The dark side of my soul (22 page)

Twenty

Prison is not so bad; at least it is not as bad as I thought it would be. Of course I miss Sandra, the outdoor life, the walks, the golf, the freedom but as they say I have done the crime so I must do the time.

At the moment I am awaiting trial. Understandably, I suppose, bail was refused. My lawyer is a smart, presentable young chap called Tom Lambert. I have told him everything and he says that he thinks we may have a good chance of claiming self-defence for the double murders. The irony is that there will be a problem proving that I didn’t kill Julie as I was caught virtually red handed. That was the only one I didn’t do. Well that’s life I guess.

By the way I received a letter the other day from a Senior Randas. It was from Sandra, of course, Randas, being an anagram of her name. She likes her little puzzles. I shall read it to you if you like.

Hello Harry,

I hope you are surviving in prison and that the food is not too bad. I went on our dream holiday, pity I had to go alone but it seemed a shame to waste both the tickets.

Oh Harry you would have loved Barbados. The water was fabulous, so clear and warm. The weather was good and the Hotel turned out to be great. The people were so friendly. It really is a laid back island. I bought myself a diving mask and snorkel and went in the sea every day. I met a nice young local man who showed me the best places to swim and dive. The tropical fish on the reef were amazing. I really had a fantastic time.

Before leaving for Barbados I decided that I would not return home, just in case you somehow persuaded the police that you didn’t kill Julie and that I was responsible for her death, so instead of catching my flight back to England I took one to Brazil. I don’t think there is an extradition treaty between the UK and Brazil. (You know, Ronnie Biggs and all that.) It’s better to be safe than sorry. So here I am making a new life for myself in a new country. (I won’t tell you exactly where just to be on the safe side, don’t want to get caught.) I brought our stash of cash with me which has set me up nicely. I have rented a smart apartment and next week I start a new job teaching English.

Oh by the way, before I left for holiday that Detective Armstrong came to see me. I convinced him that I didn’t know anything about the murders and that I had only recently found out that you kept the gun in the secret compartment in the grandfather clock. He took the spare ammunition that was in the clock and then came back a few days later. I’m sure the real reason he came back was to have another look at the clock.

You know I think he quite fancied me. Well, he turned out to be a real sweetie in the end and offered me an unbelievable amount for the clock. He said the fact that you had hidden the gun and ammunition in it would add a lot to its value later. I sold it to him and the money added a nice lump to our cash fund.

Well that’s all my news for now. I hope the trial is not too difficult and that you can adjust to life in prison.

I guess we’ve both got new lives now.

I’ll keep in touch,

Sr. Randas.

Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoyed it. I know what a valuable commodity time is these days but if you could spare a few moments to leave a review I should be eternally grateful.

Keith Lawson.

Copyright 2015 by Keith Lawson

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