A twisted smile appeared on her lips.
“But they mended anyway. We’ll have to look into that disability pension a little closer. You’ll probably have to pay most of it back. Oh, and that would be something else you might need a lot of money for. Seems like you are getting in deeper and deeper here, Mr. Ellington.” Her toad like smile became stretched across her doughy features.
James looked over the woman’s head at the two Inspectors.
“Please tell me that you made a mistake bringing her. This witch can’t have anything to do with children, surely?” He rolled his eyes when the two men gave negligent shrugs. He looked back down at the grey haired harridan and raised an eyebrow before bending quickly and lifting the hems of his jeans. The woman let out an outraged gasp of shock as she saw that his shoes fitted over moulded fibreglass feet that rose into jointed metal ankles and lower limbs. The bottom edges of the cups holding his prosthetics onto what was left of his own legs were just visible. His eyes bored into hers as he spat out his words. “Disabled enough for you? I can still claim the army disability pension because I had to leave due to the pain caused by crushed bones. My body continually rejected the metal pins used to hold me together. The agony was so intense that I elected to have them amputated just over four years ago.” He paused a beat and then turned back to the now silent hallway. “Now, if you don’t mind, as I do not appear to be under any official scrutiny I am going to phone my office.”
The officers shrugged again.
“Fine, but if you don’t mind, we’d like to take a look around your house before we leave. And maybe it would be an idea to come to the station with us. Just so we know that you aren’t hiding anything, you understand.”
James stopped again. He turned back to the men and looked at them coldly.
“Look, I’ll come to the police station just to prove that I personally have nothing to hide, but I’m afraid that I cannot allow you to search the house without consulting the owner. I don’t own this place so I can’t say whether you can go riffling through it without a warrant.”
The woman pounced again.
“But you are trustee. That means you have the authority.”
James smiled at her.
“Sorry, wrong. Crystal turned twenty-five yesterday. She’s now the official owner. I can only act for Emily and as we discuss all decisions and you have no official paperwork, I’m afraid that you will have to wait until you can ask her what you can see and what you can’t. And before you think about doing that, just remember that she’s taking an exam right now, one that could affect the rest of her life, so before you go dragging her out of it, you just think about that.” He strode out into the hall and jabbed at his phone.
Alex answered immediately.
“What’s happened? Don’t tell me you fell out of bed on your arse again. I thought Crystal’s remedy had stopped all of that crap? Do you need me to come and put cream on your carpet burns?” The man chuckled down the phone line.
James kept his voice low.
“Ha bloody ha, pal. No, it’s nothing like that. I wish it were something so simple. Look, I need you to rake up all that stuff you found out about Adam’s old flame. Anything you have at all and all of it as soon as possible.” He tried to keep the anger down, but without much success.
Alex answered immediately.
“The skinny bitch at the gym, yeah, sure, I have a file of it all, but Adam worked on it after me. He probably has the same stuff and more in his own computer. You got a problem with her?”
The dull ache in James’ legs rapidly turned to an intense throbbing. He didn’t want to think about what he was being accused of but had to make Alex see the urgency of the situation. He breathed in and out slowly trying to control the pain in his limbs as he spoke quietly.
“You could say that. I’ve a couple of police Inspectors sitting in the lounge and some old bat from child services about to charge me with sexual harassment or child abuse. I’m not quite sure which. And I’ve also been stealing from the girls’ trust fund apparently.” He stuck his hand in his pocket and flipped the lid of the painkillers and moved the phone away from his ear as Alex bellowed out a huge laugh.
“Yeah, right. What’s the problem really?” James remained silent as he waited. Alex stopped laughing. “Shit, are you for real?”
“Unfortunately, yes. It’s not the sort of thing I’d joke about normally. I keep hoping that the three of them are a figment of my imagination and that they’ll all disappear, but apparently they are not, and after the phone call I had this morning from Crystal and Emily’s solicitor, I’m pretty sure that Saskia Chalmers has something to do with their presence here. She’s contesting Adam’s will on the grounds of me being an unfit guardian and Adam being of unsound mind.” He tipped the tiny bottle in his pocket. Two of the pills dropped into his palm. He popped them into his mouth and swallowed them quickly without the benefit of a glass of water. Hopefully they would kick in soon. His whole body had begun to ache.
Alex gasped down the phone.
“Shit! She didn’t! The evil bitch. Don’t worry, I’ll get onto it immediately. If you can, turn on Adam’s computer, I’ll hack into it and see what other stuff he came up with.” He sounded happy to have something interesting to do and a moment later confirmed it. “Nothing quite like an emergency to wake you up on a Monday morning.”
Chapter Twelve
Emily sat in the restaurant trying to pick the paint from her nails. The exam had gone well and she looked forward to telling James. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and then down at her phone that sat on the table. James was late. She picked at her nails again before motioning to the waiter for the second time.
“Are you sure a James Ellington hasn’t called to leave a message? He would normally have rung me but he might be hung up on a job and not have a mobile signal. Can you check again?”
