Ultimate Justice (8 page)

“I can believe it.”

He showed her through a small hallway and into a vast lounge at the rear of the property. Angela North was sitting in a winged chair alongside the open bi-fold doors. The petite lady was smartly dressed in a cream-coloured pencil skirt and a chocolate boucle buttoned-up cardigan. She stood and limply shook hands with Lorne.

“You have a beautiful house, Mrs. North.”

The comment brought a sparkle to the woman’s eyes and a tinge of colour to her cheeks. When she spoke, her voice was gentle and barely above a whisper. “You’re very kind. Not everyone appreciates the alterations I’ve made to the house.”

“I’m surprised. You have an excellent eye for detail.”

“Thank you, that means a lot. Would you care for a tea or coffee?”

“A coffee would be nice, thank you.”

The butler left the room while Angela motioned for Lorne to sit on the white leather sofa opposite her chair. As they sat, Lorne’s eye was immediately drawn to the landscaped gardens and the beautiful open countryside beyond.

After seeing the admiration on Lorne’s face, Angela said, “Isn’t it beautiful? I spend most of my day just taking in the view. I’ve always loved this house—more for the location than anything else. A house can be altered to your specifications, but you can’t change a view—that’s what my father always told me.”

“He’s right. If ever I win the lottery, I might come and make an offer on this place; it has to be my dream home. You’d probably send me off with a flea in my ear for being so cheeky.”

Angela smiled proudly. “They’re going to have to carry me out in a box, I think. Anyway, enough of my luxuries I know you’re a very busy lady—let’s get down to this awful tragedy.” Sadness swept her smile away and tears moistened her eyes.

“Jade told me your au pair had a relative in the disaster—is she here?”

“Do you mind if I introduce you later? She’s very timid. I thought I could fill in the details for you first, if you don’t mind.”

Lorne nodded reassuringly. “Of course I don’t mind. It must be hard for Jai San to be in a strange country having to deal with something so tragic.”

“It is. She’s such a sweet girl. My heart really goes out to her.”

“Has she worked for you long, Angela?”

“About six months, I suppose. She was so excited when she learned her sister would be joining her here. When I say ‘here,’ I mean in the UK, not here in this house. My little Anthony absolutely idolises her. Before she came into our lives, he used to drive me and his previous au pairs to distraction. Throwing temper tantrums every minute of the day—I don’t mind telling you I was at my wit’s end. She has a calmness that surrounds her. Does that sound strange?”

“An aura, you mean?”

“Not exactly. She’s a Buddhist. I know I’d be lost without her. My days at the charity can be stressful enough, you see I’m a bit of a soft touch where Anthony’s concerned and he tends to play on that when I get home. His tantrums were getting more and more out of hand and were having a detrimental effect on my sanity until she came along.”

Lorne understood completely where Angela was coming from—her own daughter Charlie hadn’t been the easiest child to bring up. Not that Lorne had brought Charlie up, per se; that onerous task had been down to Tom, her ex, most of the time. During her teens, Charlie had been a devil child, and even before she had reached her teens, she had demanded Tom’s attention throughout most of the day. Rather than get into the whys and wherefores of parenting with a stranger, knowing the subject could be as volatile as politics or religion to some people, therefore avoided at all cost, Lorne steered the conversation back to Jai San. “Can I ask how you found your au pair? Did she come recommended?”

Angela thought for a second or two before she responded. “Well, like I said, I had worked my way through numerous au pairs—or Anthony had. Let me think. Do you know, I can’t for the life of me remember. How bloody silly of me.”

“It really doesn’t matter.” Lorne stopped talking as the sound of a rattling tray filled the room and the butler approached them.

“Thank you, Harry.” Angela smiled at the bent old man and patted his hand affectionately when he placed the tray down on the table beside her. “Why can’t I remember? How bizarre. Maybe Jai San can fill in the blanks later.”

“How is she?” Lorne accepted the bone china cup and saucer from Angela after she had filled it with coffee served from a silver coffee pot. The aroma of the beans filled Lorne’s nostrils, reminding her how foolish she had been as a child walking down the high street and detesting the smell wafting out of the Cawardines coffee shop.

