The Inheritance (17 page)

It was the last class of the term
at college.  Kate was desperate to speak to Martin.  She had tried about half a
dozen times on various occasions to get him on his own so that she could talk
to him about Steven and her situation.  But for some reason he was constantly
busy.  She thought it was odd that before he’d been so keen to talk to her but
now she couldn’t pin him down.  Every week when she went to his office, it was
the same: he would be too busy to speak to her. 

Now it was her last chance to speak
to him before the Christmas break.  She had to wait until the class had ended,
but thankfully he was teaching her class again that evening.  She could barely
concentrate during the lesson.  Her mind kept wandering back to the harassment
she’d been receiving and what she could do about it.  It was after nine when
the class ended and the students began to disperse.  Seeing her chance, Kate
boldly walked up to him.

‘Martin, I really must talk to
you.  It’s very important.’  She was surprised to see that he looked harassed
and had none of his usual composure.

‘All right, Kate, follow me.  We’ll
talk in my office.’ 

Kate followed him down the corridor
and into his office.  He shut the door firmly behind them.

‘They’re following you, aren’t
they?’ he said. 

‘How… how do you know?’

‘Because they’re following me too. 
That’s why I’ve avoided talking to you, Kate.’

‘I don’t understand.’

He sighed deeply.  ‘I’ve done some
research.  Like I told you, Steven’s brother is a criminal.  He’s the leader of
one of the criminal gangs in London.’

‘But what do they want with us?’

‘They’re still convinced that we
can lead them to Steven.  His brother Dan, if you remember, seems determined to
find him.’

‘I’ve had death threats, or near
enough.  Do they really want us to lead them to Steven?  Or are they simply
going to kill us?’ Kate’s voice was strained.

Martin shook his head.  ‘I don’t
think they’re going to kill us, Kate.  They want to scare us into telling them
where Steven is.’

‘But we don’t know where he is.’

‘They don’t know that.  Most likely
they think that we’re trying to fob them off.’

‘I don’t see how they found out
about us though.  How could they even know of our existence?’

‘It could be that before Steven
decided to disappear, his brother and his cronies had their eyes on us.  They
may have been watching all our movements so that they could swoop in and take
Steven.  But they waited too long and he disappeared.  Now they’ve come back to
make us tell them where he is.’

Kate felt the colour drain from her
face as she listened to Martin.  All those years ago, all that private, special
time she’d spent with Steven she was being watched. 

‘We have to go to the police.’ She
heard herself say the words but the thin trembling voice didn’t sound like hers. 

‘Yes, you’re right.  But let’s just
give it one more week.’

‘Why?’

‘I’ve been doing a little spying of
my own.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I was being followed the other day
by a large dark car.’

‘Was it a Mercedes?’

‘Yes.  So it’s been following you
too?’

‘I think so.’

‘Well after I was being followed
for a while I pulled over on the edge of the street – I was in Wadebridge – and
parked the car, letting the Mercedes think I was stopping there.  It drove off
ahead of me as I’d anticipated, so I let a few cars go past and then I followed
it.’

 ‘Where did it go?’

‘Out of town and through the
countryside.  It felt like a long way to me.  I was constantly trying to keep a
few cars between it and me.  I didn’t want the driver to know I was following
him.  Anyway, we seemed to drive for miles and then abruptly the car turned off
the main road and onto a narrow lane.  I was a bit nervous about following it as
there was a greater chance of me being seen, but I had no choice.  I’d come all
this way; I had to go further to try to get some answers.  I kept my distance
and thankfully he didn’t see me.  He drove all the way to a dilapidated farmhouse,
stopped the car and got out.   There was a passing place a couple of hundred
yards away, where I was able to park my car.  I had a pair of binoculars with
me.  They came in handy.’

Kate was mesmerised.  ‘What did you
see?’

‘I thought the man might just go in
the house but luckily he banged on the door quite vigorously till another man
came out.  The man seemed to be wearing a dressing gown and pyjamas.  At half
past two in the afternoon, I thought that was a bit odd.  Then when I zoomed in
a little more I could see that the man looked shrunken, unwell.  He also looked
just like Steven.’

Kate felt her jaw drop.  ‘Steven is
here, in Cornwall?’

Martin shook his head.  ‘I thought
that at first.  But then I realised the man looked at least ten years older
than Steven would be now.  From what I could see with the binoculars, he was
shorter than Steven.  His hair looked a little grey and his face was a slightly
different shape.  The similarities were astounding, though.’

‘So it was Steven’s brother, Dan?’

‘It must have been.  The two men
seemed to be having a heated argument, waving their arms around in the air and
I could even hear the sound of their voices occasionally drifting over. 
Unfortunately I couldn’t make out what they were saying.’

‘How does this affect us?’

‘Think about it, Kate.  We now know
where these people are based.  It’s in the middle of nowhere, but I’m sure I
could find it again. I have satnav but I think I can remember the route anyway.’

‘We know where to direct the police
to,’ Kate said slowly, ‘and we also know that Dan could be very sick.  So maybe
his priorities are going to change.’

‘Exactly.  He wants to find his
brother.  He’s ill, Steven is family after all and perhaps he wants things to
be better between them.  Perhaps he doesn’t want Steven dead; maybe he wants him
on his side, to convince him to get involved with his criminal activities.’

‘He doesn’t want Steven dead,’ Kate
repeated savouring the words.

‘I’m not sure he’s ever wanted to
do that.’

‘Maybe you’re right.  But I still
think we should involve the police.’

Martin leaned back in his chair,
crossing his arms.  ‘I think we should wait a little longer.  If we involve the
police now, we could scare them off.  Steven’s good at disappearing; his
brother’s probably just as good.  And from what I could see Dan did look very
ill.  They’ll probably lose interest in us soon.’

