Faith (55 page)

A tear trickled down Laura’s cheeks as she read Jackie’s letter. She put it down when she’d finished and covered her face in her hands.

‘What is it?’ Stuart said, looking stunned by her reaction. ‘We expected you to be thrilled.’

‘Belle will hate me for this,’ she said, her voice trembling. ‘Everyone will. I didn’t want anything from Jackie, just to keep all the wonderful memories of her intact.’

‘She had no idea that any of us would ever read it,’ Stuart reminded her. ‘She thought she would live for ever. But she put down what was important to her at the time of writing. And that was that she loved you. Thank God she did, for this will and the letter prove how she felt.’

‘Why didn’t she tell me she knew about my sisters?’

‘I dare say she thought you’d be so embarrassed that you’d never come near her again.’

‘I would have loved it if she’d told me,’ Laura said brokenly. ‘It would have given me the chance to tell her the whole story, to get it off my chest. I can’t go and live at the farm even if I am acquitted. Can you imagine what it would be like? Never mind the horror of what happened there, unless the police find the real murderer, everyone will carry on believing I killed her. I couldn’t bear that.’

‘We think that as soon as the appeal gets underway they will start a new murder investigation,’ David said. ‘We’ve found they were very remiss in the original one, so they’ll be forced to pull out all the stops this time.’

‘I kind of knew Jackie wasn’t all that happy when Belle and Charles moved up to Scotland,’ Laura said, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. ‘But I thought that was because she didn’t think they’d fit in, not because they were broke and expected her to bail them out. I believed they were still stinking rich, Belle always implied that. And I was giving Jackie so much grief at that time too!’ She broke off, looking helplessly at Stuart.

‘People tend to conceal problems within their own family,’ he said soothingly. ‘It was no reflection on you.’

‘But poor Belle,’ Laura said sadly. ‘She’ll be devastated. As if it wasn’t bad enough losing her sister, without then being made to leave her home.’

David wondered if she would manage to find any compassion for Belle if he and Stuart were proved right about the accident which killed Barney.

‘I shouldn’t waste any sympathy on her,’ Stuart said. ‘Jackie wasn’t a vindictive person, she would have had good reason. I’m sure there was a lot more she hasn’t told us. But I’m surprised you even care about Belle – she hasn’t been very kind about you.’

‘When you’ve been fond of someone when they were a child, you don’t stop caring about them just because they didn’t turn out as you expected or hoped,’ Laura said reproachfully. ‘I think she always felt she was living in Jackie’s shadow and I’m sure she only married Charles because she felt that would put them on an equal footing. Unfortunately his greed and self-importance seem to have rubbed off on her. But if she has been nasty about me, it will only be because she’s been robbed of the sister she idolized so much.’

David looked at Stuart and raised one eyebrow quizzically. He thought it astounding that Laura still had such affection and understanding for Belle.

‘Let’s forget the will for now and just deal with what you need to know about the appeal,’ Stuart suggested. ‘Goldsmith has been consulting counsel and he thought they’d get a date settled fairly soon. He’ll be in to tell you about that. David has got to go off to join his wife and kids, but I’m still going to be here. I will have to find some work, but I can visit you, and I’ll be cracking the whip so the lawyers don’t sit on their hands and do nothing. How are you coping with the waiting?’

She smiled at Stuart. ‘I’m doing fine. Reading a lot, writing too, I find it helps. And I’ve signed up to do a computer course. I read somewhere that by the year 2000 everyone will need to know how to use one. So I thought I’d better get prepared for if I do get acquitted.’

‘There’s no “if” about it, you will,’ Stuart said.

She smiled weakly and David remembered he needed to ask her about Fielding. He quickly explained how Calder the solicitor hadn’t wanted to admit he knew him. ‘Why do you think that was, Laura?’

‘I don’t think anyone who likes to be seen as an upright person would want to admit to knowing Robbie,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘You can bet your boots he got Calder to do something crooked back when he was young and hungry. I dare say he’s had the poor bloke over a barrel ever since – a bent solicitor would be very useful to him.’

The bell rang to warn them visiting time was over.

‘Do you think Fielding could have leant on Calder to discover the contents of Jackie’s will, and then instructed him not to inform anyone about it when she died?’ David asked quickly.