“Jai San has gone into her shell. She gives the impression of being fine during the day—grateful to Anthony for the distraction, I suppose—but come the evening it’s a different story. I see her out there wandering around the garden in a daze. My heart breaks in two, seeing her like that. I’m not sure I could switch off my feelings as well as she appears to.”

“Poor thing. Does she speak much English?” Lorne asked before sipping her coffee.

“She gets by, and is improving daily. She constantly reads to Anthony; he loves stories, especially stories about King Arthur and Merlin. I think it also helps Jai San to learn the language. I give her the option of ringing home often so she doesn’t feel cut off, but she says once a month is enough. I don’t think she likes to take advantage.”

“She sounds like a real sweetheart. I can’t wait to meet her.” Lorne hoped that Angela would take the hint that she was eager to meet the au pair, but she didn’t. Lorne came to the conclusion that the wealthy woman was lonely and in need of stimulating conversation. “You say you work for a charity, Angela—do you mind me asking which one?”

Her smile broadened. “It’s a new heart charity called Beating Life. I’m the founder of it. My father died of heart disease when I was in my teens, and I always promised that if I ever came into money, the first thing I’d do was to set up a charity to help those suffering from the same illness.”

Lorne wondered what she meant by ‘coming into money,’ but felt asking the question would seem too rude. Then she remembered Jade telling her that Angela had recently married a wealthy man. Roger, wasn’t it? That would explain her sudden wealth, but that was last year. Hadn’t the butler said she’d bought and renovated this place five years ago?
Curiosity got the better of her, “Came into money?”

“A long-lost aunt of mine left me this place in her will. Of course, it was a wreck when I took it over, but I didn’t really mind. I saw it as a labour of love, creating this place. When I married Roger last year, it was on the proviso that we live here.”

“I see. I don’t blame you in the slightest. What does Roger do for a living?”

Her chest puffed out. “He’s an accountant. He stays in London at his penthouse all week and returns home at the weekend.”

Lorne found that snippet of information very odd, considering he had a small son of his own. Maybe he’d married Angela with the intention of her just being the boy’s mother? She bit her tongue and didn’t voice her concerns. “So with your husband working away and you busy most days with your charity, I can understand your need for employing an au pair. I admire you greatly for taking on another woman’s child like that, I’m not sure I could do it.”

Angela’s brow furrowed slightly. “I’ve never really thought about it. I knew from the minute Roger and I started going out that he and Anthony came as a package; I didn’t see it as a problem between us.”

Lorne could see the glow in the woman’s cheeks when she either spoke or thought about her husband. Looking around the room, Lorne spotted their wedding picture above the ornate fireplace. He seemed to be a likeable enough chap. He had thinning blond hair and youthful good looks. She could see the attraction, at a stretch. A very long stretch, he wasn’t her type at all. “He seems a nice man,” Lorne said.

“He’s wonderful. I’m lucky to have him.”

And he you, as you’ve taken on the responsibility of his son.
Lorne drained the coffee in her cup and smiled at Angela. “Any chance I can have a quick chat with Jai San now? I hate to hurry things, but I’ll have to be making a move soon.”

“I’ve been twittering on, do forgive me.” Instead of ringing a bell, as Lorne expected her to do, Angela left the room and came back with her arm wrapped around a tiny Asian girl’s shoulders. “Lorne, this is our little treasure, Jai San.”

The girl bowed her head and didn’t look Lorne in the eye until she spoke. “Hello, Jai San. There’s no need to be afraid. Is it all right if Jai San sits with us for a while?”

“Of course.” Angela guided the girl to the other end of the sofa Lorne was sitting on and went back to her own seat.

Lorne moved to the seat next to Jai San. “There really is no need to worry. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about your sister?”

Water filled eyes met Lorne’s and her heart went out to her. Jai San nodded slowly.

“I’m sorry for your loss. It must have been a great shock to you.”

“My baby sister was coming here for a better life…‌like me. Now she’s gone.”

Lorne reached for her hand and held it firmly in her own. “Can I ask how your sister came to be on that ship?”

“The lady at the agency arranged it.”

Lorne looked over her shoulder at Angela, who quickly rose and left the room to find something. She came back seconds later and held out a business card for Lorne to take.

