I Trust You (15 page)

Chapter 28

M
arisa parked the car at the end of the leafy street in Dorchester where Gerald and Gaia’s house was situated. Her vision had been trained on the front entrance for a couple of hours now and her eyes were beginning to ache.

              Lee climbed back into the passenger seat.

              ‘How are Lin and the boys?’

              ‘They’re fine. Jimmy’s taken them down onto the beach a few times. I just needed to hear their voices, that’s all.’

              ‘I’m sorry to be keeping you away from them.’

              He placed his hand on her knee. ‘Don’t worry, I managed that all by myself.’ He nodded towards the townhouse. ‘Any action?’

              ‘Apart from a delivery van arriving about ten minutes ago, nothing at all.’

              ‘I’m not quite sure what we’re hoping to achieve by this.’

              ‘Neither am I, but I just want to see his face. I’m certain I’ll be able to tell from his expression whether he killed Eliot or not. I want to know if he even cares that his son is dead.’

              ‘Jimmy says that the Isle of Wight police have passed Dad’s case onto the southern division. It means they’re treating his death as suspicious.’

              Marisa shifted round in her seat. ‘That’s good, isn’t it? The police might be able to find some evidence at the scene to nail Gerald’s henchmen.’

              Lee remained very still, ‘They didn’t leave any evidence at the scene. The
post mortem
was the only thing that made them suspicious. The results showed fresh bruising on Dad’s face and neck which suggested he’d been force fed the booze and pills. The SOCOs could also tell a professional clean-up job had been applied to the house.’ He rubbed his stubbly chin. ‘Jimmy says they’ve been trying to contact me. The cops called Lin’s answer phone and asked where I was. They know I’ve not been at work or home in several days. Jimmy claims that right now, they just want to talk to me, but if I continue to be uncontactable, I’m going to rise to the top of the suspect list. He wants me to turn myself in.’

              ‘Then that’s what you must do! I can look after myself.’ Marisa leant forward and brushed her lips against his. ‘I don’t want to be responsible for a single other bad thing happening to someone I love.’

              Lee pulled back and smiled.

              Marisa suddenly realised what she’d said. ‘You know;
care for
.’                            

              Lee laughed and kissed her nose. ‘I love you too, sweetheart. That’s why there’s no way I’m going to leave you alone now, not when you’ve lost all the people you thought were your family and have nowhere to go.’

              ‘Thanks for putting it so starkly.’ She grimaced.

              ‘Hey, look.’ Lee pointed towards the house.

              A black Mercedes with tinted rear windows was parked outside. Gerald and Gaia performed a slow procession down the front path, both sporting large sunglasses. They eventually got into the back and the car sped away.

              ‘So much for reading his expression.’

              ‘But at least we know they’re out.’

              Lee narrowed his eyes. ‘Coleman will have that place locked up like Fort Knox. Not to mention his staff.’

              ‘They’ve only got a housekeeper. She’s called Sylvie. I know her very well. She’s got a nasty habit of keeping the door to the utility room open all day for fresh air. It drives Gerald crazy.’

              Lee breathed in deeply and rolled his eyes towards the roof. ‘Okay then, what’s the plan?’

*

Marisa was seated at a Georgian velvet-upholstered sofa in the front sitting room of Gerald Coleman’s house, vigorously dabbing her face with tissues.

The housekeeper re-entered with a tray holding a cafétiere of coffee. She was a small, rotund woman who was originally from Paris.

              ‘Please join me Sylvie. I expected Gerald and Gaia to be here. I can’t sit on this sofa and drink coffee all on my own, not in these circumstances.’

              The woman glanced reluctantly around her before perching on the sofa beside her guest. ‘I’m so sorry about Mr Eliot. I cried all night when I was told the details of the accident. I’ve known him since he was a little boy.’

              Marisa took her hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘How have Gerald and Gaia been? I can’t believe I wasn’t there when it happened, but my mother was very ill. I was needed in Bristol.’

              Sylvie wrinkled her nose, in a way that suggested this wasn’t the story
she’d
heard. ‘Mr Gerald has been very upset. He is spending a great deal of time alone in his study.’ Her expression became cautious. ‘As for Gaia, I do not know.’