‘He could’ve done, I suppose. But why?’ she said. ‘What could have been in it for him?’

Everyone was leaving now, the sounds of chairs scraping on the floor and children yelling making it impossible for David to ask anything further.

Laura got up and went around the table to him and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Have a lovely holiday with your family,’ she said. ‘I can’t thank you enough for giving up so much of your time on my behalf. It was really kind of you.’

She turned to Stuart then, and David noticed she was struggling not to cry. ‘What would I have done without you?’ she said softly. ‘But don’t waste any more of your valuable time on me. You go back to work and let Goldsmith do what he gets paid for. If the appeal fails it won’t be your fault.’

David had to turn away as Stuart hugged her. He could feel his friend’s sorrow at leaving her here, and that his love for her hadn’t diminished over the years. If anything, it appeared to have grown stronger still while he’d been fighting for her.

On Saturday, after David had finally left the flat to go and pick up Julia and the children at the airport, Stuart felt lost.

He’d already stripped the sheets off David’s bed, washed up and tidied the flat. There was only the vacuuming left to do, and the weekend yawned before him with nothing to fill it.

The previous day he and David had had another meeting with Goldsmith and met the QC he wanted to defend Laura at the appeal. Goldsmith clearly had had a change of heart; he was beaming as if all his Christmases had come at once. Whether this was because he finally believed Laura deserved to be freed, or just that he saw signs he could win his case, Stuart didn’t know, but it was heartening to have him acting as though he really cared.

Everything looked great, and it was down to the lawyers to tie up loose ends, prepare their arguments and sort out the witnesses they needed to call. Stuart knew there was no more he could do. As Goldsmith had so succinctly put it, ‘It’s the police’s job to find and charge the real killer. I have spoken with the CPS and passed on all the many points you have made. It’s up to them now, and you must butt out.’

Stuart knew Goldsmith was right, but it was a warm, sunny day, the streets were full of people out enjoying themselves, the airport would be crammed with others flying off to sun-drenched beaches, and Laura was in prison.

He couldn’t imagine what it did to a person to be locked up for something they hadn’t done. She’d had two years of it, and he’d seen by her face as they parted yesterday that she didn’t really believe she would be acquitted. She wanted to. Perhaps while he and David were talking to her, telling her things they’d discovered, maybe she began to hope. But once the cell door closed on her and she was alone, or talking to all those other women in there who hadn’t got a prayer of getting out, she was bound to think the worst.

Stuart walked over to the window and looked out. There was a café opposite, with tables and chairs out on the pavement. Every one of them was taken. He could see three women with bulging carrier bags all around their table. They were close in age to Laura, smart, attractive women in elegant clothes, their bare legs and arms suntanned, sunglasses pushed back on to well-cared-for hair. They were laughing, really enjoying one another’s company, and he felt a pang of sorrow that Laura couldn’t have a day like theirs.

As he watched, a tall, slender woman with long dark hair walked down the pavement. She was wearing red shorts, a low-cut black top and flip-flops on her feet. She looked very much like Laura did when he first met her; there was a sort of golden glow about her, oozing sensuality and a sense of mischief. Suddenly she opened her arms wide and a huge smile spread across her face. Stuart glanced down the street and saw a dark-haired boy of about eight in a football strip running towards her.

As the boy reached her, she caught hold of him and swung him round, and Stuart felt his eyes fill with tears. He had seen Laura do that so often with Barney, though he’d been so much younger then than this boy. How did Laura live with that loss?

He vacuumed the carpet, cleaned the bathroom and even made David’s bed up again with clean sheets so it looked tidy. But all the while he was thinking of Laura, and suddenly he felt he had to do something to shake things up.

All this time he’d played by the rules. He’d accused no one, he hadn’t pointed out their shortcomings even while they bad-mouthed Laura, except for Roger. He’d listened and nodded, been sympathetic, even stroked a few egos. So maybe an appeal was in the bag now and he’d achieved his objective, but he’d feel a darn sight more satisfied if he could just undermine Charles’s security enough to get him really rattled.

It was just after twelve when he put an overnight bag in his car and drove off. He didn’t for one moment think that Belle would want him as a guest once he’d told her the contents of Jackie’s will, and he certainly didn’t want to stay there, but then the bag was just a ruse to get him through the door. He’d also put on a cream linen shirt and chinos that several women had told him he looked handsome in. It wouldn’t hurt to let Belle imagine for a few moments that he’d come with seduction on his mind.

