Deadly Intent

thought—and at the same time realized that he too must have had suspicions about Damien Nolan.Anna did not go toward the front door, but headed around the side of the farmhouse, as she had done previously. She could see the stable door to the kitchen was open at the top end, and there was a distinct smell of burning toast. As she approached, charred bread was hurled out and she could hear swearing.'Hello,' she said as she came closer.Damien appeared with a mesh toasting rack in his hand. 'I didn't hit you, did I?' he asked.'No, just missed me.'He waved the rack. 'I always forget how fast toast does on the Aga. You want to see me?''Yes.'He opened the bottom of the stable door and wafted the rack like a tennis racket to indicate she should enter. 'Are you hungry?'Anna stepped into the kitchen. There was a roaring fire in the grate and the lid of the hot oven open on the Aga.'1 can offer you cheese on toast, or scrambled eggs and bacon, or a BLT,' Damien said as he went to the big pine table and began to cut two slices of bread from a fresh crusty loaf.'I'd like a BLT,' Anna replied.'Right, you keep an eye on the toast. The bacon should be ready any second.'Like Doris, his mother, he sliced tomatoes, moving back and forth to a big, old American fridge to fetch some lettuce. He appeared to be totally at ease and in no way alarmed by Anna's presence. She crossed to the Aga and checked on the slices heating in the toast rack; she had never used an Aga before and was amazed how fast it had toasted the bread. She turned the rack over as Damien took out a tray of crisped bacon and then opened ajar of mayonnaise. Anna removed the bread, joining him at the table. 'I've just come from your mother's.' He spread the mayonnaise over the toast. 'Yes, she said you were there.' Anna laughed; Mrs. Eatwell must have sussed that Anna would be coming to see Damien, so had called him. 'Now then, would you like a nice glass of Merlot or a coffee?' Anna asked for a cup of tea. He placed the big Aga kettle on the burner, uncorked an open bottle of wine, and poured himself a glass. He moved quickly and decisively, very much at home, fetching plates, glasses, and cutlery and placing them onto the table with napkins. Then he gestured for Anna to sit as he made her a cup of tea. 'Do you take sugar?' 'No, thank you.' Anna was itching to start eating, but waited until he sat down and handed over her tea; he then raised his wineglass. 'Cheers!' He sipped the wine and let it linger in his mouth. 'Mmm, bit rancid, but it'll do; I could open a fresh botde if you changed your mind.' 'No, the tea is fine.' He sat opposite her, and took tucked into hers, feeling in questioning him. 'Will she have to go on trial?' he asked quietly.'Probably. She seems able to deal with it. I doubt that she'll be badly treated, but she did lie about the whereabouts of her other son. Even though I don't believe she knew what the crates contained, she nevertheless knew they were there.' 'She's in her eighties, for God's sake!' 'I am aware of that, but allowing her son to hide out in her cottage is an offense. She obviously knew he was wanted there is the fact that, by not being honest with gained access to a large sum of money.' Damien took another bite of the sandwich. She noted that he gave no reaction to the fact that Fitzpatrick had withdrawn money. 'Seven hundred thousand,' Anna said as she too continued eating, then licked her fingers, as the mayonnaise had dribbled. 'Will she be taken into the station in London?' he asked, still not referring to the money. 'Possibly. We have an officer with her and she is aware she is under house arrest; at least she has not been uprooted from her home.know about the account in Anthony Collingwood's name, mother as a signatory?' 'No.' 'So how did you think she years?' large bite of his sandwich. Anna a quandary as to how she should begin us, her son has now . Did you with your was able to renovate the cottage over the : money by her husband.' 'I presumed she had been left money by her husband.' It felt like they were just making conversation but, by the time she had finished her BLT, she picked up her briefcase and took out her notebook. 'I'm here to confirm a few outstanding things. From your statement, you denied meeting Fitzpatrick.' She glanced up at him; he was scraping around his plate with the crusts from his toast. 'The handwritten note with directions to the farmhouse: we have verified that it is your handwriting—'He interrupted her. 'This is stupid. My lawyer made it clear that, as evidence, it was rather pointless, as there is no proof of exactly when it was written. But I have actually given it a bit more thought.'He got up, collected her dirty plate and his own, and crossed to the dishwasher. Anna waited as he stashed their dishes and then ran water over the oven tray he had used for the bacon. He was wearing jeans and a fawn cashmere sweater, with brown suede loafers and no socks. He was, she could tell, very fit; his lean stomach and long legs made him attractive physically, and he had an easygoing, unaffected manner. She had liked him from the first time she had met him.She flushed at herself even thinking about his attractiveness. 'You said you'd been thinking about the note?''Yes. It had to have been about two or three years ago, maybe even more, but I wrote the directions for Julia. I mentioned she stayed once; well, she didn't actually stay at the farm—she hated it—and so moved into the cottage.''With your mother?'She saw a small glimmer of a reaction. He smiled and returned to the table to pour himself more wine. 