‘So we just let them stalk us?’ Kate
could hear her voice becoming a little hysterical.

‘Like I said, I’m pretty sure the
harassment will stop soon.  And anyway I can look after myself.’

‘I’m sure you can but these are
dangerous criminals we’re dealing with…’

‘I have a black belt in Kung Fu,’
Martin said interrupting her.  ‘Well it’s a sash really.  I’ve been doing it
for nearly thirty years.  I’m really rather good at it.’

Kate was incredulous.  He knew a
martial art and was good at it?  It seemed unlikely, but why tell a silly lie
like that?  But although he was trying to reassure her, he certainly didn’t seem
very reassured himself.  He still had his arms crossed tightly against his
chest.  His face looked strained betraying his emotions, and he seemed to
register her scepticism.

‘I’m sorry, but that’s just not
good enough,’ she said.  ‘Whether you know a martial art or not, I certainly
don’t and I’m not going to allow anyone to threaten me like this.  If I get
another nasty letter or I see someone suspicious lurking around near the farm
again, that’s it I’m going to the police.’

‘All right.’ Martin sat up and took
a sip from a glass of water on the table in front of him, then folded his arms
tightly again.  Kate was about to leave the room, but glancing at him she saw
that he was in distress.  She sat down again.

‘Are you all right?’ she asked.  He
nodded.  She went on, ‘I think going to the police is our best option.’

He didn’t answer for a moment. 
When he did he spoke softly.  ‘You’re probably right.  I suppose I just hoped that
the situation might resolve itself without the intervention of the
authorities.  I felt that with all my knowledge of Kung Fu – well I know how to
protect myself and that counts for something, surely?  And if we involve the
police… I don’t know; it gets taken out of my hands and I won’t have control of
the situation.  Complete strangers will.  I desperately want to know that
Steven’s all right and I realise that I probably won’t ever know that for sure
.
  Seeing his brother like that just
brought his disappearance home to me.  It hit me hard all over again.’

‘I understand that.  These past few
months have been tough for me too, knowing that Steven may be alive; the
uncertainty of it all.  But if our own lives are at risk, we don’t have a
choice.’

Martin sighed.  ‘You’re right.’ 

He uncrossed his arms.  To Kate it
looked as though he’d been holding himself together, like a badly wrapped
parcel which might fall apart at any moment.  He stood up slowly and for a
fleeting moment, Kate thought he looked old.  He gave her a half smile.

‘We’ll talk again soon, Kate.’

 She too got up to leave the room,
then turned back to him.  ‘Like I said before I’ll only go to the police if I
get any more trouble.’

‘Thank you.  If we can wait a bit
longer, that may help.  Good night.’

‘Good night.’

******

Kate sipped her cup of tea slowly as
she was sitting at the kitchen table reading her book, relishing the pleasant
warmth it gave her.  Her father had given her the day off, ostensibly to
celebrate her having finished another term at college.  But she knew it was
really because he wanted to make sure she was safe.  Since she’d told him about
Steven, he’d been jittery around her, constantly making sure he knew where she
was or where she was going and what time she’d be back.  It was like being a kid
again.  Today, though, she was glad of it.  She’d needed to recover from her
encounter with Martin, which had left her feeling emotionally exhausted.   She
was concerned for him too, that he would (or might) take matters into his own
hands and try to confront Dan or his henchmen by himself.

She had spent the day pottering,
doing a bit of housework as well as reading a novel and working a little on her
coursework.  She’d barely been outside, which was unheard of for her.  The dogs
were getting restless now; she could feel them fidgeting under her feet.  They needed
a walk.  She looked at her watch.  It was half past two.  If she walked them
now she’d be home by the time it got dark.  Finishing her tea, she got her
coat, hat, scarf and gloves on, trying to deal with the two excitable dogs at
the same time.

‘All right, come on then, let’s
go,’ she told them. 

They followed her eagerly as she
grabbed a couple of balls for them, slipped on her wellies by the back door and
headed off.  The air was bracing and very cold.  The dogs didn’t care though
and hurtled off ahead of her like bullets from a gun as she crossed the field
behind the farmhouse.  Kate felt the tension in her body lift a little. 
Although it was cold, as she walked she began to warm up and decided she’d take
the longer route across most of the land her father owned.  She needed the
distraction.  He would have to get over his fears for her; she couldn’t stay
cooped up indoors all day. 

The walk took her a couple of hours. 
She trudged through the hard frozen earth of the fields, her hands in her
pockets, watching the dogs racing ahead of her.  They loved being out in the
open, like caged animals finally set free.  Kate, too, felt like she’d been a prisoner
these past few months and had just been released.  It was liberating to know
that the secret of Steven was out in the open, that her father knew about him
and she didn’t have to conceal his existence any more.  She thought about what
Martin had told her. 

Now that Dan was apparently so ill,
would he still be a threat to her and to Steven?  Maybe Steven would be able to
return.  She allowed herself to imagine her reunion with him.  He would appear
at the front door with a huge bouquet of flowers for her and a smile on his
face.  There would be an expensive car in the yard behind him ready to carry
her off; he’d be like a modern-day chivalrous knight and she his princess…

Don’t be daft, she told herself. 
This is real life, not a fairy tale.  Still, she couldn’t help thinking about
Steven’s return as she walked along the path that wound around the farm
buildings and away across the fields.  Smiling to herself as she walked, Kate
imagined happy times in the future, Steven at her side as she studied for her
degree.  She was certain now that she wanted to do a degree; she’d be happy to
study from home but she felt the urge to continue learning.  And after that –
who knew?  Maybe she’d turn her hand to some form of writing which she’d always
enjoyed.