to see her dad, if that’s still okay with you, Lu?’
Lucy gave her a brief smile. ‘No problem darling. A couple of appointments have come in for this evening, which I’m sure you would find tedious anyway.’
This was the ideal opportunity to say that it upset her to see her having sex with men and she would rather not take part in her sex games, but, she ducked the issue. ‘I’ll take Becky back to Nottingham in the morning;. should be back with you by early afternoon.’
Lucy gave her a warm smile. ‘We’ll have Saturday evening to ourselves darling – that’s a promise. I’ll top up with petrol before we get to Hamsworth, which will get you there and back. What do you think of the music?’ Julie had not been paying too much attention. Billy Holliday had been replaced by another female singer. ‘It’s a demo CD a friend of Helen’s from Helsinki.’ Julie read the name on the cover. ‘Sirkka Jarvanpaa.’ Lucy grinned at her attempted pronunciation. ‘The J in Jarvanpaa is pronounced as a Y, darling.’
Julie listened to the voice as it warbled through ‘Night and Day’. ‘It’s pleasant enough, I know you’re nuts about Billy Holliday, but it’s nice to have a change. The foreign pronunciation and phrasing make it sound quite exotic.’
‘You think so? I think she’s missing a trick. If she held onto some of the words a little longer, she could be quite sexy.’
‘Perhaps you should tell Helen?’
‘Perhaps I will.’
Lucy selected the next CD. They smiled at each other and settled down to more Billy Holliday. Julie closed her eyes and imagined a naked Suzy swaying sensuously to the music. Was this new found ability to lie so convincingly, a lesbian thing? It was difficult to tell, although she had never had the desire to cheat – not until she discovered her true sexuality with Lucy.
An hour later they pulled into the Shell Petrol Station on the Hamsworth ring road. Julie was to drive from there and drop Lucy off at the entrance to Laburnham Court in an attempt to beat the rush hour traffic as she set out for Nottingham. She filled -up while Lucy went in to pay; waved when the tank was full and sat in the driving seat. As Lucy came out she stopped to answer her mobile. It looked as if she was taken by surprise. Julie watched her frown and shake her head. She spoke animatedly for several minutes and when she finished the call, Julie started the engine and eased the Merc over to meet her.
She spoke with a forced cheerfulness as she climbed in. ‘Home Julie and don’t spare the horses.’
‘Anything wrong Lu?’
Lucy gave her a rueful smile. ‘It’s Travel Plan. They’ve traced the dramatic fall in Dynamic sales to us. They want a meeting.’
‘What will they do?’ Julie could not keep the anxiety out of her voice.
Lucy shrugged. ‘Nothing they can do darling; or rather, nothing they will do. Can you imagine what it would do for their business if it became common knowledge that their security was so poor, a cleaner hacked into the computer system?’ She waved a hand in a shooing motion. ‘Come on darling, get a move on. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m seeing one of their people this evening for an informal chat.
When Lydia Baxter was told she could leave hospital, she asked to see Peter Bunford. They had both been in private rooms, courtesy of Meltcon’s Health Insurance. When she was shown into his room, he already had a visitor. Detective Sergeant John Kimberley turned and scowled as the nurse showed her in. ‘I thought I made it clear we were not to be disturbed.’
Nurse Pemberton returned the scowl with a look of contempt and responded sharply. ‘He’s allowed up to three visitors at a time, so, if Mr Bunford is happy to have this lady visit and I assume he is, as he’s been asking after her all day, then it’s alright by me; and I’m the one who decides what happens in here.’ The detective sergeant didn’t like people challenging his authority, but in the hospital environment he wasn’t sure how to respond. Peter Bunford, who was sitting up in bed, gave the nurse a grateful smile and positively beamed at Lydia.
‘How are you?
Lydia followed the nurse to the other side of the bed, leant over and kissed him on the cheek. ‘I’m fine Pete, they’ve told me I can go home.’
Peter held up bandaged hands. ‘I’m alright, apart from burns on the back of these. They’re worried about letting me out because there’s no one at home to look after me.’
‘That’s not a problem, you can come home with me.’
Nurse Pemberton smiled at Lydia. ‘That will be wonderful. We could do with freeing up this room. I’ll tell the doctor, he will want to brief you on what to do.’
DS Kimberley leapt from his chair and positioned himself between the nurse and the door. ‘Hold it! This person can’t leave, not without my permission – he’s a suspect.’
‘A suspect for what?’ Lydia directed the question as much to Peter as the policeman.
Peter laughed. ‘Arson.’
‘It’s no laughing matter Mr Bunford. Your name has been passed to me for investigation from the very highest level.’ DS Kimberley was desperate to assert his authority, something which he had no difficulty with in the force due to his rank and the support he received from the Chief Superintendent. It was with the general public that he experienced some difficulty. He was on a fast track for promotion, but looked young for his twenty eight years with the smooth chin of a teenager and a predisposition to flush, which was taken by many as the blush of a shy young man.
Peter chuckled. ‘Can you guess where that might have come from?’
Lydia smiled. ‘Don’t tell me, it must be Simon Niggard. He’s always boasting about having friends in high places.’
DS Kimberley flushed. ‘There is also the serious matter of assault. I could arrest you for that.’
Nurse Pemberton pushed past and opened the door. ‘There won’t be any arresting; this man needs looking after and that won’t happen at your police station. He stays here until the doctor decides otherwise.’ She opened the door and held it open. DS Kimberly slowly took out his notebook, a ruse which usually made people stop and listen, and flicked it open.
‘I will need to know where this person is going to.’ He looked directly at Peter. ’Peter Bunford, you must contact me if you change your address – and don’t attempt to leave the country.’
Without a word, Lydia took the notebook and pen from him. Wrote down her, name, address and telephone number and handed it back.
It was just before 8 pm when Natasha parked Barrie’s BMW in one of the spaces reserved for visitors at Laburnham Court. Lights were on in the entrance hall to give it welcoming glow, but the door was locked; as Lucinda Lovebrace said it would be. Natasha jabbed Barrie’s strong, stubby forefinger on the black button adjacent to her name. She answered on the second time of asking. The door buzzed and one of the heavy glass doors swung open. She turned to watch the door close behind her, waiting for it to lock, as instructed.
The dedicated lift for the penthouse. opened onto a large, plush carpeted hallway. An incredibly beautiful, dark haired woman, wearing what looked like a white medical coat, was sitting in a large leather chair with her legs crossed to reveal an immodest expanse of shapely thigh. She smiled. ‘How lovely to see you again Mr Billingsgate, especially on my home ground. Don’t worry; we won’t have to use a chair again.’
Warning bells sounded for Natasha. What had Barrie not told her? She forced a smile. ‘Thanks for seeing me at such short notice Miss Lovebrace.’
Lucinda Lovebrace laughed. ‘My word, aren’t we being formal? Listening to us, no one would believe that a couple of months ago we were trying to fuck each other senseless.’
Natasha’s worst fears were realised. She was lost for words, but Lucinda Lovebrace was not expecting a reply. She extended her hand; Natasha took it and with Barrie’s enormous strength, pulled her easily to her feet. She smiled. ‘Thank you Barrie. We can hardly talk business out here, let’s go into my office. Keeping a firm grip on his hand she pulled him towards an impressive oak door and pressed the palm of her other hand against an entry