The waiter went to the bar but came back and shook his head. Emily tried ringing James’ number again. It rang until the voice mail activated the messaging service. She rang off without saying anything. Something was wrong. James never ignored her calls and she knew that if he had been held up he would have rung the restaurant.
She spun round as the restaurant door opened behind her, but slumped back in her seat when she saw only an older woman and two men walk in. She tapped her phone again, scrolling through her contacts to find Alex’s number. Perhaps he knew what was going on.
A chair scraped beside her and she glanced up to see the older woman smiling at her.
“Sorry, that place is taken. I’m expecting someone.” She looked back down at her phone.
The woman didn’t move.
“It’s okay, Emily. My name is Alice Trout and I’m here to talk to you about your guardian.” She smiled gently.
Emily looked at the woman again, panic suddenly settling in her stomach.
“Where’s James? Has something happened to him? Is he okay? He was meant to meet me here at six and I know he’s not just late. He’s always punctual. I’m really worried.” Her heart started racing. She couldn’t lose anyone else. It was bad enough living without her father and sister.
The smile vanished from the woman’s face.
“It’s quite all right. I fully understand how he has this kind of control over you. It’s part of what they do.”
Emily stared uncomprehendingly at the woman.
“Part of what who does? What are you talking about? Do you know what’s happened to James or not?”
The woman reached out to pat Emily’s hand, but Emily snatched hers back. The woman let out a sigh as she pulled out her identification.
“He’s not coming. He’s been advised to have no contact with you until we can sort this out.”
Emily glanced down at the badge and then over Alice Trout’s shoulder at the two men. They looked back at her before stepping forward and showing her their own identification. She frowned deeply.
“Why are you here? What’s James meant to
have done?”
The sickly smile was back on Alice Trout’s face.
“We’re hoping that you will be able to tell us that. I know that this will be difficult for you. I’d prefer to talk to you about this at your home, but I’m a trained counsellor and the restaurant is quiet. I can help you accept the truth, Emily. We know that Ellington is a very bad man and that he’s influenced you into thinking that what he’s doing is right, but it isn’t. I want you to understand that we have experience in these things and that you won’t be the first to be fooled by a man like him.”
Emily shoved her chair back and stood up.
“You’re nuts. I don’t know what you’re talking about. James is not bad. He’s wonderful, so stop harassing me and tell me where he is, or I’ll go find him myself.”
One of the officers took a step closer and put an envelope on the table. Alice Trout took the photographs out and sighed as she lay them on the table.
“We have the evidence, Emily. We can’t stop you leaving, but we just want you to know that we are here to help. If it wasn’t you he was doing this to, it would be someone else. We can’t let that happen, Emily.”
Emily stared down in horror at the pictures. She grabbed the one of her looking terrified and shouting at something just out of view.
“Where did you get this? This was taken only a couple of weeks ago. We were chasing chickens round a vegetable patch. James had just passed out after injuring his hamstring.” She looked down at one of the other pictures and let out a snort. “And these are not what it looks like either. I was upset because Crystal had just told me that she was staying in France, and a flipping great owl half scared me to death just before this one was taken. I thought it was going to land on my head, it came so close.” She lifted her gaze and stared at the woman in front of her. “What are you trying to accuse James of?”
The woman looked over her shoulder at the two Inspectors and shook her head.
“He’s trained her already. He must have known something was coming and made her learn the story. We see it all the time. Takes a long time for some of the victims to admit that they have been coerced.”
Emily picked up the other two pictures. She stared at them for a moment before gathering the whole lot together, ripping them down the middle, and throwing them back on the table.
“I’m not a victim and you can stick those where the sun doesn’t shine. He’s not trained me to do anything, you stupid cow. He’s one of my dad’s best friends and since he died James has been my guardian. I’ve known him since I was about seven. I doubt there’s a kinder, braver, more selfless man on the planet. You lot are completely barmy if you think he’s done anything inappropriate, because he hasn’t. Ever.”
Alice Trout stood up and glanced back at the two men.
“She’s in denial. It’s a variation of Stockholm syndrome. I’ll organize temporary foster care until we can...” She stopped as Emily interrupted.
“Foster care! You have to be joking. I’m going to be eighteen in a couple of months. I’m not a kid and I’m not in denial. You are making a big mistake here. Whoever put you up to this is going to get their arse sued off for defamation of character. And don’t think I can’t do it. I have shed loads of money that I’d be willing to spend defending James.” She grabbed up her bag. “I’m going home and if you try to stop me and put me anywhere I don’t want to go I’ll just run away. I’ve not done anything wrong so you can’t just come waltzing in here trying to take over my life while you ruin someone else’s.” She turned towards the door and took a step forwards. Alice Trout held out an arm to stop her. Emily brushed it aside and stared at the two policemen. “Are you going to let her get away with this? It’s all complete crap.”
One of the men looked at the child services woman.
