Finally Meggie and Ivy. You don’t know them, and neither do I. But they are Laura’s sisters. I snooped until I found them. She hid them away for reasons only she could explain. I think I know the reason and understand it. Tell Laura that for me, and say I never thought any less of her because of it. I know that with all she went through when Barney died, she finally came to understand that riches and family background don’t mean a bag of beans. What counts is the kind of person you are, and to me who knows her better than anyone, she is the tops.
By giving Meggie and Ivy Kirkmay House I hope they and Laura will draw close to one another and have the kind of loving relationship I never had with Belle.
My love and best wishes for your future,
Jackie x x
David looked up from the letter and saw tears rolling down Stuart’s cheeks. He had never seen his friend cry before and wasn’t sure what to say or do.
‘That letter sums her up entirely.’ Stuart’s voice was husky with emotion. ‘She was always so generous and understanding of people and she had such a great sense of humour. What I can’t understand though is why such a switched-on person would entrust her will to that particular solicitor. She could normally spot a wrong’un at fifty paces!’
He told David how he’d seen Robbie Fielding leaving the solicitor’s office, and that Calder tried to pretend he didn’t know him. ‘Where do you think Fielding fits into this?’ he asked.
‘I can’t see that he fits in anywhere.’
‘Nor me,’ Stuart agreed. ‘But all the same, I’ve got this gut reaction that he does. It’s too much of a coincidence that he was there just before me. I’d bet anything Calder called him as soon as he’d put the phone down on Goldsmith. But why? What kind of jiggery-pokery could those two have been up to?’
‘It must have been something to do with Laura getting Brodie Farm,’ David said.
‘What if Fielding was one of Jackie’s lovers and he was livid when he found out she was going off with Ted and giving the farm to Laura?’
David shook his head to signify he couldn’t stand anymore what-if’s. ‘Look, we’ll be seeing Laura tomorrow. She might be able to put a different spin on this. So let’s go out and get a Chinese or something. I’m starving.’
The prison visiting room was as full of people and as wreathed in cigarette smoke as on the previous occasion, but this time there were more older children, perhaps because their schools had broken up for the summer holiday. David noted how sulky or anxious many of them looked. He guessed that however much they wanted to see their mothers, the restrictions of a prison made it a distressing experience. He couldn’t imagine Abi and William coping with it.
Yet he was pleased to see how much better Laura was looking since the last time he saw her. He couldn’t work out what was different – she was wearing the same jeans and blue tee-shirt as before, and he didn’t think she’d had her hair cut either – but something had made her look pretty and far younger than fifty. Was it Stuart visiting her? Or just that she was feeling more hopeful now?
David remained silent while Laura and Stuart chatted. He often felt he could learn more about people by just watching and listening.
Over the years Stuart had told him a great deal about Laura. In the early days when he was still hurting from their break-up he would say bitterly that all she wanted was money and expensive clothes. Then when he’d had too much to drink he’d become a bit maudlin and say how beautiful she was, what a perfect figure she had, and how much fun they’d had their first summer together in Scotland.
David had gathered all this up and formed the opinion that she was a ball-breaking, self-seeking bitch, with a touch of the siren, because Stuart couldn’t seem to forget her.
But meeting her in here for the first time, a damaged, middle-aged woman in serious trouble, his constructed image of her had been erased. Now, a couple of weeks later, with a tremendous amount of information about her under his belt, some of which had come directly from her, more from other people, he had a rather confused picture.
For someone who once was a self-confessed serial liar, she had been remarkably truthful with him and Stuart. The child neglect, the pornography and drug-taking were all things which he could never take lightly, yet she had rebuilt her life honestly after Barney’s death, and that took courage and determination. She had never sought to blame others, or indulged in self-pity. Overall he felt she was more sinned against than sinner.
