook hands and departed.

  * * *

  Nearly two hours later they arrived at their new home. The first thing they saw was a card on the dining room table. Briefly it read as follows:

  ‘Trust you had a lovely honeymoon, and just to get you started I’ve put a few things in the fridge. See you soon. Much love from Helen.’

  Richard said: ‘Your mother is so thoughtful.’

  ‘Yes’ said Mary ‘I must give her a ring.’

  They both went to the kitchen and opened the fridge door. They found eggs, bacon, cheese milk and a few other things. They then examined the freezer and sure enough there was a selection of greens and parsnips. ‘I will ring my mother straight away’ said Mary.

  During the call Mary said to Richard ‘She’s asked us over to lunch tomorrow.’

  ‘That’s okay by me’ was Richard’s response. With that Mary accepted the invitation.

  Helen concluded: ‘We will see you at, say, twelve o’clock.’

  After the telephone call Mary said: ‘There’s one odd thing, my mother said: “We will see you at about twelve o’clock.” She didn’t say: “I will see you at twelve o’clock”. I think that is quite significant.’

  Chapter 13

  Richard and Mary arrived at Helen’s house in good time for lunch. The first thing they noticed was Tony Wren’s car on the drive.

  Mary exclaimed: ‘So that’s what my mother meant when she said “We will see you at about twelve o’clock”.’

  Helen greeted Richard and Mary warmly and said: ‘The weather you had on your honeymoon was marvellous.’

  ‘Yes’ replied Mary ‘and I can’t think of a nicer place than where we stayed. The hotel was spot on and I was surprised by the beauty of so many parts of the Isle of Wight. We will certainly return one day.’

  ‘Good’ said Helen, ‘now who would like a sherry before lunch?’ To which everyone agreed would be very nice. As usual Helen’s cuisine was up to scratch and they all enjoyed the meal. During lunch there was considerable discussion about the wedding and how well it turned out. After the meal Helen and Mary cleared the table whilst Richard and Tony adjourned to the lounge.

  During the washing up, Mary said to her mother ‘I think it is wonderful that you and Tony are such good friends and I think companionship can be quite lovely at your age.’

  ‘I think you ought to know that my relationship with Tony has gone far beyond good friends.’

  ‘Really I had no idea. I am, however, pleased for you. So, Mum, where do you go from here?’

  ‘Well, we are not yet living together but we have discussed it. The problem is we both have very nice houses which neither of us wants to give up. So we are considering the possibility of finding somewhere else.’

  ‘Well Mum, just keep me posted.’

  Later Richard and Mary left for home. After a few minutes Mary said to Richard: ‘Have I got news for you.’

  Chapter 14

  Five years later.

  Many things had happened as Richard and Mary approached their fifth wedding anniversary. Firstly, Mary and Richard were the proud parents of a three year old son, whist Helen and Tony married and now lived fairly close to Richard and Mary. Richard’s parents now spent most of their winters at their villa. Things were about to change dramatically.

  On a fateful Monday morning Richard left home for work. He was dedicated to always be on time to start a day’s work. He arrived at the office, and firstly, consulted his diary to see which clients had made appointments for the day. He was interrupted by Tom, who was looking very serious.

  He said: ‘Morning Richard’ and then asked if he heard the eight o’clock news.

  ‘No I haven’t.’

  ‘Well I believe you told me last week that your parents were due back today from their villa.’

  ‘Yes that’s right. Tony is picking them up from Heathrow.’

  ‘There’s no easy way to tell you this, but a small helicopter has crashed into the sea just off Corfu. Apparently a motor boat was on the scene very quickly. The pilot was saved but the two passengers were not so lucky. There are no details of the two passengers.’

  Richard appeared shocked and said: ‘My parents normally w
ent by boat from Corfu to their villa but on the last two holidays they have used the newly operated helicopter service which took the within fifty yards of their villa.’

  ‘It may not be your parents. Now if you like, I can telephone my brother who works in the Foreign Office. He probably won’t know any more than I do, but he will know someone who will’

  ‘Please do that, Tom.’