“Here you go—forgive my absentmindedness. This is the agency we contacted to employ Jai San.”

“Ah, that’s very helpful, thank you.” Lorne sensed that Jai San was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She proceeded with caution. “How did you come to work for the agency?”

Jai San fidgeted in her seat for several minutes, and Lorne was about to ask the question again when the young woman’s head lifted and their gazes met. “I met a man.”

Lorne continued to smile at Jai San to put the girl at ease. “Where did you meet this man? In the UK?”

“Yes. I came here with three other girls. A man promised us a better life in England and gave us a lift in his boat.” She fell silent until Lorne squeezed her hand to urge her to go on. “It was a trick. When we got here, he…‌he sold us.”

“Sold you!” Angela cried out.

Lorne had suspected as much, so she wasn’t as surprised as Angela by the revelation. She turned to see Angela shaking her head a look of disgust on her face. Lorne gave her a warning glance, hoping that Angela would restrain her emotions.

Jai San took a little coaxing to continue her woeful tale. Lorne felt the young girl was just on the edge of divulging valuable information when they heard a noise out in the hallway.

“Get out of my way, old man.” The door to the lounge swung open, and in stomped Roger.

On a Thursday! Angela has already told me that Roger never comes home during the week. How odd,
Lorne thought. The instant Jai San heard his voice out in the hallway, her grip tightened on Lorne’s hand. Was that out of fear?

Angela bolted out of the chair and ran to greet him. “Roger! What are you doing here? Not that it isn’t lovely to see you, of course, but you’re not due home until tomorrow.”

He gave his wife a half-smile and kissed her briefly on the lips before he walked over to where Lorne and Jai San were sitting. He held out his hand and introduced himself. “Roger North, and you are?”

Lorne shook his hand and noticed his shake was firm but clammy. Her father had drummed into her at the beginning of her police career that you could tell a lot from a man’s handshake.

“Now, Roger, you naughty man, you know very well who this is; I told you Lorne was coming.”

Lorne rose from her seat so he wasn’t towering over her, and their gazes locked. She felt his eyes burning their way through hers. She was determined not to look away, to hold his stare until he broke contact.

Eventually, he turned to his wife. “That’s right—I totally forgot. I had an appointment in the area and thought I’d drop in to surprise you, sweetheart.”

Well, your gullible wife might believe that story, mate, but I’m afraid I don’t. What have you got to hide?
Lorne dropped down in her seat again and automatically reached for Jai San’s hand, but the girl fought to pull her hand away, Lorne refused to give up, and eventually, the young girl let out an exasperated sigh and stopped struggling.

She watched Roger’s reaction to the incident with interest. His eyes narrowed, but a slight smile remained on his face. Lorne glanced sideways and saw Jai San’s head bowed, her focus lingering on a spot on the carpet in front of her.
There’s something dodgy going on here, and I’m not liking it.

“Please don’t let me interrupt your conversation,” Roger said.

Lorne, ever the suspicious type, regarded his tone as taunting.

It was Jai San who spoke next, in the quietest of voices. “I finished now.”

Lorne felt the girl stiffen beside her, and she sensed that a barrier had been erected and it would be pointless to continue. Thinking she had enough information to go on already, Lorne decided to end the meeting. Roger was making her feel uncomfortable, anyway, and she sensed that Jai San was dying to get away from him, too. It bothered her that Angela didn’t seem to pick up on the strain that had developed in the room the minute her husband had walked into it.
Was love really that blind?

Lorne gently squeezed Jai San’s hand before she released it. “Thank you for being so brave, Jai San. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss. You have my word that I will get the people concerned and take great pleasure in seeing them locked away for many years to come.”

Roger made a noise in his throat, and Lorne immediately looked up at him. His eyebrows shot up questioningly. She bit back the sarcastic retort that was balancing precariously on the tip of her tongue and issued him a taut smile, instead. It irked Lorne that he seemed somehow triumphant that he’d interrupted their meeting.

“Jai San, you may go now,” Roger said, dismissing the young girl. She left the room without making eye contact with anyone and closed the door gently behind her.

“Well, that was a revelation,” Angela said as she flopped down in her chair.