'I said you were very intuitive, didn't I?''Why didn't you admit it when I asked?''I didn't think it was any of your business. My mother has been very protective about her private life. It was a period when she regrets many of her decisions.''You were adopted?''Yes. I didn't even consider trying to trace my birth mother, as I had no real reason to; my adopted parents were a very caring couple. It wasn't until they passed away that I contemplated trying to find her.They never made any secret of my adoption. After they died, I found many letters. They had always kept in touch, so it was very simple for me to make contact.' He sat opposite Anna again. 'My mother had been through some very hard times, especially after my birth. 1 think Alex suffered from the divorce; one moment he had everything any child could want, and a father, then it was all taken away. It probably warped him for the rest of his life. He was in trouble with drugs from a very early age; not as an addict, but he discovered that it was a very easy way to make a lot of money. This was before I knew him, obviously. He made headlines when he escaped from court, but I had no reason to even think about our being related. I just always knew about him.''When did you contact your mother?'He shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. 'Be about fifteen years ago. Another reason was, Honour and I hoped to start a family, so it was understandable that I should want to know more about my background.'Anna nodded; it was all so easily acceptable, everything he said. 'Did Honour know Mrs. Eatwell before you discovered she was your mother?'He nodded. 'I believe so.''So she also knew about Julia and Alexander Fitzpatrick?'He became evasive, turning away. 'It's a very small world.''Did Honour suspect you were related?''Not really.''But she had to know her sister was being kept by him?''Obviously, but she had little to do with Julia.''We have verified that her second child is yours.''Really? Well, that's something I didn't know.'Anna suspected he was lying, not that his manner had changed; he was still appearing very relaxed and at ease. 'According to Julia, at this time, Honour was living with Alexander, so you had to have been aware of who she was seeing—she was your wife.''Yes, I suppose I did.''So you knew who he was.''Yes, obviously.''Why didn't you contact the police? You must have known he was a wanted criminal?''Ah, well, it's slightly more complicated. By this time, I knew he was my brother. Something I haven't really told you was that Honour was Alex's girlfriend before I met her; he met Julia through her. Julia was, as you know, a lot younger—twelve years—and it was very painful for Honour when he took up with her sister.'Anna jotted down notes. The complicated marital situation between the two brothers and sisters was like something out of a soap opera. She asked if he could repeat how Alexander had made contact. She was told that he simply just turned up; first at his mother's and then he came to the farmhouse.'Did he know about you?''I suppose he did. As you saw, we do look similar—well, more so now since he's had so much plastic surgery. He's also taller and older.''And you knew he was a wanted criminal from the moment he surfaced?''Yes, as I just said, but it was impossible for me to shop him. I had to consider Honour.''Consider your wife?''Yes. Her sister was his mistress and had been for years; in fact, I think she was only sixteen or seventeen when he took up with her. I was not aware of how often he returned to London, nor what Julia's relationship with him entailed. All I knew was that Julia had a very luxurious lifestyle and, on the rare occasions she visited, it wasn't all that pleasant.' He gestured to the kitchen. 'We live a very simple life; Julia was jetting around the world and dripping in jewels.''But surely you knew how she came by this lifestyle?'He shrugged.'Alexander Fitzpatrick was an international drug dealer. He was on the U.S. Most Wanted lists, yet you say he was often in London with Julia, and visited here?''No, that is not correct; he did not visit here. As I have said, I did not have any personal contact with him until about nine months ago. I was aware that he continued to see Julia, and that she joined him all around the world when he sent for her. As to whether or not he came in and out of the UK, I had no idea.''But Honour knew?''Possibly, but the sisters were not on good terms with each other. As I explained, Honour had been Alex's lover before Julia and he dropped her. I think it happened when he took them both on his yacht to the South of France.''The painting.''I'm sorry?'Anna said that she had seen a painting of the boat, Dare Devil, but that it had been removed by the second time she had been to the farm.'Well, that would have been Honour. It was while she and Julia were away with Alex that he took up with Julia, then it was years before they contacted each other again. By that time, Honour and I were married. We used to live in Oxford, and only moved here to be close to my mother.'Anna flicked through her notebook. 'So Honour always knew about Alexander Fitzpatrick?'He sighed, becoming irritated. 'Yes, I'd say it was pretty obvious, but she was not likely to tip off the police. Besides, he came and went for years on end, usually taking Julia with him. He lived in Florida for a time, and I think in the Bahamas and also in the Philippines, but I had no interest in him. My