been shot?'
'Do you want to talk, or just make smartarse remarks?'
'You talk, I'll listen.'
'I understand you've been looking for me.'
'Right, on behalf of your mother.'
'Yes, but before she was shot.'
'True.'
'Why?'
'It's a long story. It goes back to Dr Gregory Heysen.'
'My father, the murder conspirator.'
'I have to tell you there's some doubt about that.'
'What? That he wasn't guilty?'
'Possibly. I think we should meet. There are… things to discuss.'
'Such as?'
I had to think about that. The whole matter of his paternity was hanging fire and could go either way. But I had him on the hook and didn't want to lose him. I couldn't think of a better bait.
'The identity of your father.'
'What do you mean?'
'We need to talk. Where are you, William?'
'Patronise me, and you'll never hear from me again.'
Nasty. Maybe he was the doctor's son.
‹T› ›
I m sorry.
'Is your enquiry in any way to do with the police?'
That was a curly one if only he knew it. But I played a straight bat. 'No.'
'All right. We'll talk.'
'Where are you?'
A few seconds elapsed and then the door swung in and a tallish young man stood there, lowering a mobile phone from his ear. 'Right here.'
I couldn't stop myself. 'Who's the smartarse now?' I said.
'Melodramatic, I'll agree.'
He came in and dropped down into the client chair. He was very much as his mother had described him-not quite as tall, slim, dark-haired with an olive tint to his skin, handsome and aware of it. Too aware. He was clean- shaven; his hair was long but neat. He wore loose pants, a T-shirt and a denim jacket, all pricey, all clean. If he was on drugs they hadn't taken any toll on him yet. He sat straight in the chair and looked at me with a confident manner, bordering on cockiness.
'What's this about my paternity?'
'Let's back up a bit,' I said. 'How did you find out about me?'
He didn't want to concede anything but apparently decided to yield a fraction. 'I found your card in the house. I also heard an answering machine message from you that dated back a bit. Plus, a person I know told me you'd contacted her asking questions. Satisfied?'
'That fits. Why haven't you visited your mother? Why drop out of sight?'
He shook his head. 'That's all I'm saying until I hear more from you.'
I wasn't used to fencing with someone so much younger, but there was something steely about him that made it necessary. 'I should really get your mother's permission to tell you this, but when you went off the rails after you found out about your father, she-'
His poise slipped for the first time. 'What? She said that?'
'Yes.'
The composure returned almost immediately, shades of his mother. 'Incredible. Go on.'
This was getting tricky. I didn't want to tell him about Frank and the paternity test and all the rest of it. Not yet, anyway. I swivelled around creakily in my chair that needed oiling and probably more than that. I stared out the window for a moment in the hope of unsettling him. It worked.
'Well?' He was a bit off balance now.
'Look, William, you're the one sneaking around, hiding, making furtive visits, worried about whether I'm tied in with the police. You're obviously in some kind of trouble. I suggest you change your attitude.'
He didn't like it, but he didn't get up and leave. 'I'll tell you this,' he said quietly. 'That woman's a monster. She's so manipulative she doesn't know what she's doing half the time. I didn't go off the rails, as you put it, because I discovered my father was a criminal. I simply experimented with a different lifestyle for a while. I'd played the role of the achieving son for so long I was sick and tired of it. I knew she was living through me, having somehow stalled in her own life. Then I saw a… an opportunity and pursued it.'
'Which has put you in danger.'
'Maybe, but I believe I can handle it. There, I've put some cards on the table. Your turn. I'm interested in this paternity business, but it's almost certainly one of her fantasies. If that's the basis of your investigation, you're on a hiding to nothing.'
'It's a bit more than that. There's a strong possibility Dr Heysen was framed and that the person who did it wants no enquiry. I think that's why your mother was shot and why I was attacked.'
'The mouth,' he said. 'And the stiff neck.'
He was smart and observant. 'Exactly. I'm sure you're relieved to learn that your mother being shot wasn't to do with you and your activities.'
'You're on the wrong tack there, Mr Hardy. I never for a minute thought that was a possibility. You've met her. How many enemies do you think she's been capable of making?'
'Whether that's true or not, she's your mother and you don't seem very concerned about her.'
'Oh, I know she's all right.'
'How?'
'I went in there, into the hospital. I'd changed my appearance somewhat. I got close enough to see that she's not in danger and is getting the best of care.'
'No thanks to you.'
'She doesn't need help from me. She's never needed help from anyone. Either that, or she needs so much help she's beyond helping.'
'I think you've worked on that line.'
He let that pass, which probably meant I was right. 'We seem to have reached a stalemate. Are you going to enlighten me about this paternity business or not?'
'You're curious?'
'Who wouldn't be? Most people have a changeling complex at some time or other.'
I had to think what to say. He'd come to me so I suppose I could say I'd found him. Job completed, at least the unstated job of locating him. But he was likely to vanish again and there was nothing to prove I'd seen him. But there was still the original question and its probable after-math-the attacks on Catherine Heysen and myself. Would she want to employ me on that? Or was I still on it on Frank's behalf? Confusing.
'I think your mother should tell you about it,' I said.
'No chance. I don't care if I never see her again.'
'She's planning to sell the house.'
He shrugged. 'It's hers to sell.'
'You have an interest.'
'Not interested.'
'Meaning you've got all the money you're ever going to need?'
'I wouldn't say that, but…'
I was at the end of my patience with him. 'You're full of shit, William. You've got an opportunity, you say. Okay, you're going to make big bucks. But you haven't made them yet and you've got a few problems. Just possibly, I could help you there, get you out from under.'
