As he listened, Cam felt his anger towards Steve be overcome by feelings of tenderness and respect for Penny at the way she’d protected her daughter and, ultimately herself, from such a monster. He knew, listening to Penny catalogue the daily torments she’d endured, that he was falling for her and that he’d do anything to help.
‘And now he’s back in my life,’ Penny said. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be truly rid of him and I’m scared for Annie.’
‘What’s happened? Why is he back?’
‘Money, why else?’ Penny spat. ‘I thought I’d seen the back of him – it’s not like Annie wants anything to do with her dad – but he crawled out of the woodwork last month.’
Cam watched as she dipped her index finger in her drink and circled it around the edge of the glass. She was embarrassed to be admitting this to him.
‘I’m scared of him, Cam. He’s a very convincing liar and I know what he’s capable of if he doesn’t get what he wants.’
‘And you don’t have the money?’
‘I have a bit. I was hoping to use it to help Annie with uni next year.’
‘What about the house? Can’t you remortgage?’
‘Legally, the house still belongs to Steve. That’s the issue. I gave him fifty grand for his share when he left but we didn’t put anything in writing. I was so glad to be rid of him that I’d have done anything to get him out of our lives for good. I didn’t take financial advice because I didn’t know who to trust and now he’s back for the rest of the value of the house. I’m the one who’s been paying the mortgage all this time and, of course, the value of the house has gone up in the last three years.’
‘So, if you sell up, he gets all the profits?’
Penny nodded.
‘If you give him the money what’s to stop him doing the same thing in another few years?’
‘I’m going to make sure it’s done properly this time if I can get the cash. No matter how scared I am, I need to protect my daughter. I don’t want him back in her life.’
‘But you don’t have the money?’
‘Not yet.’
‘What does that mean? Are you planning to rob a bank?’ Cam’s stomach suddenly turned over. Was this why she’d asked him to meet her? Did she think he had that kind of money?
‘My dad’s going to come into some money in January. He’s got an endowment that’s due to mature. He’s already said he’ll organise a loan for me. Well, for Annie really – he loves her so much. If I can just borrow what I need until then I can pay it back. Obviously, the banks won’t help but somebody I know says they can sort something out. The interest rate will be extortionate, but it’ll be worth it to finally be rid of Steve.’ Penny was presenting her plan as though it made perfect sense. She’d obviously considered all the implications of borrowing the money from a dubious source and saw it as her best option. She wasn’t asking Cam for anything, she was just presenting facts.
‘A loan shark? Is that really the best option?’
‘It’s my only option.’ Penny waggled her empty glass at him and smiled. ‘Another?’
Cam considered what she’d told him. If she had to sell the house and give Steve the proceeds at least she’d be rid of him and she’d have enough in savings to put down as a deposit on another property. Why was she so keen to stay where she was? Especially as the house must hold a lot of unpleasant memories for her.
‘I got you a shandy,’ Penny said, putting the glass on the table in front of Cam. He noticed that she’d swapped the gin and tonic for a large glass of red wine. He took a swig, the sweetness of the drink cloying after the hoppy beer that he’d just finished.
‘Why don’t you just let Steve sell the house? You could buy somewhere else for you and Annie.’
‘It’s my house,’ she said. ‘It was only a plot when we bought it. I picked out everything in it. He said he wanted me to have the best of everything and I believed him. After he left, I made a lot of changes, invested a lot of time and money in eradicating him from every room. If he forces me to sell it, it’s like he’s controlling me all over again. I might be frightened but I’m not going to give up without a fight.’
‘So you’re going to get the money from some sleazy lender and that’ll make you feel safe again?’
‘What options do I have? It’s not like I can do what you did.’
Cam stared at her. How could she possibly know? ‘What I did?’
‘After Chrissie died. You used school funds to hire a private investigator to look into her death. At least, that’s what I assume he was doing. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t use your own money.’
‘I… er… I didn’t.’ Cam’s throat felt like it was closing and he was struggling to breathe. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t know about this.
‘My guess is that your mortgage is huge and that the funeral wiped you out. It’s not like Chrissie was working, and running two Mercs and that quad bike you bought for Tom to run up and down the lane on can’t have been cheap.’
Cam took a shaky gulp of his drink, wishing that he wasn’t driving and could have something stronger, a lot stronger. ‘How do you…?’
‘How do I know? Let’s just say I have contacts. Now, if you can use the school budget for your own little project, how about doing the same for me. And, yes, I can prove that you did it. But, please feel free to call my bluff.’
She sat back and smiled. ‘I will pay