              ‘You don’t think Gaia is quite as upset as her husband?’ Marisa edged closer.

              ‘Well, Eliot wasn’t her
real
son, was he? – not her own flesh and blood.’ Sylvie knew something of Marisa’s own background and when the details returned to her, a plump hand flew up to her mouth. ‘Not that this means everything, of course.’ She flushed crimson.

              ‘It’s alright, I understand what you meant. In fact, Eliot’s tragic death has made me think about his poor mother. It’s a terrible thing for a mother and son to both die so young.’

              ‘Oh, it
is
.’ Sylvie clasped her hands together. ‘My thoughts have been about Celia also. She was a wonderful woman – strong and clever. Mr Gerald would not be where he is now without her.’

              ‘I only wish I’d had a chance to meet her. She died nearly a decade before Eliot and I began seeing one another.’

              ‘Celia would have kept the family together. She wouldn’t have let Grace go off and live in that awful house with her children –
Celia’s
grandchildren. Gerald and Gaia talk about how horrible and poky it is.’

              Marisa had to bite her tongue.

              Sylvie’s eyes began to fill with tears. ‘It shouldn’t have been her, it wasn’t fair.’

              ‘What do you mean, it shouldn’t have been her?’

              ‘Did nobody ever tell you the details?’

              ‘Grace told me what happened. Celia’s car slid on the ice. She was on the twisty coastal road between White Bay and Charmouth.’

              Sylvie waved her hand dismissively. ‘Oh, Grace wasn’t told everything, she’d never have coped with the truth. According to the manager at the clifftop hotel, there was another car on the road that night. He saw the whole thing from his office window, which was on the fourth floor. A small sports car was racing round the bend, it almost lost control, just managing to right itself. But the manoeuvre left it in the path of Celia’s Jaguar. She swerved towards the barrier, but it gave way.’ The housekeeper was sobbing quietly. ‘Madam’s car went straight through the barrier and over the edge. The hotel manager gave a full statement. But this scoundrel in the sports car, he was never found.’ Her tiny hands had become tight fists. ‘It should have been
him
who went over the edge – not the mistress. I have asked God many times since why that was not the case. He has never properly answered. And now this!’

              Marisa placed her arms around the woman’s shoulders and allowed her to cry. When the woman had recovered she asked, ‘and where was Mr Gerald that night, when Celia was killed?’

              Not seeming to notice the implication, Sylvie’s eyes became steely. ‘He was with
her
,’ she replied matter-of-factly.

              Marisa’s mouth dropped open in amazement. ‘With Gaia?’

              ‘Of course, where else did you think?’

Chapter 29

S
he’d been so caught up in what Sylvie was telling her, that Marisa hadn’t noticed the black Mercedes pulling up outside. Not until the sound of the front door opening filled the old house did she realise they were back.

              She got to her feet, hoping desperately that Lee wasn’t still in the building somewhere. ‘Thank you so much for the coffee Sylvie. Now, I’d better get going.’

              ‘Oh, that’s Mr Gerald returning, I’ll tell him you’re here.’ Sylvie scuttled out into the hallway.

              Marisa glanced frantically about her, realising there was no escape. She took a deep breath and followed the housekeeper towards the door.

              If Gerald was surprised to see her, he masked it well. ‘Marisa, my dear. I take it you’ve heard the news?’ He slipped the sunglasses off and placed them in the top pocket of his linen jacket.

              Gaia kept hers on despite the lack of natural light, like a victim of domestic violence, trying to hide a black eye. She stepped forward and embraced her daughter-in-law. ‘I’m so sorry darling. We are all devastated.’

              ‘Thank you. It came as a terrible shock. What have the police said about it? I can’t believe Eliot was walking that damned dog. It’s incredibly out of character.’ Marisa eyed her father-in-law carefully.

              ‘That is what the evidence seems to suggest. Eliot told me himself that he’d been required to exercise Charlie regularly.’ Gerald’s lip curled into a snarl. ‘Of course, my son had been forced to deal with some unpleasant upheaval in his home life recently, so it is no great surprise he may have acted ‘out of character’’.

