A Place of Hope (11 page)

Both men looked at her in surprise.

‘I’m a bit paranoid about losing my credit card and not having access to my money. It happened to me once when I was overseas. So I keep two cards.’

‘Where’s the other credit card?’

‘You’ll have to ask George. It was in my purse, which is also missing. I’ll cancel that card on Monday.’

‘We found your purse. At least he didn’t take the money out of it, but you’re right: there’s no credit card.’

‘He’ll claim he was keeping it safe, I suppose.’

‘Never mind George the Horrible. Am I still coming with you to Lancashire?’ Rachel asked.

‘I hope so.’ Emily turned to her lawyer. ‘I have no idea what Penelope’s house is like. I’ve never visited her there.’

‘It’s old and rather run down, with a rather strange set of outbuildings. It used to be a pub called The Drover’s Hope – the name dates from the days when people brought their animals to market on foot, so some parts are quite old. I think it’s structurally sound, at least the main building is.’

‘A pub!’

‘Hasn’t been licensed for a decade or so. I did a quick walk through with my son after Penelope died. Her flat on the ground floor is the most modern part. Everything’s very old-fashioned, though. Some of the outhouses at the rear need attention. We didn’t feel it right to do any renovations without your permission. After all, you may want to knock the whole place down and build a modern house, or sell it.’

‘How many bedrooms does it have?’

‘Apart from the flat, six at least, perhaps more.’

She looked at him in surprise. ‘Goodness! It sounds far bigger than I’d expected.’ She turned to her friend. ‘Plenty of room for you to stay . . . unless you want to stay here and confront George?’

‘No way. He’ll be furious and he’ll guess I was involved in your escape from hospital. I won’t want my tyres slashing again. Or worse. How about I follow you up to Lancashire? I can’t pack and load my car until they’ve finished changing the tyres, and they can’t start the job till later today.’

Oliver turned to Emily. ‘Right then. We can leave as soon as you and Chad have had something to eat. I’m sure the security firm can be trusted to finish their work and lock up behind themselves. I’ll instruct them not to let George in if he comes back early, whatever he claims.’

‘I’d like to leave him a message.’ She smiled. ‘I’ll stick a note on the inside of the window and leave details of what we’ve done with his things at Mr Teddington’s.’

‘Good idea. And since there’s a good doctor in the village near The Drover’s Hope, I can ring and make an appointment for you both for tomorrow morning.’

‘I agree.’ Chad frowned. ‘Why do I keep thinking about the legal side of things? There’s something hovering.’ He tapped his head. ‘I wish I could remember it.’

Emily reached across to give his hand a squeeze. ‘Don’t try to force things. I’m sure you’ll gradually start to remember.’

‘I feel as if I’m on the verge of it.’ He made a little growling noise in his throat, shaking his head in exasperation. He kept hold of her hand for a minute, then shot her a quick smile, before letting go.

She turned back to Oliver. ‘Does Penelope’s house have internet access? I’ll want to take my computer.’

‘I’m pretty certain it doesn’t, so we’ll have to get it connected. Penelope wasn’t one for modern technology. Even the cooker and fridge are ancient. But she did buy a lot of books, so you won’t be short of reading material. I think reading was her main form of entertainment as she grew older. She had very eclectic tastes.’

He pulled out a notebook, muttering ‘Internet connection’ as he added it to his list. ‘Now, if you’ll get something to eat, I’ll dismantle your computer. Do you want to check it before I do that?’

‘No. It can wait till later. I’ve no doubt George has already had a good look at my files, but I doubt he’s seen the important ones. I have a double system set up, with one hidden behind a security wall. A computer expert would find it, but I doubt George has that much expertise.’

‘You’re into computers?’ he asked.

‘Into using them. And into security for my private files. I’m not good enough technically to set up a system like that myself, so I paid someone I used to work with to do it for me.’

As soon as they’d eaten, Oliver ushered them out to the car and set off. ‘I’m glad George didn’t come back. Everything will go much more smoothly if we can avoid any confrontations with your nephew.’

She didn’t share his confidence. George was still a threat, as far as she was concerned.

