Hidden (Marchwood Vampire Series #1) (5 page)

‘
No, no it’s nice of you to have got me anything. Thank
you.’

She knew
everyone had been making a real effort, but she just felt really
down. On her birthday, she always ended up thinking of her mum and
what it might have been like if she hadn’t died. She couldn’t even
remember their father. He’d done a runner when she was only three,
when her mum had got pregnant with Ben.

Her mum had
died from a brain haemorrhage when Maddy was eight and Ben only
four. They had no other relatives and her dad had been untraceable,
and so began their journey through the care system - a catalogue of
misery and instability.

For years
she’d refused to believe her mum was really dead. Madison hadn’t
actually seen the body or even attended the funeral, so she’d
convinced herself there’d been a mix up at the hospital. Like most
of the children she’d met in care, Maddy harboured a secret hope
her mother would eventually come to claim her, but it had never
happened. As Madison grew up and toughened up, she realised she’d
been clinging to a stupid fairytale dream. Her mother wasn’t any
more real than Father Christmas or the Tooth Fairy.

She had to
accept this was her life and it was up to her to keep the two of
them safe. So she had badgered and bullied her support worker for
months and months until the wheels of bureaucracy finally started
turning in the right direction. Not until Ben and Madison were
placed together at the Johnsons, did things start to get a bit
better. But Maddy still couldn’t let herself fully trust anyone,
nor could she shake the constant insecurity that gnawed in her
guts.

Later that
day, after her lunch break, Maddy was given the exciting task of
restocking tinned soups. But she didn’t mind. She actually found
the job quite soothing and monotonous. Madison allowed herself to
concentrate on the labels without thinking about anything else: pea
and ham, carrot and coriander, chicken noodle, tomato, the list
went on. It irritated her when a customer came to buy from the
section she was working on - she’d be forced to stop and move out
of the way, breaking her calm concentration.

Now, out of
the corner of her eye, she saw one of the cashiers giving
directions to a customer - a tall man in a dark grey suit. The man
was heading her way. She hadn’t quite finished restocking country
vegetable, when he approached and asked her something.

‘
What?’

‘
Are you Madison Greene?’ he repeated

She looked the
man up and down. He looked to be somewhere over thirty, but not as
old as fifty. As far as she was concerned, anyone over the age of
twenty was ‘old’. He looked like he had a good job, not the usual
class of customer they got in here. Maybe he’d come from school,
something to do with her suspension. He didn’t look like anyone
from social services - he was far too well dressed and smelt of
something expensive. Madison prided herself on being able to spot a
social worker at fifty paces.

‘
Who wants to know?’ she asked.

‘
My name is Robert Vasey-Smith and I represent a firm of
solicitors called Hamilton Blythe.’ He had a strong voice with no
discernible accent.

Maddy felt
unsettled. What would a solicitor want with her? Had she done
something wrong? Was she in trouble again? Great birthday this was
turning out to be.

‘
What do you want?’

‘
I need to confirm you are Madison Greene, daughter of
Sally-Anne Hathaway.’

Madison didn’t
know whether or not to answer. How did he know her mum’s name? She
saw Angie walking up the aisle towards them.

‘
You okay, Maddy? Does this gentleman need any
help?’

‘
He wants to know if I’m Madison Greene.’

‘
Who are
you
then?’ Angie took on a defensive posture, crossing her arms
over her wide chest and staring hard at him.’

‘
My name is Robert Vasey-Smith and I represent a firm of
solicitors called Hamilton Blythe. I have some important
information for Miss Greene.’

‘
Well I’m her foster mum, you can tell it to me.’

‘
I’m afraid I’m not authorised to speak to anyone other than
Miss Greene herself.’ He turned to Madison. ‘I take it you are
Madison Greene?’

‘
Yeah,’ she said, feeling nervous now.

‘
Everything okay over here, Mrs Johnson? Miss Greene?’ The
supermarket manager came up the aisle. ‘Are you alright, sir? Do
you need some assistance?’

‘
It’s okay, Colin,’ Angie replied. ‘Just a personal matter,
we’ll have it sorted in a mo.’