              Marisa felt anger bubbling up inside her.

              ‘We’ve just come back from the funeral home,’ Gaia continued. ‘The service will be on Friday. They asked us if you will wish to travel in the first car. We’d not heard from you so weren’t sure what to tell the funeral director?’

              ‘Yes, of course I will, thank you.’

              Gerald grunted.

              Gaia hung up her coat and rushed towards the stairs, ‘Excellent. I will just freshen up and then we can discuss the choice of flowers.’

              Suddenly they were alone.

              Marisa made a move towards the door. Gerald stepped forward and pinned her against the wall with his body. She could smell his sour breath.

              ‘Why have you come back here? What game are you playing?’ He hissed in her ear.

              ‘Did you have something to do with Eliot’s death? Your own son?’ Marisa could feel the tears burning her eyes.

              Gerald grasped her wrists painfully. ‘If you hadn’t started digging around, none of this would have happened. Hadn’t I done enough for you? You were given the house and all the money you ever needed. You’ve been an ungrateful little witch.’

              Marisa struggled against his grip. ‘I know what you told me about my adoption was a lie. Who am I Gerald? Why have you gone to all this trouble to keep me under your control?’

              He smirked. ‘I’m beginning to wonder that myself. You’ve now become
far
too much trouble, running across the country with your bit of rough, sticking your nose into my business. I don’t think I should allow you to do that any longer.’ He shifted one of his strong hands up to her neck and gently squeezed.

              Marisa could feel the breath being forced out of her body. Stars were forming in front of her eyes. Just when she was certain that unconsciousness was imminent, possibly even death, he relaxed his hold just a fraction.

              ‘I enjoyed that, Marisa. It was a shame it had to stop.’ He brushed his stubbly cheek against hers. ‘I was a little disappointed when Eliot married you. I’d always quite fancied you for myself. You grew into such a pretty woman. But of course I had Gaia, and Roger and Trudy would have objected.’ His hand moved down from her neck and slid across her breasts and hips.

              They heard the sound of Gaia’s footsteps on the wooden boards of the landing.

              ‘When I get you somewhere more private, I’ll finish the job. I’ll make it nice and slow, might as well get full value out of you,’ he whispered menacingly, springing back so that he stood nonchalantly by the phone table when his wife re-joined them.

              ‘Hasn’t Gerald invited you in properly yet?’ Gaia chided good-naturedly. ‘There is so much to discuss.’

              ‘Actually,’ the man replied. ‘Marisa has to go now. There’s a few jobs she needs to do at the house.’

              Marisa nodded, thinking that speech would probably be impossible.

              ‘Oh, of course. We’ll have this talk again soon?’ Gaia leant forward and kissed her daughter-in-law on the cheek.

              ‘Don’t worry, we’ll be seeing Marisa again very soon, very soon indeed.’

              She almost staggered towards the door, wrenching it open and dashing out into the bright, cruel glare of the sun.

*

To her enormous relief, Lee was behind the wheel of the car. She jumped in beside him. ‘Drive!’ she croaked.

              ‘Where to?’

              ‘Anywhere but here.’

              As they stopped and started their way through the Dorchester rush hour traffic, Marisa massaged her neck and took several deep, calming breaths.

              ‘What the hell happened?’

              ‘Gerald and Gaia came back while I was talking to Sylvie.’ She coughed uncontrollably. Only after regaining her composure did Marisa say, ‘we were left alone, just for a few minutes. Gerald tried to strangle me. He implied that the next time he sees me, he’ll finish the job. I’ve become a nuisance to him.’

              Lee bashed both hands on the steering wheel. ‘Bastard!’

              ‘I don’t think Gerald needs to be at one remove from his crimes at all. He seemed to very much enjoy what he was doing to me.’

              Lee said nothing, but gripped the wheel until his knuckles turned white. ‘We’ll have to ditch this car. Eliot gave it to you, which means Gerald will know everything about it. He’ll be able to track us if we keep driving it.’

              Marisa shifted round. ‘How will we get about?’

              Lee shrugged. ‘I don’t know, sweetheart. I’ve got some savings, maybe we can buy another. Anything is better than you ending up dead in his clutches.’