An Affair of the Heart (15 page)

“My mother was
right,” Rachel said. “If you were a cowboy, I think your hat would
have been decidedly dark.”

Robert made a
face. “Mmmm, maybe slate grey,” he said, waving his hand from side
to side.

Rachel looked
at him closely. Here, sitting in front of her, was the man she had
been thinking about above all other things for the past several
days. She had dreamt about him, fantasized, and hoped. And now he
was here. And everything she had thought about him was wrong.

Oh, yes. Robert
McCord was certainly handsome. He had dark hair and eyes, a cheeky,
almost boyish look, and a wickedly attractive smile that could have
melted the Arctic ice pack. And above all, he knew it, too. Even
so, Rachel would have had to like him, just as Sarah had done
before, except that now she knew.

“A brand new,
dark slate, rather than an old sun bleached one,” she said.

“Now you’re
being cruel,” he replied.

“What you did
was unforgivable,” Rachel told him. “Even though I believed you
when you said that you weren’t going to go through with it, it was
still unforgivable.”

Robert gave her
that wry smile again. “Sarah would have forgiven me,” he said. “I
know she would.” Then he added, quickly, “What did your heart tell
you, Rachel? Did it miss a beat? Did it jump?”

Rachel shook
her head. “No,” she said sadly. “It was only me that was
disappointed.”

Robert looked
away for a moment before replying. “I’m sorry, Rachel,” he said. “I
don’t mean to fall so low. But I did warn you. Sarah already knows
all there is to know. That’s if she is still around. So whatever
you’re feeling, it’s not to do with me. But in a way, I’m glad I
told you.”

His words
stirred something in Rachel and she had a sudden thought. “Tell me
about the donor card!” she suddenly asked him. “You said in court
you were there when she filled it in. Tell me about it! Please,
Robert!”

Robert looked
puzzled, but as she seemed so insistent, he told her anyway.

“We were in
town one afternoon. She liked to wander around the department
stores, and she often dragged me around with her. It’s not what
you’d expect from such a sordid affair, is it? Window-shopping in
Manchester? Anyway, she just started discussing it with me. She
said how she wanted someone to have a chance at life if she should
die. We were sitting in the restaurant of one of the stores at the
time. The big white one near to Piccadilly?”

“Debenhams,”
Rachel replied.

“Yes, that’s
it. She took the donor card out of the back pocket of her jeans and
put it on the table in front of her. I don’t know where she got it
from. I just sat there with my coffee and watched her fill it in. I
asked her what Alex thought about such things. She said he didn’t
care, and that he didn’t believe in it. I asked her if she was
worried about tempting fate, but she said that she wasn’t. She said
that she wasn’t afraid of anything the future might bring anymore.
She said that was part of the fun of life, finding out by surprise.
She put the card back in her pocket and we talked about other
things. The following week she was dead.”

Neither of them
spoke for a while after that. They just sat quietly at the table in
the small pub, their heads down, each of them thoughtful. Finally,
Rachel asked him another question.

“Robert, why
did you take this case? You don’t want any money, and you have
nothing to gain by it. And it’s only going to stir up bad memories
and pain for nothing. So why do it?”

“I figured that
I owed it to Sarah,” he replied. “In my mind it’s not really your
case, it’s hers.” Rachel looked puzzled, so he explained. “It was
Sarah’s belief that you should donate your organs after you die.
Alex didn’t agree with her. That’s why she carried the donor card.
Now Alex is trying to ruin it all for her. He’s interfering. I
don’t know why he’s doing it, maybe it’s because she was leaving
him that night, or maybe it’s because she went against his wishes.
I guess you’ll have to ask him. I just wanted to make sure that
Sarah finally got what she wanted. The freedom of her own choice at
last.”

Rachel thought
about what he said. “Maybe your hat is a little bit lighter than I
thought,” she told him.

“Praise at
last!” he said with a wide grin. “Does this mean I’m back on your
Christmas list?”

“Oh, I think
you’re worthy of a small card!”

“I should think
so, too. After all, I did save your heart!”

Rachel looked
surprised. “He wouldn’t really have taken his wife’s heart back,
would he?” she asked him a little nervously.