“She seems pretty sure that he’s okay, and it’s not like she’s a child any more. I’m not sure that we can make a case here.”
Alice Trout bristled and puffed out her chest.
“Are you doubting all my years as a counsellor? We see this kind of thing all the time. It has to be stopped. That man is a predator, you only have to look at him to see that. He probably frightens the life out of the poor girl with those cyborg limbs of his. She doesn’t know what she’s saying. James Ellington is not a fit guardian or trustee. How can you think of leaving him in charge of all that money!”
Emily had moved behind the men and was backtracking towards the door. She almost stopped in surprise at the woman’s words. It seemed that she was suddenly more concerned over the money than that James was a child abuser. Something didn’t ring true and Emily didn’t wait any longer. She turned and quickened her stride. She heard the men shouting as she ran out of the restaurant door, but she didn’t stop.
She picked up her pace as soon as she hit the pavement, running across the road and into the shopping centre. It was still packed with busy shoppers out for the late night opening. Emily dashed through the crowds and into a department store, dodging past sales assistants and customers. She didn’t stop until she reached the rear entrance.
She glanced up and down the next street, making sure that there were no police about before she ran over the road and into the small industrial unit opposite. It took her only another few seconds to reach the door she wanted. She ran up the narrow flight of stairs, stopping briefly at the top as she gained her bearings. She hadn’t been to James’ office very often. Three doors faced her. She heard a click from the door at her left. Relief flooded her.
“Alex! Is James here? Is he in prison?” She burst through the doorway, tears now streaming down her face.
Alex grabbed her in his arms and held her close, smoothing her hair and kissing her temple gently.
“No sweetheart, he hasn’t been arrested. He was questioned at your home this morning but as you were in your exam all day and the police didn’t want him to contact you they advised that he went to the police station. Don’t worry, he’s fine. I’ve been waiting for you to come here. Just saw you run into the estate on the security cameras. The police didn’t want James to have any contact with you until they had investigated everything thoroughly. He wouldn’t allow them to disturb you in your exam. I guess the trio that turned up at your front door this morning found you at the restaurant. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t warn you.” He tried to break it to her gently, but there was no real way around it.
Emily’s eyes widened in shock.
“You mean he has been incarcerated all day! The police should have come and found me right after my exam instead of letting me go for coffee with my mates.” Anger laced her tones but Alex shook his head.
“And have half the college whispering about what was going on? He’s done the right thing, Em. It’s only a few hours hanging about and James was a soldier. He’s used to that. Nothing is going to happen to him while he’s sat in an enquiry room.” He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze.
She wasn’t about to be appeased.
“They could have left me a message to get in contact with them as soon as possible. James could have left me a message too. I was sitting worrying at that restaurant for ages while I waited for him. I knew something was wrong, and then those three idiots came in and showed me those ridiculous pictures. They’ve taken them all out of context and made them look so incriminating.” Her voice rose in distress.
Alex let out a deep breath before he explained.
“He couldn’t phone you and neither could I. It would have looked as though I was helping him. Which I am, of course, but they don’t have to know that.” He gave her a wink.
Emily calmed a little but not enough to cool her temper.
“How are you helping him? You’re sitting here and he’s stuck in some horrible room being accused of a load of rubbish. They had pictures of us, but they had been cropped and altered to make it look like I was scared of him, that he was threatening me. They were from when we were at the château. How did the police get pictures like that?”
&n
bsp; Alex took her hand and pulled her towards his computer.
“Look.” He scrolled over an icon and tapped his screen. “The police were sent this email early this morning. Although the sender doesn’t leave a name and they’ve blocked their own address I’ve been able to decode it.”
Emily dropped into the chair in front of his desk and looked closely.
“Argent & Ore Investigators? Who are they?”
Alex smiled and tapped another area on his screen.
“Well, they are a bit of an unsavoury lot who normally work divorce cases proving adultery. It appears that they send out some gorgeous woman or man and see if they can tempt their hapless victim into some compromising situation. Someone with a hidden camera takes shots of the supposed unfaithfulness and gives it to their client to use as proof of infidelity. It seems they thought that taking pictures of you and James was a similar enough type of work for them to take on.” He flicked another tab. “And this is their client list. Note the name at the bottom. Kassia C. Marshel.” He pointed at the bottom of a long list of names.
Emily stared at the name blankly for a moment before realization dawned.
“Saskia! She’s lost the plot. Does she think that we’re stupid? She has used a false name and hired investigators to take clandestine pictures of James and me. Why? What’s she hoping to prove?”
Alex nodded at the screen again.
“Your solicitor called James this morning. Your dad’s old girlfriend is contesting his will on the grounds that James is unsuitable to be left with such responsibilities. She’s not only had those pictures commissioned to cast doubts on his reputation but she’s accusing him of misappropriating money from your trust fund to prop up this business too. And she says that Adam had a high temperature prior to the pneumonia and wasn’t of sound mind when he made the new will.”
Scarred Surrender (Scarred Series Book 6) Page 15
