Lacybourne Manor (61 page)

She also was well aware of
Colin’s impatience with any kind of lack of progress.

She took one look at the
controlled fury on Colin’s face, set the cup down at the far, outer
corner of his desk as if she feared for her very life if she came
within close proximity to him.

Then she slid the
newspaper cautiously beside his coffee. “And you might want to have
a look at that…” she paused then finished warningly,
“
later
.”

With that, she ran-walked out
of the room.

Robert Fitzwilliam
entered seconds after.

Colin did not rise. He sat back
in his chair and watched as Robert came into the room, stopped at
the other side of the desk and looked, Colin was further infuriated
to see, not the least bit ill-at-ease.

Before Colin could say a word,
Robert announced, “We caught the boy.”

“I beg your pardon?” Colin
asked quietly.

“The boy whose arm you broke,
we caught him,” Robert answered. “We have him. We’re holding him
not far from here.”

Colin took in a breath, trying
for patience.

Fitzwilliam
continued, “He’s been talking. We expect to have
the other one within the hour.”

Colin regarded him carefully
and when he spoke his voice was dangerous. “At this point, I’m not
certain how relevant that is. Considering, of course, that the
socialite and apparent villainous mastermind who orchestrated this
entire lark is now in jail. Brought low, I might add, by a bevy of
OAPs.”

Finally, the investigator
looked a touch ill-at-ease. “Mr. Morgan, if you would allow me to
explain.”

“This,” Colin said, his tone
reaching stratospheric levels of ominous, “had better be good.”

Fitzwilliam
, quite bravely, since
he was not invited to do so, took a seat.

Then he started. “We knew
Tamara Adams was following you. I did not report this to you
because there seemed to be matters of weightier concern and, quite
honestly, I had enough on my hands that I didn’t have the time to
write reports or make phone calls about a common stalker. You, sir,
are a man who can protect himself.”

Colin’s lips tightened at what
he considered empty and overly respectful cajolery.

“
Might I remind you,
Robert, that I wasn’t concerned about
me
.”

“
Of course, I know that.
But Miss Adams was not following Miss Godwin, she was always
following
you
. More to the point, my men
were seeing quite an alarming number of tails. You had yours and
not just Miss Adams but these other tails seemed especially devoted
to Miss Godwin. Yet, when my men would investigate, there was no
one there. No one in the cars they saw following, no one in the
bushes they’d seen rustling, the shadows they saw lurking at
windows seemed to simply disappear, it was like whoever he was, he
was invisible.”

Colin raised his brows and
Robert went on speaking.

“Or at the very least slippery.
We found this telling and went on high alert, obviously, because
this was the work of a professional or several as these tails could
be on both you and Miss Godwin at the same time. Not to mention, I
had to set a man on each of your houses in case something was
rigged while you were away. And, I’m afraid, as your home is open
to National Trust visitors, I also had to have several men
available on those days mingling with the tourists and watching for
suspicious activity. Miss Godwin and her family are a highly active
bunch. Shopping, walks, day trips, playing Frisbee out in the open
on the seafront, they were everywhere and very exposed and being so
made our task very difficult.”

“You were paid well to deliver
on a difficult task,” Colin reminded him. “Furthermore, I’d like
you to explain why now is the first time I’m hearing all of
this.”

Robert raked a hand
through his hair for the first time looking frustrated and he
looked at the floor. “We didn’t have anything concrete. I didn’t
want to alarm you
or
Miss Godwin if it turned out to be nothing. And
every time we approached, it was exactly that, nothing.”

Colin said not a word and
Robert shifted nervously in his chair.

Then Robert pulled
himself together and continued, “We investigated Tamara Adams, of
course. And the police have been talking to her. I know a few
blokes with police and they tell me she admits to the vandalism of
the house, asking a friend to make the threatening phone call and,
of course, the tranquilliser darts. She
does not
and adamantly
refuses to acknowledge any part in trying to run you and Miss
Godwin down with a car. Further, outside of shooting you with a
tranquilliser that night, she refuses any knowledge of what
happened in Miss Godwin’s office at The Centre with the two boys
and the knife.”

He held Colin’s eyes, eyes that
were regarding him with disbelief.

Then Colin pointed out, “She
would of course deny some of the more serious allegations. She
loaded the tranquilliser dart with enough drug to kill Sibyl, she’s
facing grievous bodily harm at the least –”

Colin didn’t finish, Robert cut
in, “She swears she didn’t know that either. Just loaded it as the
instructions she found on the internet told her. Unfortunately, the
instructions were for a very large animal, not a person of Miss
Godwin’s weight. Apparently, she used the same load on you but it
didn’t all release. She’s using the excuse that it was a
mistake.”

“Mistake or not, it could have
killed Sibyl.” Colin bit out.

“Mr. Morgan, you are failing to
hear what I’m trying to tell you,” Robert was losing his patience
and Colin’s eyes narrowed but in his zeal to get his point across,
the investigator didn’t notice. “Miss Adams is not our concern, not
now and not ever. She, unfortunately, wasn’t harmless but only due
to ineptitude. There were no large sums of money drawn from her
account, her trust fund or her investment accounts. We’ve been
searching but have not found any evidence that she sold anything of
value or even several things or borrowed money from anyone to pay
the boys who attacked Miss Godwin. And they were paid plenty,
enough money that it couldn’t have been just laying around, she
would have had to withdraw it or find it one way or the other.
We’ve been talking to the boy all night and he says the woman’s
voice on the phone was old, not young or posh as Miss Adams’s is.
He tells us the voice was female, old and scratchy as if she had
something wrong with her throat. They never met her. When she paid,
she did a drop with the money.”

“Tamara might not have made the
call,” Colin noted.