Robert nodded.
“If there’s one thing I know about Alex Williams, it’s that he
doesn’t give up easy,” he said. “Alex was very possessive about
Sarah. That’s really why she left him, not because of me. The
cracks were there long before I came on the scene. Oh yes, he wants
that heart you’ve got alright. Even now, he’s got Sarah’s body in a
deep freeze somewhere just waiting for it to be returned. You’re a
lucky girl, Rachel!”

Rachel suddenly
didn’t look too well. She swayed slightly and held onto the table
with both hands to steady herself.

“Hey! Are you
alright?” Robert said in alarm. He went quickly to her side and
grabbed her.

“I think I need
some fresh air,” she muttered rather weakly.

“Good idea,”
Robert said, putting his arm around her and helping her up. “And
then I’m going to drive you straight back to the hospital. I think
you’ve had enough for tonight.”

“I’m alright,”
she said as he led her out the door. “I just didn’t realise that he
would have actually tried to make them cut me open again. It was a
bit of a shock.”

They were soon
back in Queen Street, looking out across Lincoln Square. Robert
kept his arm around her as Rachel took a couple of deep breaths.
“Just breathe easy, okay?” he told her.

She nodded.
“I’m a bit of a dafty, aren’t I?” she told him. “Here I am, with
the most to lose, and all I was worrying about was that I’d miss
all the fun and excitement!”

Robert looked
at her closely. “Are you okay now?” he asked her.

Rachel just
nodded.

“Are you sure?”
he asked her again.

“Yes,” she
said. “I’m fine, honestly!”

“Okay,” he
said, and he began to walk her towards his car. He kept his arm
around her waist as they walked along together, and somehow it felt
sort of comforting to Rachel. She was going to tell him so, but
just as they reached the car, two men suddenly appeared behind
them, and one of them put his hand on Robert’s shoulder.

“Are you Mr
Robert McCord?” the man said in a very official tone.

Robert looked
at him in surprise and said, “Oh shit!”

The man
repeated his question. “Are you Mr Robert McCord?”

“What’s going
on?” Rachel demanded, suddenly afraid.

Robert turned
to her. “I told you he wouldn’t give up!” he said to her. “He’s
having me arrested!”

“Who is? What
for?” Rachel was totally confused.

“Excuse me,
sir! Please answer the question!” the man said.

“Yes! Yes!”
Robert said to him, angrily. Then he turned back to Rachel. “Alex,
of course! Who else?”

The man with
his hand on Robert’s shoulder began to talk in a clear monotone
voice as his companion waved to someone out of view. “I am
Detective Sergeant Hanson, and this is Detective Constable Lang,”
the first man was saying. Robert ignored him, talking instead to
Rachel.

“He wants to
overturn my evidence!” Robert told her.

“I’m placing
you under arrest for embezzlement, Mr McCord…” the Detective
Sergeant went on. Robert just talked over him, speaking as fast as
he could.

“Alex is going
to try to introduce my theft and fraud as new evidence in his case
against the MRI,” he said.

“...I must
caution you that you do not have to say anything...”

“He’ll use it
to throw doubt on my reliability as a witness!”

“...but
anything you do say maybe taken down...”

“Call
Brian!”

“...and used in
evidence against you.”

“He wants your
heart! Don’t let him get away with it! He’ll kill you if he has
to!”

A white car
with a blue light on top suddenly drove up at speed. It skidded to
a halt next to them, and the two detectives bundled Robert into the
back seat of the car.

“Call Brian!
Call Brian, now!” were Robert’s last words as one of the detectives
got in behind him, and the door was slammed shut and the car sped
away. Rachel watched it turn into Deansgate and disappear.

Rachel was
suddenly alone in the street with the Detective Sergeant. She just
stood there, completely stunned.

“Do you have
any means of transport, Miss?” DS Hanson asked her.

“Er...No,
em...I came on the bus,” Rachel managed to say.

“Then is there
somewhere we can drop you?” Rachel turned and looked at him, but
didn’t reply, so he went on, “I’d prefer not to leave you stranded
if I can help it, Miss.” He raised his hand, indicating another car
waiting in the shadows at the end of the street. “Please?” Rachel
nodded and slowly walked to the car with the policeman.

