She gave a little laugh. ‘You don’t mind me ringing the station, do you? I hope I haven’t got anybody into trouble.’
‘Of course not, Lisa. So what’s it all about?’
‘Oh, you know, I’m feeling a bit fed up. And lonely.’
‘Has Justin gone?’
‘Yes. Is Annabelle there with you?’
The message coming through was that Lisa Davis could be bad news. I remembered the warning Annabelle had given me. ‘No, she’s not here at the moment,’ I replied. No need to say she was two hundred miles away.
‘So you’re on your own, like me,’ she observed.
‘That’s right.’ I didn’t feel like playing counsellor to a spoilt bitch, which was what I suspected her to be. I needed some TLC myself, but not from her.
‘Do you get lonely, Charlie?’
‘Yeah, sometimes.’ I reached down and unlaced the other shoe. ‘Everybody gets lonely sometimes, Lisa. It’s all part of life. When do you go out to Australia?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. I might not go.’
‘I think you should. Justin will be disappointed if you don’t go.’
‘Him!’ she sniffed.
There was an awkward silence. She broke it, saying, ‘I’m frightened, Charlie.’
‘Frightened? What of?’
‘This house. It’s spooky up here, when you’re alone.’
‘There’s nothing to be frightened of. Why don’t you have a nice warm bath, a cup of cocoa, and go to bed, eh? Then you’ll feel a lot better.’ She had a point. I think I’d have been scared, living up there on my own, with the wind howling round the eaves like Heathcliffe on Carlsberg Special.
‘Why don’t you come up and go to bed with me?’ she replied. ‘That would make me feel better.’
No doubt about it, bits of me wanted to. I said, ‘Er, no, Lisa. I don’t think that’s a good idea.’
She sounded disappointed. Offended, probably. ‘Don’t you like me?’ she sniffed.
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘You’re a very attractive woman, but I think we’d both regret it, afterwards.’
‘I wouldn’t,’ she declared, sounding as if she spoke with the confidence of experience.
‘Well, I would. How much have you had to drink?’
‘Just a little bit.’
She was as tight as a screw top. A thousand gallons is a little bit, when you’re talking about leaking tankers. ‘What a pity,’ I said. ‘It’s an offence for a policeman to take advantage of an intoxicated woman. Didn’t you know that?’
‘Is it?’
‘Mmm.’ I decided to change the subject. ‘How’s the parrot?’ I asked.
‘He’s lovely, but he’s not very cuddly.’
I had an idea. ‘Why don’t you stay with Justin’s parents?’ I suggested. ‘They have a big enough house.’
‘Are you joking?’ she exclaimed.
‘No. What’s so funny?’
‘Ruth wouldn’t have me anywhere near. That’s what.’
‘Oh, why?’
‘It’s a long story.’
Good, I thought. We were moving on to safer territory. ‘I’m all ears,’ I said. ‘Tell me about it.’
‘She hates me.’
‘Why? For marrying her precious son and taking him away from her?’
‘Mmm. Partly.’
‘And what’s the other part?’
‘Oh, me and K. Tom, you know.’
‘No, I’m sorry, but you’ve lost me.’ I made myself comfortable, sitting on the floor with my back against a radiator.
‘Well, let’s say I knew K. Tom a long time before I knew Justin. That’s all.’
‘In the biblical sense?’ I risked asking.
She laughed. ‘What do you think?’ she replied. ‘He didn’t insult me like you did.’
‘I’m sorry about that. It’s nothing personal. I just don’t like too many complications.’
‘It needn’t be complicated, Charlie,’ she assured me.
The last thing I needed was convincing that it wouldn’t be complicated. ‘So how did you meet Justin?’ I asked.
‘Through K. Tom. I worked as a temp for him and he was good to me. Helped me start up on my own. When Ruth became suspicious he introduced me to his stepson.’
The ultimate revenge. It sounded damn complicated to me.
‘Does Justin know about you and K. Tom?’ I asked.
‘No! Of course not,’ she exclaimed.
‘So why have they fallen out?’
‘Ah! Wouldn’t you like to know?’
‘Yes. Are you going to tell me?’
‘Why should I?’
‘It’s just conversation, Lisa. Like you said, we’re both on our own, and I like talking to you.’
‘Do you really?’
‘Of course.’
‘That’s nice.’
‘Wait a minute,’ I told her. ‘I’ve got cramp.’ I stretched my legs and adjusted my position. ‘I’m sitting on the floor and it’s a bit hard.’
‘Ooh!’ she cooed. ‘Tell me more!’
‘Lisa Davis, you’re a wicked lady,’ I reprimanded her. ‘Ah, that’s better. Now, you were telling me why Justin and his dad fell out.’
‘Oh, you know, it was because K. Tom asked Justin to do him a favour, and Justin refused.’
‘That doesn’t sound like Justin. He must have had a good reason. What sort of a favour was it?’
‘He wanted him to bring something into the country. Or take something out of it. I’m not sure.’
‘You mean…smuggling?’
‘I suppose you could call it that.’
‘Well, I’m not surprised Justin wouldn’t do it. There’s big penalties for smuggling drugs these days. It’s just not worth the risk. So what happened?’
‘It wasn’t drugs!’ she protested, jumping to her father-in-law, and lover’s, defence. ‘What made you think it was drugs? K. Tom wouldn’t have anything to do with drugs.’
‘What was it, then?’
‘I…I can’t say.’
‘Money!’ I announced. ‘Bet it was money.’
‘Money? Why would anybody want to smuggle money?’
‘Good question,’ I replied. ‘It does sound silly, but people do it, I’m told. Suppose you get a better exchange rate, that way. Hardly sounds worth bothering.’ I paused for a few seconds, then, as if realisation had at last dawned, I proclaimed, ‘Oh, it’d be the gold. I’d forgotten about the gold.’
‘W-What gold?’ she stuttered.
‘Never mind. No more questions. How are you feeling, now?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘What did you have for your dinner?’
‘Ah! Do you really want me to tell you?’
‘I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.’
‘I had yoghurt, banana and a small jacket potato.’
‘It sounds horrible.’