George wasn’t enjoying himself in Brighton. He’d only come because it’d look bad to turn down a prize from his company and he’d put it off longer than was tactful.

He took an instant dislike to the room they’d been given and insisted on paying extra for a suite. They could well afford it these days, after all. It was very economical living at his aunt’s. And now, there was the prospect of more money coming in when he took over her affairs.

He scowled as he watched his wife unpack on the Friday evening.

‘Smile, dear. You’re supposed to be enjoying yourself,’ Marcia teased.

‘I’d rather be at home.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t. Anyway, we don’t actually have a home now, not even a rented one.’

‘At my aunt’s house, then, if you must be pedantic. I like living there.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Time to get a meal. Let’s see what’s on the menu here. We can go out and explore tomorrow.’

She pulled a face, but went down with him to the bar.

The following day after breakfast, she said, ‘Come on. Let’s go out and explore the centre of Brighton. I don’t really know it.’

He wandered along the Lanes with her, disgusted by the high prices being asked for the antiques and trinkets. ‘Most of this is rubbish.’

‘No, it isn’t. And no one’s forcing you to buy anything. Just let me enjoy looking. You know how good I am at spotting bargains in jewellery. We’ll go to the Pavilion next.’

‘Do we have to? I’m not into stately homes.’

‘You know I’ve always wanted to see it.’

He shrugged and went with her. He had nothing else to do, after all. But he couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. The place was garish and ridiculously fussy, Indian in style outside, Chinese inside. The man who designed it must have been crazy.

At least they found a good Indian restaurant near the hotel.

The next morning they went for a drive, which was marginally more interesting to him, because they were studying the area with a view to retiring there eventually.

At lunchtime they found a country house hotel where they had a superb meal. He enjoyed fine living. One day, he’d live like this all the time.

Since Marcia never drank more than one glass of wine, he finished off a bottle of rather good Australian merlot and let her drive them back.

He took a short nap on their return, but once he woke up, he grew restless again. She had her head in a book, one of her damned romances probably, and he’d finished reading the financial pages. When his mobile sounded, he fumbled for it eagerly, hoping it was something that would take him away from here and let him get back to his computer, which Marcia had insisted he leave behind.

‘It’s Phil Teddington from across the road, George. You asked me to keep an eye on your house. Did you know your aunt had come back?’

‘
What?
’

George listened in growing anger. How the hell had Emily got out of hospital? That damned sister wasn’t keeping her end of the bargain.

When he broke the connection, he told Marcia what had happened, then rang the hospital.

He was unable to speak to the ward sister. Pauline had a rostered day off, it seemed. Did these people never do a full week’s work?

‘Why the hell has my aunt been discharged? She’s not fit to turn loose on the world.’

‘Ah! I’ll need to put you through to Central Admin. They’re dealing with this case.’

Which only confirmed that he was right to be uneasy.

‘Can I help you?’ A man’s voice this time.

‘George Pilby here. I want to know why my aunt – Emily Mattison – has been discharged. And why couldn’t the geriatric unit sister tell me about her just now?
What’s been going on?
’

‘Give me a minute.’

Some inane music began playing in his ear. He glared at the handpiece and held it further away.

‘Mr Pilby? Right. Your aunt has discharged herself from the hospital and is no longer our concern. I thought she’d have let you know, since you were listed as her next of kin and have been visiting her.’

‘She was in no fit state to look after herself. And how did she manage to leave, anyway? She didn’t have a car or money. And surely
I
should have been consulted. After all,
I
was looking after her.’

‘Her lawyer came to collect her and—’

‘Lawyer! What lawyer?’

‘Um . . . I’ll find his name if you’ll hold for a minute.’

More of that inane, tinkling music.

‘You there, Mr Pilby?’

‘Of course I am!’

‘Your aunt’s lawyer is a Mr Oliver Tapton.’

‘Tapton . . .’ George remembered the lawyer’s letter about the legacy and offer to buy, but that had been from a Jeremy Tapton, not an Oliver. ‘Why did this Tapton take her away from the hospital?’

‘I don’t know. It’s none of our business now she’s left. Further enquiries should be directed to Mr Tapton’s business premises, it says in the notes.’