  Ten minutes later Tom returned to see Richard. Very solemnly he said ‘Bad news, I’m afraid. Two bodies have been recovered and taken to a mortuary in Corfu. Documents on them confirm they are your parents.’

  Richard slumped over his desk and sobbed. Tom put his arm around him and said: ‘I am so sorry to bring such bad news.’ With that he left to see Simon Parker the senior partner in the firm.

  A few minutes later, Simon Parker came into Richard’s office and said ‘I am sorry to hear your sad news. You have my deepest sympathy. Now there are many things you will need to do and so I want you to take some leave for as long as it takes. I know you normally travel here by bus so I will take you home by car.’

  ‘Thank you for that. I doubt whether I would be much use here at the moment.’

  On his arrival home, Richard thanked Simon Parker and said: ‘I will contact you in due course.’

  Simon responded: ‘Just take all the time you need.’

  Richard went indoors. Mary had seen him arrive and met him as he entered the house.

  ‘Whatever is wrong?’ she enquired ‘You look terrible.’

  He embraced Mary and said: ‘I have had some very bad news. It’s my parents. They were involved in an accident when their helicopter crashed into the sea just off the Corfu coast. They both died although a nearby launch raced to the scene but was only able to save the pilot. They have managed to recover my parent’s bodies and taken them to a mortuary in Corfu.’ Richard continued: ‘They only started using this helicopter service recently. It was so convenient and actually took them within fifty yards of their villa.’

  Mary took Richard into the lounge and they sat on the settee. ‘Now’ she said ‘I know this is a terrible disaster for you and me too. They were a wonderful couple and it will take a long time to get over it, but Richard, you and I will get through it together.’

  Richard then said: ‘There are a lot of things to do. I suppose one of my first jobs is to ascertain what their wishes were regarding the funeral. That is something I never discussed with my father. I think I will go over to their house. I know my father always kept a personal telephone diary of all the people with whom he was in regular contact. He used the same solicitor for many years. I think that’s where I must start.’

  Mary asked: ‘Would you like me to come with you?

  ‘Well yes, but what about Mark?’

  ‘Well at the moment he’s next door playing with Katie’s young son, who is about the same age as Mark. He gets on very well with him. If you like, I will give Katie a ring and put her in the picture. I’m sure it will be alright for Mark to stay there until we come back.’

  ‘OK, we should be back within an hour.’

  They duly arrived at Richard’s parent’s house and picked up the inevitable amount of mail from the floor. They proceeded to the study, where Richard immediately saw the telephone diary next to the telephone. He soon found the number he was looking for - that of Ronald Williams. He rang the number on the card and spoke to a pleasant receptionist. Richard asked to speak to Mr. Williams.

  ‘He’s rather busy’ replied the receptionist ‘and due to leave shortly for an appointment. Who shall I say is calling?’

  ‘Just tell him it’s Harold Reynold’s son’ said Richard. That seemed to produce a result as Williams came on the telephone. Richard explained his reason for calling to which Williams gave a very sympathetic response.

  ‘Now’ he said ‘I am visiting one of our clients this morning not more than twenty miles from where you live. I could call on you after my first appointment and would be with you by midday. I will bring you father’s file with me.’

  Richard said: I had better give you my address.’

  ‘There’s no need Richard, I was very much involved with your father over the purchase of the house where you now live.’

  Ronald Williams arrived just before midday. Richard showed him into the dining room where they were joined by Mary. With introductions over, Williams said: ‘First of all, I have to say that although I’ve acted as solicitor to your parents for many years, we were very good friends and I personally can’t believe they have now gone. I have happy memories when, many years ago, we played golf together. Every year up to two years ago we always entered one of the annual competitions. We never won anything and were never single figure handicap players, but we did enjoy the friendship and banter as we played. The next thing is, from now on, just address me as Ronald.’