Looking at her now talking so animatedly to Stuart, he found himself understanding why Jackie had cared so deeply about her, and Stuart still loved her. She was so vibrant, her dark eyes glowed, her smile lit up the room, and her voice, low-pitched and slightly husky, with that curious mixture of a London accent and a faint Scottish burr, was so attractive. She was an intelligent woman who had graduated at the university of hard knocks, and there was a sensuality which wafted out of her like exotic perfume.
‘Are you with us?’
David almost jumped at Stuart’s question. ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I was just thinking about something. Sorry. Where were you?’
‘I take it you were off sailing with Julia?’ Stuart grinned. ‘I’d just told Laura about the “Growler”, and I was just about to show her the star prize.’
Stuart had got the will photocopied that morning, and handed the original to Goldsmith for safe keeping. Oddly enough, suddenly this seemed to make Goldsmith far more animated and warmer. He even agreed that he felt there was something sinister about Fielding and Calder.
Stuart took the copy will out of his pocket and handed it to Laura. ‘Jackie’s will. Made just six months before her death. You read it while David and I get us some coffee. Would you like a cake too?’
‘Umm,’ she said distractedly, opening the copy will. ‘Yes, please. One of the flapjacks if that’s okay.’
The two men went over to the refreshments counter, dodging the many young children running about the room. But as they waited their turn to be served, they both looked back at Laura. She was engrossed, one hand up to her cheek, clearly stunned by what she was reading. ‘I’d say she had absolutely no knowledge that Jackie had made that, wouldn’t you?’ Stuart remarked.
By the time they got back she had put the paper down and was staring into space, her face suddenly pale.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Why would she give me Brodie Farm? How did she find out about my sisters, and why is she giving Kirkmay House to them? I thought it belonged to Belle and Charles. And why hasn’t she left them anything? Is that a mistake?’
Stuart got out Jackie’s letter to him and let her read that so she would understand.
David had watched this interchange silently and was surprised that Laura showed horror, not delight. Stuart had told her when they first got there that an appeal was now in the bag, though he hadn’t told her that most of the new evidence they had gathered pointed to Charles being Jackie’s killer. They thought that better kept to themselves for now. So why wasn’t she happy about this development which would set her up for life if she was acquitted?
A tear trickled down Laura’s cheeks as she read Jackie’s letter. She put it down when she’d finished and covered her face in her hands.
‘What is it?’ Stuart said, looking stunned by her reaction. ‘We expected you to be thrilled.’
‘Belle will hate me for this,’ she said, her voice trembling. ‘Everyone will. I didn’t want anything from Jackie, just to keep all the wonderful memories of her intact.’
‘She had no idea that any of us would ever read it,’ Stuart reminded her. ‘She thought she would live for ever. But she put down what was important to her at the time of writing. And that was that she loved you. Thank God she did, for this will and the letter prove how she felt.’
‘Why didn’t she tell me she knew about my sisters?’
‘I dare say she thought you’d be so embarrassed that you’d never come near her again.’
‘I would have loved it if
she’d told me,’ Laura said brokenly. ‘It would have given me the chance to tell her the whole story, to get it off my chest. I can’t go and live at the farm even if I am acquitted. Can you imagine what it would be like? Never mind the horror of what happened there, unless the police find the real murderer, everyone will carry on believing I killed her. I couldn’t bear that.’
‘We think that as soon as the appeal gets underway they will start a new murder investigation,’ David said. ‘We’ve found they were very remiss in the original one, so they’ll be forced to pull out all the stops this time.’
‘I kind of knew Jackie wasn’t all that happy when Belle and Charles moved up to Scotland,’ Laura said, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. ‘But I thought that was because she didn’t think they’d fit in, not because they were broke and expected her to bail them out. I believed they were still stinking rich, Belle always implied that. And I was giving Jackie so much grief at that time too!’ She broke off, looking helplessly at Stuart.
‘People tend to conceal problems within their own family,’ he said soothingly. ‘It was no reflection on you.’
