Conscious Revenge Read online

  Chapter Twenty

  Lorna

  I am settling down really well in the job and enjoying every minute of it. I think I am fitting in very well with the team and am learning every day, not just the mundane tasks as I thought I would be. The girls laugh and tell me I am getting special treatment but I don’t see how as I have no idea who recommended me for the job but I’m very grateful anyway, my guess would be Paul or one of William’s friends at G&F, they have all been great after William disappeared. The best thing about it is the salary, hopefully when I have completed my three month’s trial there should just be enough to cover the payments on the house. Should the insurance company decide to cover the balance outstanding then even better, this depends on the Coroner’s decision which will not be known for a few more months. When I start to think like this it breaks my heart as I don’t want to think of William not coming back.

  My sister has returned to Australia and wanted me and the children to return with her. I don’t want to disrupt the children any more than can be helped and as they are happy in their present school I think a move so far away at this stage would be too much for them. My parents are taking care of the school fees for now but I’m hoping I can think of something to help myself as time goes by. I can’t leave it too long as I don’t want to take advantage of their generosity.

  The school has been great and keep me informed of any problems that arise on a day to-day basis, as we have no idea what affect William’s disappearance will have on the children in the long run. I know that Bryn has been very quiet lately but the liaison officer says this is quite normal to start with and he should get better with time. I must however be vigilant with both of them and not miss anything, only time will tell if there will be any long term effects. I hope not as I know how very sad they have been to lose him, I have tried not to burden them with my own feelings but at times. It has been difficult.

  It is hard for me to relax as, even though the police have assured me that the threat to the children has now passed and therefore I can assume my normal routine, I’m finding it easier said than done as I am sure someone is still watching the house. I have asked the police if they have continued surveillance, but they say they have stopped all contact other than if I have a specific reason for them to continue.

  Although I have no real evidence to suggest we may still be in danger, Sergeant Briggs said he would keep a close eye on us for a bit longer if that would make me happy. It certainly would so I thanked him once again.

  I have received an invitation to attend a three monthly social evening for the Company. It would appear that the Directors attend and mingle with the employees in an effort to exchange ideas and find out if better ways could be adapted to advance the latest films we are all working on. My first instinct was to try and find a way not to go as I’m not sure if I’m ready to start socialising. William and I always attended the G&F plc. banqueting evenings which included the most prestigious clients to help encourage more investments, but I have not been going out recently as I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate under the circumstances.

  I was assured by the other staff that they would take care of me and that I would enjoy the company, not to mention the food and drinks. Mom and Dad said they would be happy to have the children, so I have agreed to go.

  Choosing what to wear may not be as easy as I thought, when you go with your partner you somehow know what is right and what is not, mixing with not only colleagues but complete strangers makes choosing much more difficult.

  I rang Mom for some advice on which dress would most fit the occasion, after much deliberation the turquoise silk dress with a beaded bodice with shoes and handbag that match and the necklace of pearls that William had bought for my 30th Birthday would finish off the look, or so Mom said, not too over the top but very elegant. I was so glad she came around as having her approval of the whole thing helped to convince me I was not making a monumental mistake.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I put the Audi TT in gear and made a start for the Airport, Paul was due to arrive at 3.30pm and I would have plenty of time to get there to collect him. The next few days, although I was looking forward to them, would be a bit tricky to say the least. I had a strategy worked out of how I would give him the good news first; that being, the money was now secure and accruing interest at a rate he wouldn’t believe. I have removed the evidence of the trap I put in place in the event it turned out to be him that had set me up, but it still left the house buying to get Lorna back and all of the other things that had happened during his absence. Putting it like that made it sound simple but things very rarely were when I’m involved. That said we no longer had to spend every waking hour checking for the missing money to expose my assailant.

  Although I had no idea who had tried to kill me, I realised that my only saving grace was that I was still anonymous to the outside world. I had put finding the perpetrator to one side for the moment, as life was still too complicated and I was busy trying to finalise my plan to get Lorna back without giving myself away.

  The Grand Cayman Airport was very impressive, large windows tinted so that the sun wouldn’t burn the lucky people that joined the throng of holiday makers that streamed onto the Island on a constant basis. How I wished this was me instead of always looking over my shoulder for that one person that may discover I’m not dead after all. I stood in the exit hall entrance checking each and every person that came though the Nothing to Declare, each one being welcomed either by relatives hugging each other or drivers waiting to take them to their final destination, any second now Paul would be here.

  I felt a hot sensation inside, it must be guilt or something as Paul would not have a clue about my suspecting him but never the less I still felt bad about it. He flew around the corner and waved like mad, he was as pleased as I was that we were finally able to meet up again. After much patting and hugging, I carried his computer case to the airport parking and knew I had to begin right away to explain a few things, one being the Audi TT, waiting in the car lot to take us back to the condo.

  “Wow,” he said, “you’ve come up in the world since I went home.”