“
We thought of that but
we questioned him about the other events and he says he knows
nothing of tranquilliser darts or vandalism and… well, the way
we’ve been questioning him, he would have admitted it by now. And I
believe he’s not lying because he’s
has
admitted that he was paid to
kill you. He has also admitted to striking Marian Byrne on the head
and dragging her body behind The Community Centre. He’s explained
that the terms of the agreement were that he and his partner
neutralise Mrs. Byrne, grab you both and slit both of your throats.
Not stab you, shoot you, poison you, give you an overdose with a
tranquilliser dart but quite clearly and emphatically
slit your throats
. And under no circumstances were they to do it while you
were apart, but together, so you could both watch while it was
happening.”

Colin entire body seized and
his stomach felt like it had been kicked hard.

Tamara may have been angry at
being jilted, angry enough to do something immensely stupid but
Colin could not believe she was capable of that.

And the specific
instructions that would make Sibyl and Colin’s nightmare come true
with the addition of Mrs. Byrne being targeted for “neutralisation”
in this heinous plot were chilling.

He made an instant decision and
rose from his chair. “I’ll have a word with him.”

Robert flew out of his. “Mr.
Morgan, there is no need.”

Colin rounded his desk but
stopped by his investigator. “I said, I’ll have a word to him.”

When Robert hesitated Colin
said one more word.

“Now.”

Robert Fitzwillams looked in
his employer’s eyes and what he saw sent a shiver down his
spine.

Then, without further delay, he
led the way.

* * * * *

Colin learned nothing from the
frighteningly young man whose arm he’d broken weeks before. Nor did
he learn anything from his friend who was also frighteningly young
but had a malevolent gleam in his eye that did not in any way match
his age.

With a great deal of patience,
he did try to get further information and he did so without harming
either of them (unduly) as he promised Sibyl. He, however, allowed
himself the satisfaction of watching the malevolent gleam in the
eyes of the boy who held a knife to Sibyl’s throat turn to genuine
fear.

Once he’d finished, he’d
instructed Robert to turn them over to the police.

Without giving them a
thought (as he had a great many other thoughts on his mind), he’d
gone back to his office and walked by his harried secretary who was
saying into the phone, “I already explained to you, Mr. Morgan
has
no
comment
.” Then she paused and said far
more fiercely and disturbingly, “Neither does Miss Godwin, no
matter what you heard.” Then she slammed down the phone.

Once inside his office, he
picked up the newspaper that Mandy had put on his desk and opened
it to the page to which she’d folded it back.

Cursed
Reincarnated Lovers Stalked by Evil Socialite,
read the headline.

He skimmed the article and his
eyes narrowed on the words.

He didn’t bother to finish it
and threw the newspaper in the rubbish bin.

He barely settled into his
chair when Mandy positively stomped into his office.

“Mr. Morgan…” she said
threateningly and he knew her resignation was nigh.

“Mandy,” he cut her off, again
coming to an instant decision and putting it into action. “I need
you to run an errand for me.”

“
Mr.
Morgan
,” she said more
forcefully, not wishing to be denied her moment.

He interrupted her again. “I
want you to find the best jeweller in Bristol or Bath or
Cheltenham, I don’t care where it is. Go to London if you need to.
Take a company car and when you get wherever you’re going, chose an
engagement ring for Miss Godwin.”

Mandy’s mouth snapped shut with
an audible clatter of teeth and her eyes bugged out.

Colin carried on, “It has to be
something… unique. I don’t want her to see her ring on someone
else’s finger. It has to be quality but should not be ostentatious.
However, I don’t care what it costs. Can you do that?”

His secretary stared at him and
gone from her face and frame were the frustrated anger with which
she’d stomped into his office.

“I… I’ve never met her,” she
stammered. “How can I possibly choose a ring for her?”

Colin looked her directly
in the eye. “It will be from
me
and for that reason I have
every faith in you.”

Her eyes slid back into
her head, no longer popping out in an alarming fashion and then
they filled with tears. “Oh,
Mr. Morgan.
I would be delighted…
honoured…
thrilled.
” Then her body jumped
and she whirled. “I’ll go now,” she announced to the other side of
the room and rushed across it then stopped and whirled around
again. “The phone is ringing off the hook.”

“Let it, you’ve more important
things to do than talk to reporters.”

She nodded in happy agreement
and ran out of the room.

The minute the door clicked
behind her, Colin wasted no time and picked up his phone and called
Sibyl.

“
Colin!” she cried out
his name as greeting. “You would just not
believe
what’s happening
here. Rick has barricaded us in the house. The reporters are
storming the door as we speak!”

Colin mentally added something
else to his to do list.

“Don’t talk to anyone,” he
ordered.

“
I can’t,” she told him.
“Rick won’t let me, he’s been entirely obnoxious. He’s bossier
than
you
. I thought, after yesterday, that he’d…”

Colin cut in to her tirade.
“Let me talk to your mother.”

“Mags?”

Colin was silent for he needn’t
answer, Mags was, indeed, her mother.

There was a pregnant pause and
then, “What has she done now?” Sibyl’s voice was leery and more
than slightly annoyed.

“Pass the phone to her,” Colin
ordered.

Surprisingly without
further comment, Sibyl did as she was told. He heard a rustle and
then a quiet, “Mother, what
have
you done?”

Without answering her daughter,
Mags came on the line. “Colin! It’s all adventure here. I must say,
you live an exciting life.”

“Marguerite, have you been
talking to the reporters?”

“Me? No siree. Especially not
today, your beefcake bodyguard will only allow us out of the
library for bathroom breaks and even then, he’s escorting us. I
tried to shock him during my last one but he’s unshockable.”

Colin mentally added a rise to
Rick’s salary to his to do list. He thought, vaguely, that this
feminine trio was going to bankrupt him.