Soliman, Wendy - The Name of the Game (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (33 page)

“So much resentment.” Sophie shook her head. “To bear a grudge for so long. I feel almost sorry for him.”

“We do need to ask you two ladies just a few more questions,” the inspector said gently. “Then you can rest.”

“Is that really necessary?” Matt asked. “It’s fairly obvious what happened here. No one else is involved.”

“Even so, it’s procedure, sir.”

“I suppose.” Matt sat beside Ashley, her hand in his. “Make it quick then.”

“The gun, Inspector,” Ashley said. “My fingerprints will be on it. I removed it from Roker’s hand when I checked to see if he was still alive.”

“You shouldn’t have done that, madam,” he said, his tone mildly reproving.

“Well, excuse me if I didn’t follow your precious procedures,” she snapped. “It was instinctive. I knew he was dead, but I still didn’t want him to have a gun in his hand.”

“I understand.”

The questioning established Roker’s relationship to the Templetons, his state of mind, his reason for calling. Matt answered a lot of the questions, and the inspector appeared to believe him. He left the room at one stage in response to a summons from one of his colleagues. He returned clutching a letter encased in a plastic bag.

“Well,” he said. “If I had any doubts about your account, Mr. Templeton, which I didn’t, by the way, this just about puts an end to them.”

“What is it?”

“A letter the deceased had in his pocket.”

“A suicide note?” Ashley asked, blinking. “He really intended to kill himself all along.”

“It would appear so.” He handed the plastic bag to Matt, who began reading.

“He admits everything about the scam with the death claims.” He read some more, lifted his head, and clashed gazes with Ashley. “He says he acted entirely alone.”

“Ah, I see.”

The doctor arrived, gave Sophie a sedative, and Ashley helped her into bed, sitting with her until she fell into a drug-induced sleep.

When she returned to the sitting room, feeling drained and disorientated, everyone except Matt had left. The body had been taken away, Matt had drawn the blinds in the conservatory and shut the door.

“Come here.” Matt pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

“I’m just glad it’s all over.”

“Ash, when I was on the phone and I heard that gun shot, I thought…” His voice broke. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“Shush.” She rested her head against his chest. “It will take more than the likes of Roker for you to be rid of me. And at least he solved your one remaining problem.”

“By claiming sole responsibility and absolving Eve?”

“Yes.”

“Brad Vikery fathered the child.”

Ashley lifted her head. “She told you that?” she asked, surprised.

“Oh yes. She flaunted it. She told me how hilarious she found it, passing it off as my child. She knew I had to be aware that it wasn’t mine and also knew why I couldn’t say anything.”

“Presumably, that’s why she doctored your drink at Charlie’s that time and tried to get him into bed with her.” Ashley wrinkled her brow. “She needed to keep you sweet somehow until the amalgamation went through.”

“Yes, I’m guessing that she didn’t plan the pregnancy and so had to think on her feet.” Matt kissed the top of her head and held her a little tighter. “It was her, I realize now, who kept telling me that Charlie was adamantly opposed to the amalgamation. She saw so much of him that I figured she’d know that he hadn’t changed his mind.”

Ashley shook her head. “I’m not sure what I can say to that.”

“Probably that I should have had more faith in my cousin.” Matt grimaced. “Anyway, it seems I neglected Eve, which is what prompted all this.” He ran a hand through his hair, clearly distraught, still blaming himself. “Honest to hell, Ash, I had no idea she felt unfulfilled. If she’d wanted to work, she had but to say the word.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. It isn’t your fault.”

“No, but I feel guilty as sin. Our marriage wasn’t all bad, at least not in the early years. I keep looking back to see what clues I missed. What I could have done differently.”

“I suspect that whatever you did, it wouldn’t have been enough for her.”

“No,” he said with a heavy sigh. “So let’s stop thinking about it.” He poured them both hefty measures of brandy, sat on the sofa and pulled Ashley down with him. “Drink this,” he said. “It will help you get over the shock.”

Ashley took a gulp and almost choked on it. “I’m sorry all that stuff about your father had to come out.”

“In other words, I can blame Roker for my curtailed career in the law, as well. If Dad hadn’t wanted rid of him, he wouldn’t have been so insistent that I came back. I’ve often wondered about that.” He grimaced. “Now I know.”

* * * *

A week later, Stevenson’s had accepted Roker’s suicide as the tragic loss of a man whose mind was unbalanced. They were never told what he’d tried to do. The outstanding claims were settled, and Interactive was set to become the senior player in the merged company. Nate had been given the full story and was doing a hatchet job on Dr. Andrews. The General Medical Council were already looking into his conduct. At Matt’s request, Nate wouldn’t make any mention of Eve, even though he’d been told of her involvement.

“Getting permanently saddled with that waste of space Vickery will be punishment enough for her,” Matt told Ashley. “He was in this because Roker had promised him a decent position in the new company. A large salary for not much work, in other words. None of that will happen now, Eve isn’t wealthy, and he might actually have to get his hands dirty in order to support his new family.”

“That’ll teach him,” Ashley said with a satisfied smile.

Ashley and Matt had just ridden out from the Lingfield house. They turned their horses out, and Matt steered her into the hay barn.

“I filed for divorce today,” he told her. “Eve won’t contest it. I’m going to Winchester to tell the boys tomorrow.”

“I get the impression that they won’t be surprised.”

“No, hopefully not.” He paused for so long that Ashley gave him a nudge.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I planned to stay another year at Interactive,” he told her. “See the new company on its feet and then get out.”

“You’ve changed your mind?”

“Yes, now that I’ve mended fences with Charlie, there’s no need for me to stay. He’s keen to be the new CEO, and that’s fine with me.” He looked her intently in the eye. “Provided you have no objections.”

“None at all. I’ve had more than enough of this life as well.” She smiled up at him. “But what shall we do instead?”

“Well, I’ve thought about that, too. How do you feel about living here?”

“Here?” She glanced out at the green fields, the horses grazing contentedly in the nearest one, the lovely old house, its walls covered with wisteria, and sighed. “That would be a dream come true, but this is Sophie’s home.”

“And it will be mine one day. Mother doesn’t want to live in such a barn of a place all on her own anymore. She’s actually always wants to travel. Dad never shared that desire, so it didn’t happen, but she feels the time has now come to please herself.”

“You’ve obviously talked about this.”

“Just after she met you for the first time.”

“Oh, I see.” But she didn’t, not really.

“She wants to spend a year going round the world with a lady friend and then settle back here in the guest cottage.”

“But she could have done that a long time ago.”

“No, she says not because she was waiting for me to find the right person to settle here with.”

“Oh.”

“Indeed, oh.” Matt pushed her onto a bale of hay and knelt in front of her. “But we can’t live here in sin.” He shook his head and tutted. “She wouldn’t approve of that at all.” He delved into the pocket of his jodhpurs, produced a ring box, and dramatically opened the lid. A solitaire diamond of at least one carat sparkled back at her. “You wanted a romantic gesture and…well, I figured this might cut it.” He cleared his throat and smiled at her. “Ashley Wilde, will you marry me?”

THE END

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