  This was it, my tongue was dry and I found starting to find words more difficult than I had expected. “Well,” I began, “it’s a long story. Let’s get in and I’ll explain after I get the low down on how things are at home, how are Lorna and the kids are they all ok now. I’ve been going mental not knowing how things have panned out.” I was pleased with myself that I had managed to divert the conversation out of my ball court and into his.

  As we got in the car I could see the look of surprise at this latest turn of events. I quickly explained that I had hired the Audi for the day just to impress him and I would fill him in on the rest later; right now I was anxious to hear all about home. Talk about evasive or what?

  The drive to the ferry was anything but relaxed for me anyway. Paul explained that Lorna was working now, the insurance company was stalling because the Coroner had ruled an open verdict, probably until my body was found at least. The only way to keep the house going was to earn she said, her Mom and Dad were covering the School fees for the children and being very good all round, her sister had to go home to sort out her mess with the divorce etc. but was there for her to talk to whenever she needed her. The surprise for me was that Lorna had managed to get such a very well paid job so soon.

  This was not to say she was not capable but, after keeping house and looking after the children since we got married, I was took back with how quickly my place as the bread winner had been filled. Paul must have been reading my mind and once again he laughed and said, “You’re not replaced in the other department,” so I wasn’t completely redundant yet as she still missed me as much as I obviously missed her. I decided to look on the bright side, at least the house was safe and if the insurance company did pay out then better still for her and the children, even though this would mean I would have to be pronounced dead.

  Work was just t
he same he explained and, as far as he could tell, no one had any idea what was still going on behind the eyes of the investments. Everything was back to normal as far as he could see. James Hollingsworth had taken on some of my accounts and an apprentice had been taken on to be trained using some of my smaller accounts. One of the Seniors had taken over Westline Investments and, as far as he was concerned, no changes had been made to my strategy. Although I tried hard not to show it the very word Westline still made my guts go into a knot. I promised to fill him in later with the details of how things had developed here.

  We arrived at the condo after having encountered the track leading down to the sea. The Audi was not built for overland trekking so the last leg of the journey was slow with more wheel spinning than a roulette wheel. As usual we took it in our stride and arrived without any major incident to the car that is, I must get it back in one piece tomorrow or else!!!

  I could feel Paul’s excitement as we pulled up, he said he didn’t realise how much he had missed the old place, even though at times it had been, what was the expression he used, ‘unpredictable.’ That’s not exactly how I would describe it. Nevertheless, it was great to have him back and soon it would be as if he had never been away. So out with the rum and on with the hangover.

  The next day began very slowly with both of us holding our heads, “just tomato juice please” Paul said “plenty of time for bacon and eggs on rye later.” “Good job I had anticipated your culinary preferences then isn’t it.” Once more he said “don’t make me laugh it hurts my head.” We decided to catch up later and just enjoy him being back for now.

  Later in the day, we went for a walk and a swim “just to get back into the real world again,” he said. I was happy with anything that would stall what I knew was to come. It didn’t matter how much I had rehearsed what I had to tell him it would probably end up coming out as gobble de gook’ of this I was sure, I must hold my nerve and take one step at a time.

  We were sitting on the veranda and I decided to come clean the best way I could. “After what happened to Bryn,” I began, “my head was all over the place and I just couldn’t face going back to checking the client accounts. So I checked the amount of money in my bank accounts which was at that time $16 something million. As I was unable to contact you for obvious reasons, I made a decision to stop the interest filtering down from the clients’ banks, dismantle the computer programs I had set up and deposit the money into just three banks on high interest.” I could feel my colour rising and felt the beat of my heart through my vest top. I tried to add something but I seemed like a child that had eaten something it shouldn’t have, nothing would come out.

  I looked up to see Paul looking back at me with an expression that was hard to read, “Why are you looking at me like that?” Paul said. “I thought you were going to tell me the $16 million had disappeared, not that we are both millionaires. What’s the matter with you old boy cat got your tongue. You should be jumping up and down with glee, best news I could have had. I was getting tired of checking anyway, what’s up don’t you think $16 mill is enough or something.” I had forgotten for a moment that he knew nothing of the suspicions I had of him so there could be no reason for my obvious discomfort.

  Well, that was the first part of the saga sorted. Now all I needed to do was to find a way to explain how my recent encounters with the Westline empire had manifested themselves.

  “I should have guessed you were up to something when you arrived at the airport in the Audi TT,” Paul laughed. “I hope you won’t deduct a percentage from my share for not completing the client who dun-it exercise.” I was laughing now. “You’re quite safe. You should know I’m an honest thief, anyway we haven’t dotted all the I’s and crossed the Ts just yet.” He gave me a quizzical look and said, “Why have I got this strange feeling that I haven’t heard it all yet.”

  “Well, maybe not,” I replied, “but we will have lots of time later to get into that.”

