Judith Wants To Be Your Friend (21 page)

‘I’ve looked at the plans of those. They look gorgeous.’

‘Yes.’ A pause. ‘Are you thinking of moving into town, then?’

Damn it
, thought Chloe,
I always give too much away
. ‘Only thinking about it. I can’t resist looking at show homes, that’s really what it’s about.’

‘The show home’s open today. I’m going to pop down later.’

‘You could walk to work from there. That’s another good point.’

Judith laughed. ‘Ah, now that’s a bad point for me. I’d have less need to drive my beautiful car.’

Chloe joined in the laughter. Judith was alright when there were other people around, she thought, so why did she spook her out when she was alone with her? Strange. Anyway, better quit while she was winning. ‘Right I need to get off. More stock to buy before the day’s out.’

Judith stayed in the cafe for another half hour. She didn’t notice the light catching the glass mobile. She was too preoccupied with her financial situation. Talking to Chloe had clarified one thing; she could easily justify wanting to sell her flat. Maybe it wouldn’t look so desperate after all, especially if she could say that she had made a bit of money on it.

Back in the office there was a message from Henry Lloyd’s solicitor. Judith called him straight back.

‘It’s in reference to the letter I sent you before Christmas,’ he said, ‘It was posted on the 19
th
actually.’

‘I haven’t seen a letter,’ she said, ‘but I know all about Henry’s accounts. What do you need to know? I sent everything over, didn’t I?’

‘Yes you did. It’s a strange one, actually. He made a payment to HMRC for no apparent reason. It doesn’t show up in the accounts anywhere.’

Judith’s left hand started shaking and her heart and her mind racing.

‘Ms Dillon?’

‘Sorry, yes, trying to think. No, I don’t know anything about it. Sorry.’

‘He didn’t usually make any financial transactions without consulting you. Are you sure you don’t remember anything?’

‘I would have remembered if he owed any tax. He was meticulous about not owing any money to anyone.’

‘Indeed. Well, if you remember anything will you let me know? It will save a lot of time and expense for the family if we can get it sorted out.’

She sat for a few minutes while her heart rate slowed to normal. The letter was sent on 19
th
so she would have been away when it arrived. Helen would have opened it. She knew what was in the filing cabinet, so started her search in the drawers of what had been Helen’s desk. It only took a few minutes to find, and it was with a letter from HMRC regarding her personal account. Bugger! Helen must have made some connection otherwise she wouldn’t have hidden them away together. Bugger!

Wednesday 14
th
January 2009

Most of Hexham closed on a Wednesday which usually meant that Judith’s practice was busy with people who could leave their businesses and come for appointments. It was strangely quiet so Judith called the estate agent to bring forward the time to value her flat. It was a crispy, bright afternoon so should make him feel inclined to up the price. Shaws Lane had several beautiful old properties that had been converted to luxury flats, and Judith’s building was thought to be the most prestigious, it having been a country house. It had extensive shared grounds, views over open countryside and even a tennis court. She loved the modern kitchen-dining room with white units and solid oak worktops, the central island with the gas hob, then Georgian sash windows keeping it classy and firmly of the period. She went home to tidy up a bit more; first impressions counted for a lot with these people.

David Clements arrived; senior partner of the business. That was a good sign. He worked quickly and quietly, measuring and comparing and making verbal notes on his voice recorder.

‘You’ve maintained it really well since you bought it,’ he said eventually. ‘Even in this financial climate, I think we can ask
£
275,000.’

She stared at him. He seemed to be pleased with that.

‘I paid
£
300,000 for it eighteen months ago. It can’t have gone down that much.’

‘I’m afraid it has. The good news is that anything else you look at will have been reduced accordingly. So, shall I put it on the market straight away?’

‘Can’t we try for
£
300,000 first, and accept an offer?’

‘I wouldn’t advise it. You’ll probably have to accept an offer anyway.’

‘Two-eighty then, please. I insist. Not lower.’

After he had gone, Judith broke her own rule of not drinking before seven. A loss of
£
25,000 in eighteen months! That equated to nearly
£
1,500 a month in value, and she paid over
£
2,000 a month in mortgage. No wonder she didn’t have any money. The level in the wine bottle went down by another few inches as she came to terms with the concept of her being left with negative equity. Given that she sold it for
£
275,000, she would still owe
£
2,500, then there would be legal fees and commission to old Clements. She picked up the phone to call another estate agent and realised it was too late. Tomorrow she would get a more realistic valuation. She reached for her wine glass, missed it, and cursed as red wine dripped from the table onto the cream carpet. Bugger! And a carpet cleaning bill as well. She would have to get the balance of Henry’s money back from the tax man after all.

Thursday 15
th
January 2009

With two more appointments made for estate agents to view her flat, Judith left the office in need of sleep. She walked slowly down to the car park and bumped into Chloe walking down to the station.

She tried again. ‘Do you want a lift home? I’m having an early finish.’

‘No thanks. I’ll get the train.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Judith, I hope you don’t mind if I say this, but I would like our relationship to remain professional and not personal. Please don’t offer me a lift any more. I don’t want a lift, really.’

Judith’s head was pounding as she watched Chloe march off down the lane. She felt rejected and miserable as well as worried about money, her dwindling clientele, lack of secretary, ill mother, dodgy cheque payment, her obvious bad judgement of character, bad judgement in buying property and generally everything. She drove home and opened another bottle of red before her self-imposed watershed. She sat in her favourite spot in the house; a sort of alcove on the first floor with nothing in it but a small table and a deep, comfortable armchair facing a window that reached from floor to ceiling and looked out over fields to hills beyond. There was no view this evening, of course, as it was dark, but she knew what it looked like and she knew she would miss it.