The traffic was solid all the way out of Edinburgh, and almost at a standstill on the Forth Bridge. He expected that today would be the longest time ever to make the trip. He’d be lucky if he did it in two and a half hours.

Calder had offered to handle the bequests in the will, but Stuart had declined, not wanting him to make another penny from Jackie, and instead asked Goldsmith to appoint a suitable lawyer to do it. He knew perfectly well that he should leave the person chosen to contact each of the beneficiaries; Goldsmith certainly wouldn’t approve of Stuart informing Belle and Charles that they would be getting nothing. But as Stuart hadn’t actually been advised against it, he would plead ignorance.

Charles’s car wasn’t in the drive of Kirkmay House, and he saw Belle glance out of the drawing-room window as he drew up. She had the door open before he even reached the front step.

‘What brings you over here?’ she asked.

‘You, Belle, what else?’ he replied. ‘You said if I ever needed a bed for the night!’

‘Of course.’ Her smile was so bright she could have been plugged into the mains. ‘But you’ve been very naughty, you said you’d phone and take me out to dinner.’

Stuart had said no such thing, but he smiled anyway. ‘Pressure of work,’ he said. ‘Where’s the old man?’

‘Golf. Where else?’ she replied. ‘Come in and I’ll get you a drink.’

Stuart put his bag down in the hall and followed Belle into the kitchen. A half-empty bottle of vodka and an empty glass stood on the table; he wondered at what time today she’d started drinking. Yet her appearance was immaculate – full makeup, a pale pink swirly skirt and a white sleeveless top. She’d put her blonde hair up and she was even wearing high-heeled shoes.

‘You look gorgeous,’ Stuart said, and it was true, she did. ‘Were you just about to go out?’

‘No.’ She laughed as she said it and poured some vodka into her glass before getting a second one out of the cupboard. ‘This is just little old everyday me. If I’d known you were coming I’d have made much more of an effort.’

‘Could I have a beer, please?’ Stuart asked. ‘I can’t handle spirits this early in the day. How many guests have you got today?’

‘None, well, apart from you,’ she said, opening the fridge and getting out a beer. ‘I had a full house all week, so I’ve turned everyone away today. I need a rest.’

Stuart suggested sitting in the garden as it was such a lovely afternoon.

‘Will you go and get the chairs out then?’ she said. ‘They’re in the summer house. I’ve got to nip upstairs.’

Stuart did as she asked, pulling out two padded sun loungers and a small table for their drinks.

She came back a few minutes later, her glass topped up, carrying an ashtray and her cigarettes. ‘This is nice,’ she said as she sat down, hitching up her skirt to let the sun get to her legs. ‘I used to sit out here a lot, but it’s a bit boring sunbathing on your own. Why don’t you take your shirt off?’

That sounded an innocent enough suggestion, but Stuart was afraid if he did she’d peel her clothes off too. She did have very good legs, and she kept pulling her skirt up higher and higher.

‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘Now, how are things?’

‘About the same really,’ she said, lighting up a cigarette. ‘Wishing we could get Jackie’s estate sorted and make a decision about what to do with the farm. I’m worn out with running it. Charles is no help, he’s never here.’

‘What would you like to do if everything was squared away?’

‘Well, I’ve got so fed up with people here questioning me all the time that I think now I’d like to move back to London.’

‘What do they question you about?’

‘What I’m going to do with Brodie Farm, what I’ll do if that bitch Laura gets granted an appeal. You know, all those poking-their-noses-in sort of questions.’

It ought to have been a difficult situation, being compelled to make light-hearted conversation with Belle while waiting for Charles to come home. But in fact it was surprisingly easy as she was on good form. For the best part of two hours they chatted, and she didn’t once bring up anything to do with Jackie or Laura. Stuart found himself liking her in the way he did when they first met.

Back then she’d seemed so sophisticated compared to girls in Scotland. She was at drama school at the time, and he got the idea she was destined to be a real star. She had a finger on the very pulse of London, she could talk with authority about the top groups, the best clubs, and the few times he went out with her, she seemed to make things happen around her. She was fun to be with, warm and vivacious, which had been just what he needed at that miserable time in his life.