  The next conversation had to be about how he would like his 40% to be handled, would we check the three bank accounts to see how much currently is in, It’s been some time now since I moved the money and I was sure that it would have increased greatly, even with the 20% deposit I had transferred to Julia for the purchase of my house, but that was another story. I’ll be here till Christmas at this rate.

  I took the bull by the horns and suggested we look at the internet banking to see how much money was now in each of the accounts. It took Paul two seconds exactly to grab the Laptop and try to sign in, whoop’s I forgot to tell him I had changed the passwords but I’m sure he would understand that it was necessary to prevent intervention by any other hackers. I gave him the new passwords and he was happy with my explanation. I’ve got that guilty feeling again. I must move on and try to get over myself!!

  There they were in all their glory, three accounts with a total of $16.75 million in them. Paul made for the drinks cupboard and poured us both a stiff whiskey. We sat back and savoured the burn. “Wow,” he said. I couldn’t speak. I had been so worried about everything that was happening to me that I had not taken in the reality of it all.

  It was quite some time before we spoke, he said he was quite happy to leave the accounts as they were for the time being, this would enable him to decide exactly what he wanted to do with the money, I agreed that would be fine and began to explain the 2% that had been transferred out which was to come from my percentage and would not affect his portion, I promised to tell him the next part of my saga or rather take him to see what I had spent my money on as soon I could.

  Telling him I was still working for Andy Crantock made him fall about laughing. “Only you could still be working with all that loot in your bank, are you completely mad?” My brain was aching, just one more thing out in the open. I’m worn out now, so how would I be when I had it all off my chest.

  “Let’s have another drink,” I said. “My life in your absence has been anything but uncomplicated.”

  “I can see that,” he said. “How old will I be before I get to hear all of it?” If only he knew he would never grow old enough to hear all that had happened to me, I was growing old just thinking about it.

  We both agreed enough was enough for now and I decided to take him to the bar on the beach, we could get together with Joseph and hope we didn’t bump into Andy as I would have to tell him another untruth, Andy still thinks Paul is a rep. for chicken feed. Oh well I would have to cross that bridge when I got to it, I just hoped it wouldn’t be tonight as I’d had more than enough to cope with for one day.

  As soon as Joseph, the owner, set eyes on us, rum came flying along the bar. “How are you, my friends,” he said and hugs all around took place. Paul was just as happy to see him as I was, during Paul’s absence I had considered Joseph to be one of the greatest people on the Island, talking about the Island, it was in all its splendour tonight, the sun was just about to set on the Caribbean sea and the colour of the few clouds that could be seen was unbelievable, pinks, reds, orange, if you could paint it they would think you had made it up. I could sit all night just staring at its beauty.

  Suddenly, the steel drums began to play and everyone began to dance, any minute now I would have something else to explain to Paul, Tamsin was making a beeline for me, I was so pleased to see her I decided to leave the explanations for later, I saw Paul giving me a funny look out of the corner of his eye. I just smiled sweetly and began to dance with her.

  “You never cease to amaze me,” Paul said as I moved through the people to introduce him.

  “Tamsin, Paul. Paul, Tamsin,” I said tongue-in-cheek. I could see the obvious interest in Paul’s eyes so I kicked his shin just as a reminder that I saw her first.

  It was well into the early morning when we left the bar telling Joseph and Tamsin we would catch up with them soon. As we began to stroll back to the condo, I began to feel awkward. I have to explain to Paul that Tamsin was just a friend I said “I had helped her and she had helped me in retu
rn when things got bad,” “Is that what they are calling it these days ‘help’,” he had a great big smile on his face, I said “honestly it’s just that I like her and it was good to have her company,” He stopped for a moment and repeated “honestly.” I realised I would get nowhere with this conversation so I changed it.

  “How’s your love life been?” I said. I expect it’s far more interesting than mine.”

  “You joking me?” he laughed. “With everything you’ve thrown at me here and at home,” I haven’t had time to think about such things let alone partake, I’ll be glad to get back to normal whatever that is, I’ve quite forgotten.”

  We strolled along the beach walking in the sea. It was still warm even in the early morning. I was dead on my feet I needed to get to sleep as soon as I could as I had work in the morning. I needed to go to work I explained to Paul, to keep the money going into the bank and keep the true picture at bay for as long as possible, if I was suddenly able to give up work and live the high life questions would be asked in all sorts of places. It was essential to live a split life for the time being. “How many splits is that?” then he laughed.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know,” I replied.

  I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come around again. I had another appointment with Steven, the architect. Good progress had been made on the plans he said, all I needed to do was OK them. Instead of trying to explain to Paul about this latest twist, I asked him to join me on a trip and that it would all become clear when we got there.

  He had rested all week just swimming and tanning himself. He was happy to come along for the ride. I hired the Audi TT again put the top down and off we went. We stopped for coffee at a local watering hole and Paul quipped, “Is there anyone here to jump out of your never ending cupboard?” I didn’t dignify that comment with a reply, I just laughed and told him to drink his coffee, there was plenty of time for more of my revelations later.