‘
There’s no need for me to remind you what the policy is on
personal conversations in the workplace.’ He frowned. ‘Sort it out
quickly please, girls.’ And he strode off in the direction of Dairy
Products.

‘
You heard the man,’ Angie said. ‘We’ll be getting grief off
him now.’

‘
I apologise,’ the solicitor said. ‘Is there a good time when
I could speak to you uninterrupted, Miss Greene? Are there any
cafés near here where I could meet you after work?’

‘
I don’t care if you’re a solicitor or the King of Timbuktu,
you won’t be going anywhere with this barely sixteen-year-old girl
without
me.
’
Angie put her hands on her hips and glared at Mr
Vasey-Smith.

‘
Angie’ll come with me,’ Maddy agreed.

‘
Very well.’

‘
Ali’s Caf on the High Street at four thirty,’ Angie said.
‘Now you better leave before you lose us our jobs.’

He nodded and
left. Angie and Madison stared wide-eyed at each other.

‘
What’s all that about then?’ Angie asked. ‘I hope for your
sake you haven’t done anything you shouldn’t have. Trevor isn’t in
the mood for any more of your troublemaking. It’ll be the last
straw, Maddy. He’s got no more patience.’

‘
We better get on with our work, Angie. Colin’ll be on the
warpath.’

‘
Hmmm.’ Angie walked back to the checkouts, glancing back at
Madison.

Maddy’s mind
whirred and clicked. She wished she knew what it was all about. How
had he known her and where she worked? And he’d mentioned her mum,
that was the weirdest part. Her heart felt too big for her ribcage
and she couldn’t concentrate. Who cared about country vegetable
soup at a time like this?

*

Ali’s Caf was
packed to its grease-stained ceiling, mainly with school kids, and
it didn’t take Madison and Angie any time at all to spot the
solicitor. He didn’t quite fit the usual customer profile. He sat,
straight-backed, in the far corner with his briefcase on the
table.

Madison
followed Angie, who wove her way purposefully past the other
customers towards him. They sat down on the sticky plastic chairs
and he asked if he could get them a drink.

‘
Coke please,’ said Madison.

‘
I’ll have the same,’ said Angie.

He turned
around and asked the man behind the counter for two cokes, a cup of
tea and a plate of sandwiches.

‘
We’re intrigued, Mr ... Vasey-Smith is it?’ Angie said.
‘What’s it all about?’

‘
I have some interesting news for you, Madison. You’ve been
very difficult to track down.’

‘
How d’you know my mum?’

‘
We’ll get to all that. Will you permit me to tell you what I
need to? And then you can ask me any questions you might have and
I’ll do my best to answer them.’

The cokes
arrived on the table and Angie patted her hair and took a couple of
delicate sips. ‘Let’s let the man speak, Maddy.’

‘
Our client is deceased, but before his death he spent much
time and considerable funds in trying to trace any living
relatives. Alas, he found none, but remained convinced he had
someone somewhere, no matter how far removed.

‘
After his death, he entrusted my firm with the task of
carrying on this search for the time span of one hundred years.
After which time, if no descendant had been found, his estate was
to be gifted to a specific charity of his choosing. Our firm has
been engaged in this search for ninety six years, but we believe we
have now found not one, but
two
living descendants: You, Madison, and your
brother, Ben.

Maddy chewed
the skin on the back of her forefinger, her glass of coke sat
untouched on the table. A girl plonked a mug of tea in front of Mr
Vasey-Smith and put a large plate of cheese and tomato sandwiches
in the middle of the table.

‘
We ‘found’ you, so to speak, three and a half years ago, but,
as per the terms of the will, were unable to initiate contact until
your sixteenth birthday. We’ve been waiting for today.

‘
This relation, was he rich then?’ Angie asked. ‘Has he left
Maddy some money?’

‘
His estate has been willed to you, Madison, but there are
some conditions.’

Maddy stayed
silent, but Angie’s mouth opened and closed. ‘Oh, Maddy, you could
be rich! Imagine.’