Friday 16
th
January 2009

At lunch time Judith took two ham sandwiches into Phoenix Antiques. Chloe looked a bit surprised.

‘Point taken,’ said Judith, ‘let’s carry on as we were. My turn to bring lunch I think, and time I had a good look at your new stock.’

She walked straight through to Chloe’s office and started to unwrap the sandwiches. The front door opened, but instead of someone coming in, Chloe went out.

‘I told her last night I wanted to keep everything professional and here she is bringing sandwiches. What do you think is going on?’ Chloe spoke quietly into her mobile phone.

‘No idea,’ said Louise, appearing from the direction of the town centre, ‘but I’m here now so go and chat about the shop and
nothing else
. Right?’

‘Right.’

‘Everything OK?’ asked Judith when they came back in.

‘Yes, I just wanted to catch someone outside. Too late.’

They ate and Judith chatted, then she asked to see all the new stock, then she studied all the paintings.

‘You’re going for these American artists, then? I’ve seen John Axton before.’

Chloe glanced at her watch, looked over to Louise, and raised her eyes to the ceiling. How much longer was Judith going to stay? In some ways it was handy having someone in the shop browsing; it seemed to draw more people in. It was noticeable, though, that whereas others came in and bought and left, she simply browsed with no apparent intent to buy. ‘Yes, I bought a few at Newcastle, and more have come up since. It must be a trend.’

Eventually Judith glanced at the carriage clock tastefully displayed in near the window. ‘My goodness, is that the time. Lovely stuff Chloe, I’ll come back and make my final choice in a couple of days.’

‘Great! See you then,’ said Chloe.

‘What do you think that was all about?’ asked Chloe as soon as the door closed behind Judith.

‘Not sure, but she looks like a woman under pressure. Did you hear that she sacked her latest assistant?’

‘No, why?’

‘Not sure, but it was sudden.’

‘Last I heard she was really pleased with her.’

‘I’ve told you; she’s a funny one. Keep it professional and everything will be just fine.’

Saturday 17
th
January 2009

Judith’s two estate agents visited within two hours of each other and confirmed what Mr. Clements had said. One even suggested a lesser valuation. She took her shining car out of the garage and drove to the Northumbrian coast for a long walk along the sand

Monday 19
th
January 2009

Chloe considered going to the bakery for a sandwich. She would only need to close the shop for a couple of minutes. She hung the sign on the door and was about to leave when she saw Judith approaching with sandwiches.

Chloe’s stomach lurched. She quickly turned the key to lock the door, switched off the main lights and hid in the store room. She could see out of the dark room through the keyhole and watched as Judith stood for a while peering in. She moved a few steps away then suddenly turned back and looked in again.
She knows I’m here
, thought Chloe.
How long is she going to stand there? I’ll be trapped in here all day
. She noticed that her hands were shaking.

Her telephone rang and she listened as the answering machine cut in. Judith’s voice floated from the office to the store room, making Chloe jump.

‘Hi there. I called round with sandwiches but you seem to be out. See you in a few days’ time.’

Chloe thought it was probably a trick, and that Judith was standing outside waiting to spring out and say
Ah ha – I knew you were hiding!
She stayed where she was for another twenty minutes. She could have done some sorting out while she was there, but didn’t. She needed to keep an eye on the door to make sure Judith didn’t come back. The door handle moved. Chloe felt paralysed as she peered through, and then nearly sobbed with relief when she saw the elderly couple who had returned to pick up an item they had paid for earlier.

Tuesday 20
th
January 2009

Chloe sat in her doctor’s consulting room. She was shaking again, and had been crying.

‘And I haven’t been sleeping well because of it all,’ she continued. ‘I felt stronger after a break at Christmas but it’s all come back worse than before.’

The doctor wrote a prescription. ‘These are very mild,’ she said, ‘but don’t exceed the dose. If they’re not working for you, come straight back.’

‘Am I going mad? She’s just a local business woman, after all. I hardly know her really.’

‘Not mad, but it is making you anxious. You’ve discussed the boundaries you want to keep with the relationship so make sure you stay within them. These tablets will help you to keep it all in perspective, then you’ll feel better able to deal with it yourself.’

Dr. Ellis reflected on the consultation after surgery with her colleague. She was worried because it was strangely reminiscent of a conversation she had had with Alison Hedges the year before. Shortly afterwards Alison had moved away from Hexham.

‘Where do we stand ethically on this one?’ she asked the senior partner.

‘Impossible situation,’ he replied, ‘we can’t break anyone’s confidence. And anyway, what would you say to Judith Dillon? You’re frightening people; stop it. She doesn’t appear to harm anyone.’

‘Not physically, no, but we can’t let her go round frightening people.’

‘There is nothing we can do. Look after your patient, that’s the best that you can do.’

She didn’t say it, but she thought she might do some research into similar cases. Maybe there was something she could do.

Friday 23
rd
January 2009

Chloe hated the dark evenings walking down to the station. The sooner she moved into town the better. She set the burglar alarm and switched off the lights in the shop. Before setting off she had a surreptitious look up and down the road. No Judith. Time to go now. She would be a bit early for the train today but she needed to vary her time of leaving.

What am I doing?
she thought,
I need to keep the shop open regular hours. I can’t afford to harm the business. Never mind, I have to do it for now anyway
. She took a deep breath, locked the front door and ran across the road and into the lane that led down past the car park to the station.

Judith appeared as if from nowhere and fell into walking beside her.

‘Good day today?’

‘Yes, look, Judith. I know what I said the other day, but please leave me alone. Completely I mean. No more lunches. No more browsing. Nothing. Please, just leave me alone.’ Her voice had been getting louder with every word and a couple turned around.