  ‘Now’ he continued, looking at Richard, ‘basically you are the main beneficiary of the Will. You are probably aware that your father was a very shrewd man. At this stage, it’s difficult to give any precise figures, but a brief summary would be: firstly, his home and adjoining paddock. Next his villa abroad. He also, over the years, built up a portfolio of shares but rarely took any dividends. They were reinvested in the shares. Another point is that the house we are now in, for which you have been paying an agreed rent, obviously becomes yours, but it does come into the value of your parent’s estate. Your father, Richard, was very astute in other ways. Both your parents held certain policies in the event of their demise and, as I read it, this is considerably increased should they die in an accident. Also they both had yearly travel insurance. The other point, which in my experience can be tricky, is regarding the helicopter service - they must be liable to pay compensation.

  ‘Now, of course, all this as you know will go to probate. I will use all my experience to minimise the obvious expense and taxation involved. If I had to give you a rule of thumb figure, however, the value of the estate after all the expenses were met, then I would say it could amount to £1million.

  ‘As regards the funeral, I will arrange for the bodies to be brought to a local funeral director, where they would be placed in a Chapel of Rest. Both your parents wished to be cremated, but the Order of Service and any hymns would be up to you. There is just one last thing. About two years ago your father and I attended the funeral of a mutual friend. Your father was impressed with the service, basically because the family of the deceased asked that the service should be a celebration of his life and I do remember your father saying: “I think that is what I would want”.’

  Richard thanked Ronald for everything and said: ‘You have been a great help at such a sad time.’

  Chapter 15

  The next week was a busy one for Richard. He and Mary received numerous telephone calls, some from people he did not even know, all offering condolences. They also had a visit from Charles, the Vicar who married them. He said: ‘There are no words to soften their terrible news, but if you need any emotional support, just give me a ring.’

  Richard replied: ‘Well, we are in the process of arranging the funeral and we would like you to conduct the service. We will contact you when we have a date.’ He added that it would be a cremation.

  Charles responded: ‘Just contact me in due course.’

  It was over three weeks after the accident that the joint funeral could take place. It was the day that Richard and Mary would never forget. The crematorium was packed with mourners. Charles handled the service impeccably. Ronald Williams read the eulogy which was very sincere and delivered with great clarity, choosing his words carefully. After the service a reception was held at the local golf club.

  Another two months passed when Richard received a telephone call from Ronald, who said: ‘I’m now almost in a position to complete the winding up of your parent’s estate. If we can get together shortly, I would like to di
scuss it with you.’

  Richard replied: ‘Would you and your wife like to come down for lunch next weekend? We could then discuss everything after lunch.’

  ‘I think that might be an excellent idea. I will give you a ring tomorrow to confirm it.’

  Richard broke the news to Mary. ‘That’s okay by me’ said Mary ‘I just wonder what sort of lunch menu I can do.’

  ‘When he rings tomorrow I will just make sure he is not a vegetarian.’

  Richard rang the following day and confirmed that he and his wife would come to lunch. He said there was no need to worry about a menu, assuring them that they normally ate a roast on Sundays. The Sunday lunch proved a great success and Ronald made a point of saying to Richard: ‘Mary is a very good cook.’ After lunch the ladies went to the kitchen to deal with the washing up.

  Richard and Ronald discussed the winding up of the estate. Firstly, Ronald handed Richard a detailed account of the value of the estate. He then said: ‘My previous rough guide to the final valuation was not far out.’

  Richard then said: ‘I have one observation and that is your fee. I think you have been very generous in your calculations regarding your charges.’

  Ronald replied: ‘I am more than satisfied with the account. As I said before, I was not only your parent’s solicitor but we were also good friends. In my early years your father gave me some very good financial advice on many occasions and no fees were involved.’ ‘Now’ he continued ‘I just need you to sign a couple of documents and then we can go ahead with the payment. Just one thing when you receive the cheque, I suggest you consult your Bank Manager. He might suggest that, as a temporary measure you place the funds in a special account which would offer more confidentiality, although I have to say, as you may well know, that it is not difficult for anyone to ascertain the value of any estate. Just as a matter of interest, have you any idea as to what to do with the funds?’

  ‘Well’ said Richard ‘to be honest, I am still trying to get used to the sum involved.’