‘
There is a large house in Gloucestershire, just outside the
town of Tetbury. You will inherit this property on your twenty
first birthday but can live in it from the age of sixteen, that is,
today.’

‘
A house …’ Maddy couldn’t comprehend what the man was telling
her. She shook her head. ‘This is a wind-up, yeah? Oh very funny.
‘Madison Greene, delinquent waste of space inherits a house’. Ha,
Ha, Mr Vasey-whatever your name is. Nice try, but I‘m not falling
for that.’

‘
Maddy, shhh,’ Angie interrupted. ‘Excuse her, she’s got a
funny way of saying thank you.’

‘
I know this is a lot to take in,’ he said. ‘But I can assure
you this is not a joke. In addition to the property, there is a
generous allowance to be dispensed monthly, until such time as you
reach twenty-one-years-of-age or marry, whichever comes first. At
that time, the remainder of the estate is to pass in its entirety
to you, Miss Greene. The current value of this estate is sixty one
million pounds.’

Madison
couldn’t accept what she was hearing. Thoughts of school, Haggis,
Ben, care homes, Angie and Trevor, flew through her mind along with
the unfamiliar images of piles and piles of cash, flashy cars and,
for some reason, very rich people in dark sunglasses.

‘
What? Sorry?’

Mr Vasey-Smith
had been speaking, but her mind had drifted off and she hadn’t
heard what he’d said.

‘
I know this is a shock for you. But I do trust it is a
welcome one. I was just saying there are a number of stipulations
regarding the settlement of the will and, to that end, I suggest we
reconvene in my office, where we can go over the fine details more
thoroughly. Shall we say ten thirty tomorrow morning, if that’s
convenient? Here’s my card. Our offices are just a few minutes walk
from Baker Street tube station.’

Madison
clutched the card. ‘Is it really true? You’re on the level? Me and
Ben are ... We’re rich?’

‘
Yes, Miss Greene, it’s true.’

*

That evening,
Angie and Trevor ordered a Chinese takeaway, letting Madison and
Ben order whatever they wanted from the menu.

‘
Well, it is your birthday,’ Trevor said, ruffling her hair.
‘Madison was amused and annoyed at his good mood. For days now,
she’d been careful to keep out of his way, trying to avoid riling
him and now it appeared she was completely forgiven. He and Angie
were sunshine and happiness, laughing, joking and
teasing.

When Madison
had told Ben they were coming into some money, he’d got pretty
excited.

‘
Does that mean I can get a laptop and a DS?’

‘
Hold on there, shortie!’ Madison laughed. ‘We’ve got
to
get
the cash
before we can spend it.’

‘
So this relation of yours …’ Trevor asked through a mouthful
of chicken chow mein, ‘… he died a hundred years ago?’

‘
Mr Vasey-whatsit said they’d been looking for ninety six
years, so nearly a hundred, yeah.’

‘
Blimey. Lucky they found you then. Nice they found you
settled and happy with us and not in some scabby care home. Your
relation would’ve been pleased we gave you a home.’

‘
Mmm.’ Madison felt uncomfortable at the direction the
conversation was taking.

Angie looked at Trevor and then at Madison. ‘So, Maddy,’ she
said. ‘What an interesting sixteenth birthday
you’ve
had. You’re not gonna forget
today in a hurry.’ She looked at her husband again.

‘
Trevor and me have agreed you can go out with your mates
tonight if you want. But I wouldn’t mention what’s happened today
to any of them. You know what people are like when money’s
involved. I mean me and Trev, we’ve just got your best interests at
heart, but … Well, you just don’t know how other people are going
to react. They might try and take advantage. You need to be careful
now, Maddy.’

‘
Can I go out
now
then?’ Maddy rose to her feet.

‘
Don’t you want to finish your takeaway?’

‘
Not really that hungry, thanks.’

‘
Go on then, love. Have a good time,’ Trevor said. ‘Me and
Ben’ll finish yours, won’t we, lad? You need a bit of building up
anyway.’ He squeezed Ben’s skinny bicep.