‘But poor Belle,’ Laura said sadly. ‘She’ll be devastated. As if it wasn’t bad enough losing her sister, without then being made to leave her home.’
David wondered if she would manage to find any compassion for Belle if he and Stuart were proved right about the accident which killed Barney.
‘I shouldn’t waste any sympathy on her,’ Stuart said. ‘Jackie wasn’t a vindictive person, she would have had good reason. I’m sure there was a lot more she hasn’t told us. But I’m surprised you even care about Belle – she hasn’t been very kind about you.’
‘When you’ve been fond of someone when they were a child, you don’t stop caring about them just because they didn’t turn out as you expected or hoped,’ Laura said reproachfully. ‘I think she always felt she was living in Jackie’s shadow and I’m sure she only married Charles because she felt that would put them on an equal footing. Unfortunately his greed and self-importance seem to have rubbed off on her. But if she has been nasty about me, it will only be because she’s been robbed of the sister she idolized so much.’
David looked at Stuart and raised one eyebrow quizzically. He thought it astounding that Laura still had such affection and understanding for Belle.
‘Let’s forget the will for now and just deal with what you need to know about the appeal,’ Stuart suggested. ‘Goldsmith has been consulting counsel and he thought they’d get a date settled fairly soon. He’ll be in to tell you about that. David has got to go off to join his wife and kids, but I’m still going to be here. I will have to find some work, but I can visit you, and I’ll be cracking the whip so the lawyers don’t sit on their hands and do nothing. How are you coping with the waiting?’
She smiled at Stuart. ‘I’m doing fine. Reading a lot, writing too, I find it helps. And I’ve signed up to do a computer course. I read somewhere that by the year 2000 everyone will need to know how to use one. So I thought I’d better get prepared for if I do get acquitted.’
‘There’s no “if” about it, you will,’ Stuart said.
She smiled weakly and David remembered he needed to ask her about Fielding. He quickly explained how Calder the solicitor hadn’t wanted to admit he knew him. ‘Why do you think that was, Laura?’
‘I don’t think anyone who likes to be seen as an upright person would want to admit to knowing Robbie,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘You can bet your boots he got Calder to do something crooked back when he was young and hungry. I dare say he’s had the poor bloke over a barrel ever since – a bent solicitor would be very useful to him.’
The bell rang to warn them visiting time was over.
‘Do you think Fielding could have leant on Calder to discover the contents of Jackie’s will, and then instructed him not to inform anyone about it when she died?’ David asked quickly.
‘He could’ve done, I suppose. But why?’ she said. ‘What could have been in it for him?’
Everyone was leaving now, the sounds of chairs scraping on the floor and children yelling making it impossible for David to ask anything further.
Laura got up and went around the table to him and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Have a lovely holiday with your family,’ she said. ‘I can’t thank you enough for giving up so much of your time on my behalf. It was really kind of you.’
She turned to Stuart then, and David noticed she was struggling not to cry. ‘What would I have done without you?’ she said softly. ‘But don’t waste any more of your valuable time on me. You go back to work and let Goldsmith do what he gets paid for. If the appeal fails it won’t be your fault.’
David had to turn away as Stuart hugged her. He could feel his friend’s sorrow at leaving her here, and that his love for her hadn’t diminished over the years. If anything, it appeared to have grown stronger still while he’d been fighting for her.
On Saturday, after David had finally left the flat to go and pick up Julia and the children at the airport, Stuart felt lost.
He’d already stripped the sheets off David’s bed, washed up and tidied the flat. There was only the vacuuming left to do, and the weekend yawned before him with nothing to fill it.
The previous day he and David had had another meeting with Goldsmith and met the QC he wanted to defend Laura at the appeal. Goldsmith clearly had had a change of heart; he was beaming as if all his Christmases had come at once. Whether this was because he finally believed Laura deserved to be freed, or just that he saw signs he could win his case, Stuart didn’t know, but it was heartening to have him acting as though he really cared.
