Free In for the Kill by Pauline Rowson Page B
Authors: Pauline Rowson
of a conversation, and I knew she didn’t approve of me.
Vanessa continued, ‘I dismissed her as soon as Olivia died. Then I had the locks changed. Her father was a thief. Spent years in and out of prison.’
A pain stabbed at my heart with Vanessa’s cruel and thoughtless words. Now I was beginning to understand Scarlett’s hostility towards me. She probably blamed me for getting the sack.
Keeping my voice steady, I said, ‘Because her father was a thief then she must be a thief too, is that it?’
‘Of course not, I…’
‘Doesn’t bode well for our sons then,’ I said harshly.
‘I didn’t mean…’ She flushed, angrily and guiltily.
‘I’d have expected more generosity and open mindedness from you, Vanessa.’
‘Don’t give me that, Alex. It hasn’t been easy.’
My life hasn’t exactly been a picnic either, I thought of replying, but didn’t. Two things then happened, the telephone rang and the front door opened.
Vanessa snatched up the phone and, with a backward glance at me that said ‘stay’, she hurried out into the hall. I heard whispers. A few seconds later Gus Newberry walked into the kitchen. He wore a smile and a dark pin-striped suit. You could almost see your reflection in the shine of his shoes and even after a hard day at the office he still looked as if he’d just left home. He was shorter and broader than I had imagined and older, or perhaps he just looked older. His hair was straight, short, iron grey and wiry. He wore a pair of steel-rimmed glasses. I put him in his late forties.
I could see at a glance that he was an intelligent man who was sizing me up quickly and competently with sharp penetrating eyes between deep frown lines on a face too narrow to be classed as good-looking but nevertheless had a certain quality of attractiveness about it.
After a moment he said, ‘Beer?’
‘I don’t think I’m staying,’ I said surprised at his offer and jerked my head at the hall where Vanessa was talking into the telephone.
‘She’ll be a while yet. You’ve got time for one beer and then I’ll run you back to the station.’
‘Thanks,’ I muttered. I wanted to hate him but he was making it difficult for me to do so. There didn’t seem anything to hate about him. He looked and sounded like he would be a good father to my boys. Despite that, it should have been me, not him, raising my sons.
He crossed to the fridge, handed me a bottle of beer and waved me into a seat. He settled himself opposite. I expected him to at least remove his jacket and loosen his tie, like any other man would have done the moment he came in, but Gus seemed perfectly at home in formal attire in the immaculate kitchen.
‘Have you any idea why someone wanted to frame you?’ His voice was authoritative with a hint of warmth. ‘You were set up.’
‘Pity Vanessa didn’t believe that.’ He didn’t flinch at my icy tone.
‘You must look at it from her point of view: the case was investigated by officers at the highest level, a private detective and your lawyers could find nothing to contradict the evidence. What choice did she have? But her heart said you hadn’t done it.’
Then why divorce me I felt like saying?
Gus removed his spectacles and polished them.
‘I take it you’re trying to find out who set you up.’
It wasn’t so much a question as a statement. It was my turn to let my expression do the talking. I could hear Vanessa trying to end her conversation; it sounded as if she was talking to her mother who had always been impossible to get rid of.
Gus said, ‘What chance do you think you’ll have of succeeding?’
My head came up. I didn’t like his tone but his expression was neutral.
‘Alex, you are dealing with a very clever man. I suspect he knows your every move before you’ve even made it.’
I thought of Joe and my missing file, of Darren, and the aeroplane incident. I even thought of that woman in Brading Church and her veiled warning. Gus was right. It
Vanessa continued, ‘I dismissed her as soon as Olivia died. Then I had the locks changed. Her father was a thief. Spent years in and out of prison.’
A pain stabbed at my heart with Vanessa’s cruel and thoughtless words. Now I was beginning to understand Scarlett’s hostility towards me. She probably blamed me for getting the sack.
Keeping my voice steady, I said, ‘Because her father was a thief then she must be a thief too, is that it?’
‘Of course not, I…’
‘Doesn’t bode well for our sons then,’ I said harshly.
‘I didn’t mean…’ She flushed, angrily and guiltily.
‘I’d have expected more generosity and open mindedness from you, Vanessa.’
‘Don’t give me that, Alex. It hasn’t been easy.’
My life hasn’t exactly been a picnic either, I thought of replying, but didn’t. Two things then happened, the telephone rang and the front door opened.
Vanessa snatched up the phone and, with a backward glance at me that said ‘stay’, she hurried out into the hall. I heard whispers. A few seconds later Gus Newberry walked into the kitchen. He wore a smile and a dark pin-striped suit. You could almost see your reflection in the shine of his shoes and even after a hard day at the office he still looked as if he’d just left home. He was shorter and broader than I had imagined and older, or perhaps he just looked older. His hair was straight, short, iron grey and wiry. He wore a pair of steel-rimmed glasses. I put him in his late forties.
I could see at a glance that he was an intelligent man who was sizing me up quickly and competently with sharp penetrating eyes between deep frown lines on a face too narrow to be classed as good-looking but nevertheless had a certain quality of attractiveness about it.
After a moment he said, ‘Beer?’
‘I don’t think I’m staying,’ I said surprised at his offer and jerked my head at the hall where Vanessa was talking into the telephone.
‘She’ll be a while yet. You’ve got time for one beer and then I’ll run you back to the station.’
‘Thanks,’ I muttered. I wanted to hate him but he was making it difficult for me to do so. There didn’t seem anything to hate about him. He looked and sounded like he would be a good father to my boys. Despite that, it should have been me, not him, raising my sons.
He crossed to the fridge, handed me a bottle of beer and waved me into a seat. He settled himself opposite. I expected him to at least remove his jacket and loosen his tie, like any other man would have done the moment he came in, but Gus seemed perfectly at home in formal attire in the immaculate kitchen.
‘Have you any idea why someone wanted to frame you?’ His voice was authoritative with a hint of warmth. ‘You were set up.’
‘Pity Vanessa didn’t believe that.’ He didn’t flinch at my icy tone.
‘You must look at it from her point of view: the case was investigated by officers at the highest level, a private detective and your lawyers could find nothing to contradict the evidence. What choice did she have? But her heart said you hadn’t done it.’
Then why divorce me I felt like saying?
Gus removed his spectacles and polished them.
‘I take it you’re trying to find out who set you up.’
It wasn’t so much a question as a statement. It was my turn to let my expression do the talking. I could hear Vanessa trying to end her conversation; it sounded as if she was talking to her mother who had always been impossible to get rid of.
Gus said, ‘What chance do you think you’ll have of succeeding?’
My head came up. I didn’t like his tone but his expression was neutral.
‘Alex, you are dealing with a very clever man. I suspect he knows your every move before you’ve even made it.’
I thought of Joe and my missing file, of Darren, and the aeroplane incident. I even thought of that woman in Brading Church and her veiled warning. Gus was right. It