‘And where are they?’

‘In Lancashire, near a place called Littleborough.’

George frowned. That was the address he had, even if it was another Tapton who’d written to inform her of the legacy. But his aunt lived in Hertfordshire, so why would she go to Lancashire? Was it to escape him? Or had she found out about the legacy and was going to check it out? But she’d gone back to her own home first. Typical of her crazy thinking. It just showed he had been right to have her looked after.

‘Mr Pilby?’

He focused on the phone again. ‘It seems to me that you’ve let her out before she was ready and if she falls ill again, I’ll damn well sue you.’ He ended the call and dumped his mobile phone on the table. After thinking furiously, he picked it up again and rang his mother.

‘Have you heard from Aunt Emily? I’ve just found out she’s discharged herself.’

‘Without telling you, after all you’ve done for her? That’s very ungrateful, but at least it must mean she’s a lot better, which is good news. How is your holiday going, George dear?’

‘It’s as boring as holidays usually are. Marcia and I are going home again today.’

‘You mean to Emily’s house? Will she want you there now?’

‘I won’t know till I see her.’

‘You can always come back here.’

‘I’ll let you know. Call me if you hear from Emily.’

He sat drumming his fingers on the bedside table. His long-term plans did not include his aunt coming out of care again. And Pauline had assured him that could be arranged.

When his wife came out of the bathroom, he told her what he’d found out. ‘You’d better start packing. I need to look into this.’

Marcia looked at him anxiously. ‘Have they discovered what you were doing?’

‘I was only ensuring that my aunt was cared for properly. Make sure you remember that at all times.’

She gave him one of her worried looks, half-opened her mouth, then clamped her lips together and started packing without a word.

He left her to it and went down to tell the hotel staff he was leaving, checking every detail of the bill before he paid it. Then he asked for his car to be brought round.

Back in their room, Marcia was finishing off the packing with her usual efficiency. She looked at him anxiously. ‘Where will we go? We won’t be able to stay at your aunt’s house now.’

‘Whether we can stay there or not, we have to go back, if only to collect our things. We’ll no doubt pick up some useful information while we’re there. She doesn’t know about . . . anything.’

‘She must guess.’

‘Not for certain. She was in a coma for days, dammit! She shouldn’t even have recovered from that. And it must have affected her.’

He paced up and down the room, then stopped to say slowly, ‘I bet she hasn’t really recovered, and someone’s taking advantage of her. It’ll be that interfering bitch next door who brought in the lawyer. I thought I’d made sure she wouldn’t interfere again.’

‘You shouldn’t have done that. You go too far sometimes.’

‘I go as far as is needed when I want something.
You
should remember that.’

She shook her head slightly but didn’t argue, bending over to zip up their suitcases.

He smiled grimly. He could always keep Marcia in order, if he needed to. His dear wife enjoyed her comfortable lifestyle as much as he did.

And he could keep his mother in order, too.

His aunt had better watch out. He wasn’t finished with her yet. She’d come to heel before he was through.

By early afternoon, Rachel had cleared out her fridge, packing the fresh stuff as well as her clothes and computer, and was ready to follow the others. When she heard a vehicle draw up next door, she peeped out of the window and exclaimed in dismay as George and Marcia got out of it. ‘Oh, hell!’

What had brought them back early? Thank goodness he hadn’t caught her outside packing her car.

After locking all the outer doors, she went up to her bedroom to watch what George was doing. As an afterthought she got out her camera. If he touched her car again, she’d get proof of him damaging it.

But she wasn’t leaving the house till she was sure she wouldn’t run into him. She didn’t dare.

What was there about him that made her feel so nervous? She was usually able to stand up for herself.

George followed his wife to the front door of his aunt’s house, dragging one of their cases. ‘Doesn’t look as if she’s here. All the windows are shut. I’ll go over and see Teddington while you put the kettle on. I’m parched.’

Marcia had her key in her hand and was looking at it in puzzlement. ‘It doesn’t fit, George. But it’s the right key, I know it is.’

He snatched it from her hand and tried it, with the same result, then peered at the lock ‘The bitch! She’s had this lock changed.’