As the car
drove down Queen Street passed Lincoln Square, Rachel looked up at
the statue of Abraham Lincoln. He was standing with his back to
them, as if he disapproved.

“Where to,
Guv’?” the driver of the car asked.

DS Hanson
turned and leaned over the front seat and asked Rachel, “Where are
we taking you, Miss?”

Rachel was
about to say Wythenshawe Hospital, but she stopped, and a sudden
determination came into her voice as she said instead, “It’s far.
You still don’t mind taking me?”

“No, it’ll be
fine. Just tell us where you want to go.”

“Knutsford,”
Rachel said, “I’m staying at the house of Alex Williams.”

The detective
gave her a funny look. “Are you Diana Williams?” he asked her.

“Yes,” she
said, brazenly.

“Oh, I didn’t
recognise you with your glasses on. What were you doing with Mr
McCord?”

“I used to know
him. Now I’m not so sure,” was her enigmatic reply.

DS Hanson
didn’t question her further; he just turned to face forward again
and tapped the driver on the shoulder. Soon the police car was
driving up Princess Parkway, heading for the M56.

Rachel sat
alone in the back seat, contemplating what she was doing. She felt
scared, as if she was going into the lion’s den. But somehow, she
knew that if anyone was going to make Alex Williams see sense now,
it was going to have to be her.

Helen was
surprised when Diana Williams answered the door. She wasn’t aware
that Alex’s daughter had moved into the house.

“Ms
Worthington, I think my father is expecting you,” Diana said with a
smile. And she opened the door wide, ushering Helen into the large
hall.

“I thought you
were still at the hotel,” Helen said as she walked in.

“I moved back
into the house last night,” Diana replied. “Alex said two days
would probably be enough time to let most of the reporters find
somebody else to chase.”

Helen put her
briefcase on a side table and began to take off her gloves and
unfasten her coat. All the while she kept watching Diana intently.
She wasn’t happy that Diana was here. She had wanted to talk to
Alex while he was “I didn’t see any reporters when I arrived, but I
bet there’s still one or two hanging about,” she said, as she took
off her coat. “Where’s Alex?”

“He’s in the
kitchen,” Diana replied, and she led the way down the hall. “We
only got back a little while ago, and we still haven’t had anything
to eat. Alex spent ages in his office. We’re both starving!”

Helen picked up
her briefcase and followed Diana to the kitchen. As Diana walked
through the door she called out to her father. “Daddy, you were
right!” she said with a smile as she stopped by the door. “It is
Helen Worthington.”

Helen walked
passed her into the kitchen and looked around. Alex wasn’t there.
She turned quickly and just saw the expression of anger on Diana’s
face as the younger woman punched her on the jaw. Helen was knocked
sideways by the blow, stumbled on her high heels, dropped her
briefcase, and fell to the floor.

Diana picked up
the large rolling pin she had placed on the worktop by the door and
stepped forward. Helen was on her knees, trying to get up, when
Diana hit her on the back of the head with the wooden rolling pin.
Helen fell back to the floor. She tried to get up again, but Diana
hit her a second time. Helen scrabbled about on the kitchen floor
and Diana hit her a third time. Helen relaxed and lay still.

Diana walked
over to a storeroom and opened the door. She casually tossed the
bloodstained rolling pin into the room. It landed among some
brushes and a vacuum cleaner in the corner. Diana then went back to
Helen, grabbed both her arms, and dragged her into the storeroom.
It wasn’t quite large enough, and Helen’s legs still poked out into
the kitchen.

Diana came out
of the store room, paused briefly to pick up one of Helen’s red
high-heeled shoes and her briefcase, both of which she tossed into
the store room behind her before going back into the hall to
retrieve Helen’s gloves and coat. Diana searched the coat as she
walked back into the kitchen, and quickly found Helen’s car keys.
The coat was then used to wipe clean the streaks of blood left on
the floor before it and the gloves were also thrown into the
storeroom. The coat landed on top of Helen’s head and
shoulders.

Diana then
tried to close the door, but Helen’s legs were in the way.
Fortunately, she was lying face down, so Diana was able to just
lift Helen’s legs out of the way, bending them at the knee, and
force the door closed. Finished, for now, she walked out of the
kitchen, closing the kitchen door behind her.