Everything looked great, and it was down to the lawyers to tie up loose ends, prepare their arguments and sort out the witnesses they needed to call. Stuart knew there was no more he could do. As Goldsmith had so succinctly put it, ‘It’s the police’s job to find and charge the real killer. I have spoken with the CPS and passed on all the many points you have made. It’s up to them now, and you must butt out.’
Stuart knew Goldsmith was right, but it was a warm, sunny day, the streets were full of people out enjoying themselves, the airport would be crammed with others flying off to sun-drenched beaches, and Laura was in prison.
He couldn’t imagine what it did to a person to be locked up for something they hadn’t done. She’d had two years of it, and he’d seen by her face as they parted yesterday that she didn’t really believe she would be acquitted. She wanted to. Perhaps while he and David were talking to her, telling her things they’d discovered, maybe she began to hope. But once the cell door closed on her and she was alone, or talking to all those other women in there who hadn’t got a prayer of getting out, she was bound to think the worst.
Stuart walked over to the window and looked out. There was a café opposite, with tables and chairs out on the pavement. Every one of them was taken. He could see three women with bulging carrier bags all around their table. They were close in age to Laura, smart, attractive women in elegant clothes, their bare legs and arms suntanned, sunglasses pushed back on to well-cared-for hair. They were laughing, really enjoying one another’s company, and he felt a pang of sorrow that Laura couldn’t have a day like theirs.
As he watched, a tall, slender woman with long dark hair walked down the pavement. She was wearing red shorts, a low-cut black top and flip-flops on her feet. She looked very much like Laura did when he first met her; there was a sort of golden glow about her, oozing sensuality and a sense of mischief. Suddenly she opened her arms wide and a huge smile spread across her face. Stuart glanced down the street and saw a dark-haired boy of about eight in a football strip running towards her.
As the boy reached her, she caught hold of him and swung him round, and Stuart felt his eyes fill with tears. He had seen Laura do that so often with Barney, though he’d been so much younger then than this boy. How did Laura live with that loss?
He vacuumed the carpet, cleaned the bathroom and even made Dav
id’s bed up again with clean sheets so it looked tidy. But all the while he was thinking of Laura, and suddenly he felt he had to do something to shake things up.
All this time he’d played by the rules. He’d accused no one, he hadn’t pointed out their shortcomings even while they bad-mouthed Laura, except for Roger. He’d listened and nodded, been sympathetic, even stroked a few egos. So maybe an appeal was in the bag now and he’d achieved his objective, but he’d feel a darn sight more satisfied if he could just undermine Charles’s security enough to get him really rattled.
It was just after twelve when he put an overnight bag in his car and drove off. He didn’t for one moment think that Belle would want him as a guest once he’d told her the contents of Jackie’s will, and he certainly didn’t want to stay there, but then the bag was just a ruse to get him through the door. He’d also put on a cream linen shirt and chinos that several women had told him he looked handsome in. It wouldn’t hurt to let Belle imagine for a few moments that he’d come with seduction on his mind.
The traffic was solid all the way out of Edinburgh, and almost at a standstill on the Forth Bridge. He expected that today would be the longest time ever to make the trip. He’d be lucky if he did it in two and a half hours.
Calder had offered to handle the bequests in the will, but Stuart had declined, not wanting him to make another penny from Jackie, and instead asked Goldsmith to appoint a suitable lawyer to do it. He knew perfectly well that he should leave the person chosen to contact each of the beneficiaries; Goldsmith certainly wouldn’t approve of Stuart informing Belle and Charles that they would be getting nothing. But as Stuart hadn’t actually been advised against it, he would plead ignorance.
Charles’s car wasn’t in the drive of Kirkmay House, and he saw Belle glance out of the drawing-room window as he drew up. She had the door open before he even reached the front step.
‘What brings you over here?’ she asked.
‘You, Belle, what else?’ he replied. ‘You said if I ever needed a bed for the night!’
Faith Page 43
